The Lions found themselves facing a critical decision on their first drive of the second half. Should they go for in on 4th-and-2 or attempt a 45-yard field goal to try to extend their lead back to 17?
Dan Campbell opted to go for it, as he has often done throughout his three-year tenure as Detroit’s head coach. It didn’t pan out.
Jared Goff did well to escape pressure from Nick Bosa on the attempt and fired a strike to receiver Josh Reynolds. The pass was just to Reynolds’ right, and he got both hands on it. Despite this, he failed to make the catch.
An imperfect throw, but catchable.
Josh Reynolds can’t haul it in. 👏🏈 pic.twitter.com/ER3X1fHibN
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) January 29, 2024
Just two plays later, the 49ers made the Lions pay for the aggressive decision.
FOLLOW LIVE: 49ers look to complete comeback vs. Lions in NFC championship game
Brock Purdy launched a pass deep down the middle of the field in the direction of Brandon Aiyuk. Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor was in coverage on the play and appeared to have a chance to intercept it.
Instead, disaster struck. Vildor failed to corral the pass and it bounced off his facemask. Aiyuk, who was still tracking the ball, was then able to jump over Vildor and grab the ball just before it fell to the ground.
DEFLECTION OFF THE FACE. WILD.
📺: #DETvsSF on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/C4jf3b3clo— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2024
The circus catch set the 49ers up with the ball on Detroit’s four-yard line. The Lions stopped San Francisco on back-to-back plays to set up a critical third down, but it wasn’t long before Purdy found Aiyuk for a touchdown to cut the Lions’ lead to seven points.
The 49ers may have been a bit lucky that the Lions’ gaffes helped set up their score, but it’s safe to say that Campbell will be rueing his fourth-down decision. It provided the 49ers with a big momentum swing, and that may be enough to get them back to the Super Bowl for the first time in four years.
