NFL Conference Championship Game Recap: San Francisco 49ers 34, Detroit Lions 31

The Detroit Lions stormed out to an early lead over the San Francisco 49ers, building it to 24-7 by halftime. By the 3-minute mark of the third quarter, that advantage was no more. By the 3-minute mark of the fourth quarter, it was a 10-point deficit.

The 49ers shut out the Lions for much of the second half and completed a furious comeback, winning 34-31, to book a Super Bowl matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Offensive spotlight: The 49ers' playmakers did what they do best: make defenders miss. Wideout Deebo Samuel, back from injury, forced six missed tackles as a receiver and two more as a runner, while Christian McCaffrey added three as a receiver and two as a runner. There have been only five instances of a wide receiver forcing six missed tackles in a game this season, and Samuel owns two of them.

Defensive spotlight: Missed tackles plagued the Lions against a shifty 49ers offense. C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Cameron Sutton each missed three, and eight other Detroit defenders contributed one apiece.

Linebacker Fred Warner made four stops in the run game and didn't miss any of his five tackle attempts.

Rookie spotlight: A costly Jahmyr Gibbs helped spark the 49ers' comeback in the third quarter. He finished with 45 rushing yards and a score on 12 carries, as well as three catches for 11 yards. Tight end Sam LaPorta garnered a game-high 12 targets, and he reeled in nine of them for 97 yards — 53 of which came after the catch.

Box Score

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Receiving