FULL BOX SCORE

1. Lions: Still explosive. Detroit quickly realized it needed to score plenty to leave Santa Clara victorious. Unsurprisingly, the Lions responded. The Lions posted their fifth game with 40-plus points and zero turnovers this season, once again proving to the rest of the NFL world that they’re an offensive machine. They scored in a number of ways, including another appearance of the hook and lateral that saw Jameson Williams round the corner with the encouragement of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and win the race to the pylon. Jahmyr Gibbs tore through San Francisco’s defense, finishing with 117 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, and Jared Goff was sharp once again, completing 26 of 34 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. They didn’t turn every drive into a touchdown, stalling and settling for field goals twice and turning it over on downs in the 49ers’ red zone once, but much like an avalanche, their power ended up engulfing their opponent. Because of their defensive weaknesses, they’re going to need to keep lighting up the scoreboard. Fortunately, we know they can do just that.
2. Niners’ personnel shortcomings contribute to downfall. San Francisco showed in the first half it’s still coached by an offensive wizard in Kyle Shanahan, who drew up an excellent game plan to kick off a high-scoring affair and got rookie Ricky Pearsall involved plenty. Purdy and the Niners got whatever they wanted in the passing game in the first two quarters, especially on crossing routes run by George Kittle for big gains. But as Detroit adjusted, San Francisco’s weaknesses started to show. Purdy paid the price for predetermining a throw in the fourth quarter based on a pre-snap single-high safety look, which rotated to inverted Cover 2, leaving Kerby Joseph free to jump anything over the middle. When Purdy tried to connect with a Monday night favorite in Pearsall, Joseph was there to pluck it out of the air and return possession to the Lions, effectively ending the 49ers’ hopes of a comeback. Personnel matters because the 49ers actively avoided running the ball in the second half, instead leaning on the pass even on first down. It was first-and-10 in a six-point game when Purdy threw his second pick of the night. I tend to believe had Christian McCaffrey or Jordan Mason been available, Shanahan would’ve relied more on the run in such a situation, minimizing risk in a game that could’ve been won on the ground if ball-carrying playmakers could participate. That’s not to excuse Purdy’s turnovers, but just to try to make sense of their approach. Ultimately, it cost the 49ers a chance to make it interesting, explaining much of their season in a quick sequence.
3. Detroit’s defense remains leaky. It’s been well documented by this point: The Lions have suffered a number of significant injuries on the defensive side of the ball this season, reducing their margin for error. It became a glaring issue again Monday night when San Francisco scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, running out to a 21-13 lead that became 28-21 midway through the third. Fortunately, the Lions are quite good at forcing takeaways. Kerby Joseph racked up two via interception Monday night, snagging a sailed Purdy throw for his first pick and jumping a Purdy pass over the middle for his second. Those takeaways bought the Lions extra possessions, which allowed their offense to carry them to victory. Against better teams, that might not be possible, but Detroit’s hands are tied at this point. The Lions tried to plug gaps via trade, but with the new year approaching, this is largely who they’ll have entering the playoffs. The onus falls on defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to find a solution, which he did Monday night, putting Joseph in the right spot to interrupt San Francisco’s offensive bread and butter. It worked, but the Lions know they have to play nearly perfectly offensively to keep this run going. As long as they keep forcing turnovers, they should.
4. Niners might in the market for a new kicker soon. Jake Moody picked a bad time to have a rough night. On the national stage, Moody’s confidence disintegrated in real time, missing a 51-yarder just before halftime to keep the game at a one-possession difference, then predictably missed a 58-yarder that the 49ers probably shouldn’t have attempted. But this point isn’t just about tonight. Moody entered Monday night having converted just 10 of his last 16 field goal attempts. He missed both tries Monday night, and with the failures mounting, he also pushed an extra point wide right in the game’s final minute. When asked to try an onside kick, he blasted the attempt out of bounds, properly capping a nightmarish outing. Because its season ends next weekend, San Francisco doesn’t need to solve its kicker woes in a week, but when the 49ers take stock of their roster this offseason, don’t be surprised to see them bring in some competition at the position. Shanahan gave Moody grace when asked recently about his kicker, citing Moody’s ankle injury as a likely reason for the inconsistency since returning, but in a business in which the margins are so slim, a coach like Shanahan — who has guided this team to two Super Bowl appearances in his tenure — isn’t going to tolerate misses forever. It’s not as if Moody has earned the leash Justin Tucker has enjoyed amid his struggles this season. If they still have Super Bowl ambitions, they can’t enter 2025 with uncertainty at kicker.
5. Lions leave Northern California without incident. The scheduling gods gave us a gift fitting for the season in Week 18: Detroit will host Minnesota with the NFC North and the conference’s top seed on the line. Win, and the Lions will earn a much-needed bye when considering the state of their injury report and the toll of an 18-week season. Lose, and they’ll be playing a road game despite winning 14 games this year. No team in the NFL (outside of maybe Kansas City) needs that first-round bye more than these Lions, and they managed to secure victory without sustaining any significant injuries. All of the key players who participated Monday night left Santa Clara without any apparent health concerns, which is a win that might even outweigh the result on the field. Now, the Lions, Vikings and the rest of the football world will gear up for a clash of titans next week on another national stage: Sunday Night Football.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Lions-49ers (via NFL Pro): Jahmyr Gibbs carried the ball 18 times for 117 yards and a touchdown, gaining the second-most yards before contact of his career (85).

NFL Research: George Kittle broke 1,000 receiving yards Monday night, marking his fourth 1,000-yard season of his career. Kittle is one of just five tight ends to reach a milestone, joining Travis Kelce (seven), Tony Gonzalez (four), Rob Gronkowski (four) and Jason Witten (four).