👀 Lions vs. 49ers - 12/29/24 🏈
Oh what could've been...
In what we hoped might be a preview of the NFC championship game in 2025, the high-flying Lions limp into Levi’s stadium to face the ground-scraping 49ers in a rematch of the 2024 NFC Championship game, which ended in a memorable comeback for the Northern Californian prospectors who prevailed 34-31.
The 49ers (and their fans) would probably like for this season to be over sooner rather than later. The Niners stumbled early and often, navigating injuries, distractions, and flat-out disappointments on their way to an unthinkable 6-9 record for one of the preseason Super Bowl favorites. In a pleasant rewind to their 2023 form, the 49ers smashed the Bears 38-13 earlier in December, but have since fallen at home to the Rams (6-12), and on the road in Miami (17-29).
The Motor City Kitties, on the other hand, continue on their dreamy trajectory towards the a potential #1 seed in the NFC for the first time in their history, a feat that only eludes 4 other NFL franchises. The Lions enter Levi’s stadium at 13-2, and they may have their eyes looking forward to next weekend when they welcome the even more surprising Minnesota Vikings to Ford Field for a juicy NFC North-clinching matchup. After falling short against Josh Allen and the Bills, the Lions took care of business in Chicago last week (34-17) and head west with their confidence intact. A win over the team that crushed their dreams last season in dramatic fashion would be a welcome belated Christmas gift.
The Lions injury woes started back in Week 6 with the loss of Aiden Hutchinson, and it has only gotten worse over the course of the year with an IR list longer than the list of metaphors Dan Campbell has at his disposal.
The recent loss of David Montgomery may be the most impactful in this particular matchup, as San Francisco is most susceptible on the ground.
49ers fans might argue that their injury problems have been equally disabling this year, with the lost seasons for stars Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, and Trent Williams, just to name a few.
Now, the Niners will also notably be without Charvarious Ward (CB) and Dre Greenlaw (LB), who were both ruled out late this week. The loss of Ward could prove significant given the Lions prowess in the passing game and Ward’s high utilization this season.
The running game will get a boost with the return of Isaac Guerendo, who was starting to find a groove before missing last week with a hamstring injury.
It should be a balmy 50 degrees with a dash of wind and no precipitation in the forecast in the beautiful town of Santa Clara, CA. We don’t have to factor the weather into this one in any negative sense. We do have to remember that the Lions are traveling West, with a lookahead to a short week before the big NFC North title-clinching matchup back at home.
The Owl Says:
Lions 30 49ers 17
The Lions could be in for a surprise here with the 49ers ability to limit yards after the catch, an area that the Lions rely on. The Lions rank bottom-middle in yards before the catch on average while leading the league in yards after the catch. If the Niners can keep Jared Goff and his band of speedy marauders contained, they should be able to lean on Guerendo and Taylor to attack a depleted Lions defensive line to keep this one close.
However, the defensive losses on the San Francisco side will prove to be too much against a Lions team that tends to avoid letdowns in spots like this under Dan Campbell and is motivated to keep pace in the NFC and give the 49ers a little bit of payback for the unceremonious ending they endured almost a year ago.
Consensus odds at time of writing:
DET -3.5 O/U 50.5
Overall record (W-T-L): 0-0-0