FULL BOX SCORE

1. Lions: Still explosive. Detroit quickly realized that it would take a lot of goals to get Santa Clara to emerge victorious. Not surprisingly, the Lions responded. The Lions recorded their fifth game of the season with more than 40 points and zero turnovers, proving once again to the rest of the NFL world that they are an offensive machine. They scored in a variety of ways, including another appearance of the hook and side saw Jameson Williams With the encouragement of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, turn the corner and win the race to the pylon. Jahmyr Gibbs tore through San Francisco’s defense and finished with 117 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries Jared Goff was sharp once again, completing 26 of 34 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. They didn’t turn every drive into a touchdown, ditching the ball twice and settling for field goals and turning it over once on downs in the 49ers’ red zone, but much like an avalanche, their power eventually engulfed their opponent. Given their defensive deficiencies, they need to continue to make noise. Luckily, we know they can do just that.
2. The Niners’ personnel deficiencies are contributing to their downfall. San Francisco showed in the first half that it is still coached by an offensive wizard in Kyle Shanahan, who put together an excellent game plan to start a high-scoring affair and became a rookie Ricky Pearsall a lot involved. Purdy and the Niners got everything they wanted in the passing game in the first two quarters, especially on the cross-runs George Kittle for big winnings. But as Detroit adapted, San Francisco’s weaknesses became apparent. Purdy paid the price for predetermining a throw in the fourth quarter based on a pre-snap single high safety look that turned and went on an inverted Cover 2 Kerby Joseph free to jump anything over the middle. When Purdy tried to score in Pearsall on Monday night, Joseph was there to pluck the ball out of the air and give the ball back to the Lions, effectively ending the 49ers’ hopes of a comeback. Personnel is important because the 49ers actively avoided running the ball in the second half, instead relying on the pass on first down as well. It was first-and-10 in a six-point game when Purdy threw his second pick of the night. I tend to think it was Christian McCaffrey or Jordan Mason Had Shanahan been available, he would have relied more on the run in such a situation, minimizing risk in a game that could have been won on the ground had strong playmakers been involved. This is not to excuse Purdy’s failures, just to try to understand her approach. Ultimately, it cost the 49ers a chance to make it interesting and explain much of their season in one quick sequence.
3. Detroit’s defense remains leaky. At this point, it’s well-documented: The Lions have suffered a number of significant injuries on the defensive side of the ball this season, which has reduced their margin for error. It became a glaring problem again Monday night when San Francisco scored touchdowns on its first three possessions to take a 21-13 lead that increased to 28-21 midway through the third period. Luckily, the Lions are pretty good at forcing takeout. Kerby Joseph scored twice via interception Monday night, grabbing a sailed Purdy throw for his first pick and bouncing a Purdy pass over the middle for his second. These takeaways gave the Lions additional possessions that allowed their offense to carry them to victory. That may not be possible against better teams, but Detroit’s hands are tied at this point. The Lions tried to fill gaps through trades, but as the new year approaches, they will largely enter the playoffs with these players. The onus is on defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to find a solution, which he did Monday night, putting Joseph in the right spot to disrupt San Francisco’s offensive bread and butter. It worked, but the Lions know they have to play near perfect offensively to keep this run going. As long as they continue to force turnovers, they should.
4. Niners could soon be looking for a new kicker. Jake Moody I picked a bad time for a rough night. On the national stage, Moody’s lost his confidence in real time when he missed a 51-yarder just before halftime to keep the game at a one-possession difference and then, as expected, missed a 58-yarder that the 49ers probably shouldn’t have attempted. But this point doesn’t just apply to tonight. Moody entered Monday night having converted just 10 of his last 16 field goal attempts. On Monday night he missed both attempts, and as the number of misses increased, he missed an extra point in the final minute of the game. When asked to attempt an onside kick, he fired the attempt out of bounds, capping a nightmarish game. With the season ending next weekend, San Francisco doesn’t have to solve its kicker problems in a week, but as the 49ers take stock of their roster this offseason, don’t be surprised if they bring competition at the position. Shanahan gave Moody grace when asked recently about his kicker, citing Moody’s ankle injury as a likely reason for the inconsistency since his return, but in a business where the margins are so slim, a coach like Shanahan – who this team is too has made two Super Bowl appearances in his tenure – he won’t tolerate misses forever. It’s not like Moody deserves the leash Justin Tucker has enjoyed this season despite its difficulties. If they still have Super Bowl ambitions, they can’t start 2025 with uncertainty at kicker.
5. Lions leave Northern California without incident. The scheduling gods gave us a fitting gift for the season in Week 18: Detroit hosts Minnesota, with the NFC North and the conference’s top seed on the line. Winning will give the Lions a much-needed bye considering the state of their injury report and the toll of an 18-week season. Lose and play an away game even though you have won 14 games this year. No team in the NFL (except maybe Kansas City) needs that first-round bye more than these Lions, and they managed to secure the win without suffering any significant injuries. All of the key players who took part on Monday night left Santa Clara with no apparent health concerns, which is a victory that could even surpass the result on the field. Now the Lions, Vikings and the rest of the football world are preparing for the Titans’ duel next week on another national stage: Football on Sunday evenings.

Insight into the Lions-49ers’ next-generation stats (via NFL Pro): Jahmyr Gibbs carried the ball 18 times for 117 yards and a touchdown, earning the second-most yards before contact of his career (85).

NFL Research: George Kittle broke the 1,000-yard mark on Monday night, marking his fourth 1,000-yard season of his career. Kittle is one of just five tight ends to reach a milestone, along with Travis Kelce (seven), Tony Gonzalez (four), Rob Gronkowski (four) and Jason Witten (four).