The Super Bowl is set, and it's one that Joe Montana, Steve DeBerg, and Elvis Grbac would be proud of, as it features a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs and Niners will run it back on the game's biggest stage after meeting in Super Bowl LIV in 2020, a 31-20 Chiefs win that kicked off the beginning of the Chiefs dynasty.
Kansas City had control of their game against the Baltimore Ravens from start to finish through a combination of Patrick Mahomes' brilliance and the Ravens' miscues, while the Niners made history in erasing a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Detroit Lions. Just as the Ravens' errors cost them a shot at the Super Bowl, the Lions' carriage finally turned into a pumpkin thanks to critical mistakes at the worst possible times.
To be fair, everyone on the 49ers stepped up in the second half to make a win possible. Brock Purdy made big plays with his arm and his legs, Brandon Aiyuk made one of the wildest catches in postseason history, and both Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey continually cut through the Lions' defense. The Niners deserve to be in the Super Bowl, but as much as they earned it, the Lions gave it away through dropped passes, an untimely fumble, and aggressive decisions gone wrong.
Detroit just completed a dream season, which makes it difficult to pass blame around after the franchise's best finish since 1957. As much as it seems that this Lions team is here to stay, though, even Dan Campbell recognizes that fortunes can change quickly in the NFL. There's no shame in losing in the NFC Championship Game, but at some point in time, the Lions and their fans are going to regret the one that got away. Here are the three people most responsible.
1) Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs
Just as the Ravens were done in by Zay Flowers' rookie miscues, the biggest turning point in this game came when rookie Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled in the third quarter.
Let's set the stage. The Niners had seized momentum thanks to Brandon Aiyuk's impossible catch off the facemask of Lions DB Kindle Vildor, scoring soon after to cut Detroit's lead to seven. The Lions needed to answer with a drive of their own to regain control, and they turned to Gibbs, their uber-talented rookie, to begin the drive. Tashaun Gipson had other ideas, knocking the ball loose, and Arik Armstead recovered to put San Fran right back in business.
Fumbles happen, but the timing of this one couldn't have been worse. Worse yet, Gibbs never had a good handle on the ball because he seemed to run the wrong play, nearly colliding with quarterback Jared Goff and bobbling the ball right before meeting Gipson at the line.
Like Flowers, Gibbs' presence helped his team's offense become much more multidimensional this year, which makes it such a shame that things ended on such a sour note for both of them. In our article about the Ravens most responsible for their loss, we mentioned the comparisons between Flowers and Tyreek Hill while predicting a bright future for the young wideout. Similarly, Gibbs is reminiscent of a young Alvin Kamara with his balance, acceleration, and ability in the open field. He'll be back and better than ever next year.
2) Lions head coach Dan Campbell
Let's get one thing out of the way before launching into the Dan Campbell section of this article. Even as a Bears fan, I am a Dan Campbell believer. The job he's done in turning one of the NFL's most pitiable franchises around is nothing short of spectacular. If I showed up at his house for dinner and he offered me a bowl of kneecaps, I would do my best Oliver Twist and say, "Please sir, can I have some more?" In short, Dan Campbell rules.
One can quibble with Campbell's decision to go for it twice on fourth down in the game's second half, but for anyone who's been paying attention all year, they had to know that the Lions would be aggressive and keep the field goal unit on the sideline. This was never a team that was going to play not to lose, and in the end, they died like they lived: going for it until the wheels came off. There's something admirable about that.
The Lions are where they are because of Campbell's aggressive mentality. For too long Detroit has been the prey, but under Campbell, they're the predator. You can't knock the guy for dancing with the girl that brung him, especially when everything he's touched this season has turned to gold. You also can't blame him for Josh Reynolds dropping a catchable ball to turn the ball over on downs.
What you can knock Campbell for is the decision to run the ball on third down with just over a minute to go. That forced the Lions to burn a precious timeout when David Montgomery was tackled for a loss, and essentially ended the game when they couldn't recover the ensuing onside kick following Jameson Williams' fourth-down touchdown catch (people are curiously quiet about this decision, undoubtedly because it worked). And yes, I know Ben Johnson is the offensive coordinator and play caller, but I refuse to believe Campbell didn't have a hand in the plan down on the goalline in that situation.
Even if the Lions had scored without burning a timeout, the odds of getting the ball back with enough time to tie or win the game were not in their favor. Still, it would have been nice to see them get the chance to try.
3) Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds
For the Lions, there's plenty of blame to go around for this loss. The biggest culprit, though? Josh Reynolds. Reynolds has been an integral part of this Lions offense, snaring the No. 2 wideout role in the wake of Jameson Williams' early season suspension for gambling. If only he could have snared the football on Sunday with as much conviction.
Against the Niners, the usually reliable Reynolds who caught 40 balls and five touchdowns for Jared Goff was nowhere to be found. Goff looked his way four times on the day, yet Reynolds only managed a single catch, and his two drops were killers with a capital "K".
The first drop came on the Lions' first possession of the second half, with Detroit leading 24-10 after holding the Niners to a field goal to start the third quarter. Dan Campbell's decision to go for it will be much-discussed in the coming days, but what can't be disputed is that offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had the right play installed. Reynolds popped open, Goff made a throw that was good enough to hit him in the hands, but Reynolds couldn't hang on to it.
Nobody knew it at the time, but this was the beginning of the end for Detroit, as the Niners scored 24 straight points from this moment.
Reynolds had a chance to redeem himself with the game tied at 24, but again he let the ball bounce harmlessly off his hands, this time on a critical third down that forced a Lions punt.
Reynolds' pair of mistakes prove why it's so difficult to predict what is going to happen in the playoffs. Things that have worked all season short circuit, sure-handed players drop the football, and defeat can be snatched from the jaws of victory. Sometimes pressure makes diamonds, sometimes it makes coal.