The Detroit Lions improved to 14-2 with Monday night’s win over the San Francisco 49ers. The game got feisty early with an altercation breaking out in the first quarter and San Francisco took an eight-point lead into halftime. But Detroit came storming back with 27 second-half points to seal the victory.
Lions’ wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown reeled in eight receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown. After the game the All-Pro receiver had a message about the win. “We spanked these boys,” St. Brown exclaimed, via SportsCenter on X. The fourth-year Pro Bowler set a career high with 12 touchdowns in 16 games this season.
There was plenty of chatter from both sides leading up to the Week 17 matchup. San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner attempted to hype up the home team by taking a shot at Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell in a pregame speech.
Detroit defender Za’Darius Smith was caught on camera uttering a NSFW message to the Niners. The veteran defensive end said, “Don’t get scared now, motherf**kers,” right before the broadcast went to break.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Lions roared back for the Week 17 win
During the game, 49ers’ kicker Jake Moody had another brutal outing, going 0/2 on field goals and missing an extra point. Meanwhile, Lions’ kicker Jake Bates hit both his field goal attempts and set the single-season franchise scoring record. Bates now has 135 points, surpassing Jason Hanson’s previous record of 134 points set in 2012.
Detroit set another team record on Sam LaPorta’s third quarter touchdown. The second-year tight end became the fifth Lions player with seven touchdowns on the season – the most in franchise history.
Detroit regained control of the NFC North with the victory as the team holds the tie-breaker over the Minnesota Vikings thanks to a sterling 5-0 divisional record. However, Week 18’s head-to-head matchup between the Lions and the Vikings will determine who wins the division and gets a bye during the Wild Card round. The loser will fall to the fifth seed.
