SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The game that was meaningless to most viewers some 2,500 miles away Detroit was not insignificant to those in uniform who remember that feeling. Penei Sewell was one of them.

The Detroit Lions’ first game of the 2024 calendar year took place here at Levi’s Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers. Their final game of 2024 was also here at Levi’s Stadium against the 49ers. Certainly different results, different stakes. But the Lions’ magical 2023 season ended right here in the NFC Championship Game last January. For a team hoping to right its wrongs this postseason, there’s something to be said for that.

It’s not a conclusion, but it was the desired result on an evening that this time went their way.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel at all comfortable at first when I walked into that locker room and out onto the field,” Sewell said after the Lions’ 40-34 win over the 49ers. “But I think at the end of the day we just have to focus on what we have to accomplish.”

One way to ensure the Lions don’t feel like that again is to position themselves for the best possible postseason. The Lions were number 3 last year and ended up losing to the 49ers in their city. But this year they gave themselves a chance at first place, a chance to make sure all the NFC’s roads run through Detroit.

To be honest, they were already on the right track before this game. It was meaningless, so to speak. A loss in San Francisco wouldn’t end the season this time. It wouldn’t eliminate them from contention for the division or the No. 1 seed. Based on the games they have won this season, they would have had all the targets in sight heading into the winner-take-all finale in Week 18. This led some to speculate whether the Lions would bench their starters.

However, the Lions have made it this far because they only know one way. On a night like this night they haven’t changed.

“This game and this approach is the DNA of this team,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown told SportsCenter after the game.

The idea of ​​giving some starters a break made sense. The game had no impact on the postseason – aside from a possible scenario in which the Lions and Minnesota Vikings meet in Week 18. Detroit is the most injured team in football, so preventing the risk of further ailments and giving the guys time to rest would have been beneficial. “Everything was considered,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game. Here are the conclusions he came to:

The Lions had been preparing all week as if their starters were going to play. They created a game plan confident that their starters would be out there.

He didn’t think it was fair to send unprepared substitutes – nor to have to decide which of his starters was benched and who had to continue playing, since there were only a limited number of players who could realistically rest. No matter how you play them, some starters would have been forced to play alongside backup players. There are problems with that too.

The idea of ​​not doing everything it takes to win a football game will simply never sit well with a man like Campbell. Especially before the biggest game of his coaching career in the regular season.

“I’m going to make it easy for everyone,” Campbell said last week. “We bring everything we have into this game and we play and I don’t care what it looks like and where it is or who this is and who that is. We want to win this game on the West Coast. So here we go.”

It turns out the Lions were going to need just about everything in Monday’s game, especially because the 49ers gave them everything they had. If the Lions are the most injured team in the NFL, the 49ers could be in second place. They lost and played without stars like Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and others. And yet someone didn’t mention how meaningless this game was to them. This is a proud team that knows they have been dealt a bad hand this year. You could tell that before the game even started.

“Dan Campbell said, ‘We’re bringing everyone to the West Coast.’ For what? To kick your ass tonight.

Fred Warner is ahead of the Lions-49ers on Monday night 😳 pic.twitter.com/HkVup2malg

– ESPN (@espn) December 31, 2024

This time it was the 49ers who got off to a good start. They were the enforcers and forced the Lions to catch up. They stormed down the field on their first drive and scored a touchdown, then did it two more times to put up 21 first-half points.

The receivers ran around freely in the middle of the field. They had ruined coverages, miscommunications and targeted plays that worked in San Francisco’s favor. The 49ers got what they wanted against a Lions defense that struggled to get stops.

It might seem that way at times given how shorthanded the defense is.

“We just said, ‘Don’t turn your backs on each other,'” cornerback Terrion Arnold said after the game. “You go out there and football is one of those things where it’s all about momentum. As long as we just keep our poise and go out there and do our job, we’ll go out there and the play will come.”

What the Lions have to offer is an offense that can buy their defense time and win games. This was one of those evenings. The offense once again looked elite enough to win a shootout. It was a neck-and-neck race with a 49ers offense that still features Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and others. Trailing 21-13 at halftime, the offense got the ball at the start of the third quarter and tied the score at 21-21.

Jared Goff once again looked adept at spreading the wealth around and continuing to run this offense at a high level. In his last four games, he has thrown for 1,416 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception. He has scored 36 touchdowns this season, the most of his career, and is playing at a level that can win a Super Bowl.

“You’ll find in me a quarterback who’s playing better than him in this league right now,” Campbell said of Goff. “I’d like to see it.”

I love these guys madly pic.twitter.com/sqpBnr5XRz

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2024

But it wasn’t just Goff. Jameson Williams had a multi-touchdown day. Sam LaPorta scored. St. Brown scored. It was an all-hands-on-deck game en route to 40 points and 439 yards.

The Lions scored 27 points in the second half – fueled by two interceptions from safety Kerby Joseph – and capped the win with a 30-yard dash from Jahmyr Gibbs that put everything out of reach. The defense made adjustments and allowed just 13 points in the second half, with 6 of those points coming with 43 seconds left in a game the Lions took over.

“That game didn’t really mean much, but that game meant everything to me,” Joseph said. “I felt like we were so close and we didn’t make it. The feeling of coming back here to San Francisco and coming back with the win. I know we started slow in defense but we managed to finish the game. I felt like this shows our courage and adversity. I love this team. I love this team so much.”

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was the kind of game the Lions had hoped for. They have achieved the victory they longed for. They escaped without injury. And now that it’s over, they can turn their full attention to the Vikings. Because that’s what matters.

As much as the Lions wanted this – publicly and privately – the 49ers are not a playoff team. They are not an obstacle in Detroit’s path. The Vikings are, and they will travel to Detroit in Week 18 for a game that missed Monday’s action.

“This is what you’re in it for,” Campbell said. “You couldn’t write a better scenario. You couldn’t come up with that. The fact that both teams are 14-2 and in contention for the division and the top seed, it just doesn’t get any better. This is fairytale stuff.”

There’s a cruel and very real scenario in which the Lions — in the midst of their best regular season in franchise history — could finish with 14 wins and hit the road for a playoff start. The winner of this game will finish 15-2 and clinch the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the conference. However, the loser will become the first team in NFL history to win 14 games and secure a playoff spot as a wild card team.

Detroit will be the epicenter of the professional football world this week as the regular season concludes on “Sunday Night Football.” The Lions have a chance to achieve what they couldn’t do a year ago: a first-round bye and home-field advantage during the playoffs. It would make their path to the Super Bowl easier to imagine and give them time to rest while they play in the comfort of Ford Field in the upcoming games.

It remains to be seen what awaits us on Sunday. But at the end of the regular season, the Lions will once again give it everything they have.

That’s all they know.

“It’s the kind of game you dream about as an adult,” Sewell said. “These are the moments you live for. Opportunities like this don’t come along often. So with everything on the table, it’s time to put the ball down. Let’s go.”

(Top photo of Jared Goff shaking hands with Amon-Ra St. Brown after scoring a touchdown: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)