Third-quarter heroics helped San Francisco rally to a 34-31 victory over Detroit in the NFC Championship Game.
— The San Francisco 49ers are still alive in their quest for a sixth Lombardi Trophy. Barely.
The 49ers overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to the Detroit Lions, as third-quarter heroics by wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy helped San Francisco rally to a 34-31 victory over Detroit in the NFC Championship Game, denying the Lions their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
Christian McCaffrey scored twice for the 49ers, who will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in a rematch of their Super Bowl showdown four years ago.
For most of the season, the 49ers were the perfect front-runners. They often raced out to big leads, forced opponents to throw the entire second half and put games away.
That approach left many wondering if the Niners were made of the right stuff when the game was on the line. If last week’s win against the Green Bay Packers wasn’t enough evidence that they are, the 49ers left no doubt Sunday against the Lions.
In a game that had all the makings of a Detroit runaway, the 49ers entered halftime trailing by 17 with seemingly little chance of getting back into it. But these veteran-led Niners never relented, rattling off 27 straight points to forge a tie with the 2012 version of the 49ers for the biggest comeback in NFC Championship Game history.
And now, after a series of near misses and devastating losses just before the Super Bowl, the Niners will get their long-awaited shot at the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy. In a fitting twist, they’ll do it against the Chiefs, who erased their own deficit in Super Bowl LIV to send the Niners on their four-year journey to get back to the league’s biggest stage.
