With great anticipation, Bay Area fans were on the edge when the kickoff started what turned out to be a memorable contest between 2 talented teams: San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions. The 9ers were banking on their 24 year old phenom-Brock Purdy to lead them to victory. The Lions were counting on veteran QB, Jerod Goff, a Bay Area native, to do the same. Many Marin county friends wore the Blue and Grey of Detroit to support Jerod.
The game started with amazing speed and Detroit scored a touchdown in the first drive, scoring after a few long runs found weakness in the defense. The 49ers were stunned, and the first half for San Francisco was a blizzard of failures and lost opportunities. Purdy threw an interception which added to their grief. The Lions continued their onslaught with 2 more touchdowns and added a field goal to make the score 24-7 at the halfway mark. The Red and Gold did manage to score one TD before the break, but it didn't do much to quiet the mounting concerns among the fans or among the coaches with head coach Kyle Shanahan. It didn't look good after 30 minutes of playing time. Fans in Santa Clara were subdued and rightfully worried as the 2nd half began.
And what a 2nd half it was. It appeared that the boys from San Francisco had ripped the top off of a can of spinach, downed it immediately and played like renewed fighters. Down by 17 points, Brock Purdy had a list of jobs that would have cowed a 20 year veteran; but he displayed the "Right Stuff". 3rd and long-no problem: Purdy used his legs to make a first down and keep the drive alive. Need a few: Christian McCaffrey got 'em. Need long yardage: pass to Aiyuk. By the 4th quarter, score tied 24-24; but that was only for a few minutes. In no time, San Francisco added 10 more points making it 34-24 with a couple of minutes to go. The 49er defense rose to the occasion and stopped the Lions repeatedly preventing a score. When 4th down and short, Lion's coach Dan Campbell opted for the 1st down instead of a field goal: it cost him twice, what could have been the margin of victory. The Lions scored one more TD, but the clock wound down giving the Red and Gold a sweet come-from-behind victory in front of home town fans on a sunny, warm California January day.
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