49ers Host Lions for NFC Title

It has been 31 NFL seasons since the Detroit Lions (14-5) have reached their first and only NFC title game, and with a win over the San Francisco 49ers (13-5) Sunday, they have a chance to reach their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

As for the 49ers, this will be their third straight NFC title appearance and their 19th total in franchise history.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1750232004539638105

Star-Studded Rosters

Both of these squads have talent on both sides of the ball. The Lions and 49ers share a total of 14 players that were listed to the NFC Pro Bowl roster. The 49ers fielded nine players while the Lions fielded five.

San Francisco 49ers

• (QB) Brock Purdy
• (RB) Christian McCaffrey
• (FB) Kyle Juszczyk
• (TE) George Kittle
• (OT) Trent Williams
• (DE) Nick Bosa
• (DT) Javon Hargrave
• (LB) Fred Warner
• (DB) Charvarius Ward

Detroit Lions

• (TE) Sam LaPorta
• (OT) Penei Sewell
• (C) Frank Ragnow
• (DE) Aidan Hutchinson
• (ST) Jaylen Reeves-Maybin

Some names for the 49ers that were not included on the lists include Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Arik Armstead. As for the Lions, Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, C.J. Gardner Johnson and David Montgomery did not make the Pro Bowl.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1749210224462831954

Strong Defense

There is no question that both of these teams have talent on both sides of the ball. However, this game is going to be won by the strongest defense. Both offenses are capable of hanging up a large amount of points on any given Sunday, so the defense that comes up with the biggest stop at the right time may be heading to the Super Bowl.

Additionally, the 49ers already have a one-up on the Lions with home field advantage. San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke on his team’s home field advantage.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff has played the 49ers a total of nine times in his career. His record is 3-6, with two of those wins being in San Francisco. For San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, he’s never started against the Lions. This will be the first matchup between the two quarterbacks.

Jared Goff said the roster hasn’t really took in a lot of change, and he spoke on how him and his squad are ready for Sunday.

A Look Ahead

The Lions have played both the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, this year. However, the 49ers have only played the Ravens. Baltimore has not only beat both the Lions and the 49ers this year, but they handled them with ease. The Ravens beat the Lions 38-6, and the 49ers 33-19.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, lost to the Lions in Week 1 21-20. Though, there is no love lost between the Chiefs and the 49ers as the two faced each other four years ago in Super Bowl LIV.

See you at our house. pic.twitter.com/muV9yqMmn9

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 21, 2024

Kickoff Sunday is at 6:30 p.m.