Jared Goff threw three landing passes and the Detroit Lions tuned up for his or her Week 18 division showdown towards Minnesota by beating the San Francisco 49ers 40-34 on Monday evening.
Goff threw a go-ahead landing move to Amon-Ra St. Brown within the last minute of the third quarter following the primary of Kerby Joseph’s two second-half interceptions towards Brock Purdy in a rematch of final season’s NFC title recreation gained by San Francisco.
That proved to be sufficient for the Lions (14-2) to increase their franchise file for wins in a season as they beat the 49ers (6-10) on the highway for the primary time since 1975.
The stakes for this recreation have been miniscule in comparison with the final assembly between the groups when a berth within the Tremendous Bowl was on the road final January. San Francisco was eradicated from playoff rivalry final week and Detroit performs Minnesota within the regular-season finale subsequent week with the winner incomes the NFC North title and high seed within the NFC playoffs, and the loser being relegated to a wild card.
The loser of that recreation will break the file for probably the most wins by a crew that didn’t win its division; the earlier file was held by the 1999 Tennessee Titans, who went 13-3 and completed in second within the AFC Central behind the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars, per FOX Sports activities analysis.
The win towards the 49ers would solely matter if Detroit and Minnesota tie in Week 18, with the Lions now set to earn the No. 1 seed in that unlikely situation.
Jahmyr Gibbs put the sport away with a 30-yard landing run with lower than three minutes left following Purdy’s second interception, giving him 117 yards on the evening.
The offenses dominated for a lot of the evening, with the groups scoring touchdowns on the primary 5 possessions and Purdy and Goff combining to finish the primary 17 passes of the sport — together with a wonderfully executed hook-and-ladder play that led to a 42-yard TD for Goff.
He threw a brief move to St. Brown, who instantly pitched the ball to Jameson Williams, who streaked down the sideline for the ultimate 41 yards and his second TD of the primary half.
The one stops of the half got here when Renardo Inexperienced broke up a move in the long run zone from Goff to Sam LaPorta and when Jake Moody missed a 51-yard area purpose within the closing seconds for San Francisco.
Purdy threw a 5-yard pop move for a TD on San Francisco’s opening drive of the second half earlier than Detroit’s protection lastly managed a cease when Joseph intercepted an overthrown move by Purdy.
Goff turned that right into a 4-yard TD move to St. Brown on fourth-and-goal to provide the Lions their first lead at 31-28 late within the third quarter.
Moody missed a 58-yard area purpose that might have tied the sport early within the fourth quarter for his ninth missed area purpose of the season. Moody additionally missed an additional level after Joshua Dobbs scored on a TD run within the last minute.
Up subsequent
Lions: Host Minnesota on Sunday evening.
49ers: Go to Arizona on Sunday.
Reporting by The Related Press.
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