GBU Niner game: Sweet, sweet revenge

[Marko69]

It's all good except...

Those soggy sandwich eaters in the gameday thread.

You negative bastards know who you are.

[Marko69]

Absolutely fantastic 👏👏👏👏
I love the saying , “….. and he takes it to the house for the TD.” ….. The endzone being the house is superb! Love it.

And there were post-it notes in there too, Ed 👌

Thanks for posting, Gong

[Coop]

Won't rehash what everyone else has said, but BEST: No injuries. Sunday night cometh.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions film review: Early problems 49ers offense posed, how Lions righted ship and what it might mean for Week 18

Justin Rogers
Jan 1



The early stages of Monday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers were a frustrating watch, resurfacing some of the dread instilled by a 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills earlier in the month.

The first three times San Francisco possessed the ball, they sliced through Detroit’s defense like it wasn’t there, racking up 21 points. The only thing that prevented the opposition from capping a perfect first half, offensively, was a penalty that wiped out a long pass into the red zone and the ongoing struggles of kicker Jake Moody, who missed a 51-yard field goal following the infraction.

The onslaught continued after halftime with another six-play, 84-yard touchdown drive. At that point, eight minutes into the third quarter, the 49ers were averaging 9.7 yards per snap. For context, the Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed a league-worst 5.9 yards per snap this season.

You remember them. The Lions hung a franchise record 644 yards on the Jaguars in a 52-6 win in November.

Needless to say, it’s not a comp you want.

But unlike the Buffalo game, Detroit’s defense found its footing in the Bay. After the 49ers opened the second half with their fourth touchdown drive in five tries, they’d score just once more with their remaining four possessions, punching it in on a QB scramble with under a minute remaining. They turned it over twice during that closing stretch, and, importantly, averaged a far more palatable 5.4 yards per snap.

So why were the 49ers able to give the Lions so many problems early and what was the defense able to do down the stretch to turn the tide? That will be the focus of this week’s tape study.


First drive

11 plays, 61 yards, touchdown

Having not watched the 49ers previously this season, I would say they presented an exotic running game that tested the discipline of Detroit’s depleted defense from the jump. The offense leaned heavily on wide receiver Deebo Samuel to open the series, handing it off to him twice from backfield alignments and a third time on an end-around in the first four snaps.

Wide receivers running through the backfield on reverse motions were a hallmark of the 49ers’ running attack on Monday, designed to test the defense’s eyes and cause moments of hesitation with the misdirection.

But, in this instance, the ball went to the receiver in motion, and the execution was solid, resulting in a 9-yard gain.


Fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) is key. Initially lining up off left tackle, he motions, pre-snap off right tackle. As the ball is put in play, he feigns pulling left before reversing direction to lead Samuel, going left to right.

Also key to the play is receiver Jauan Jennings (15), who seals the edge for the ball carrier.

Overall, outside the Samuel end-around, Detroit did well to handle the run on the opening drive, not allowing another gain of more than 4 yards on seven more carries, including a reverse to rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall.

The pass defense was shakier. On the game’s second snap, there was an assignment miscommunication as both linebackers — Jack Campbell and Ben Niemann — and safety Brian Branch pursued a potential screen pass to Samuel in the left flat after late motion, leaving the middle of the field vacant for a 13-yard check-down throw to Chris Conley.


And after the end-around to Samuel, the 49ers put Campbell in a blender on a play-action pass. A free-releasing George Kittle (85) snuck behind Detroit’s second layer on a post pattern for an 18-yard gain, despite a subpar ball from quarterback Brock Purdy.


The 49ers punched it on second-and-goal from the 3-yard line with a touchdown pass to Pearsall. They used a moving pocket with Purdy rolling to his left. Branch’s man coverage on the short out route was excellent, but Purdy’s throw was a little better, resulting in six.


Second drive

Six plays, 70 yards, touchdown

The Lions' coverage woes continued on the 49ers’ second drive. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, returning to action after a seven-game absence, was late to pick up a swing route to running back Isaac Guerendo, resulting in a missed tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

On a third down, safety Ifeatu Melifonwu couldn't mirror Pearsall’s deep curl out of motion that gained 14 yards and moved the chains.

And all three of Detroit’s linebackers bit hard on a play-action pitch to Samuel, allowing Kittle to leak open on a shallow cross for a 20-yard gain.


The 49ers scored by creatively using the versatile Juszczyk’s ability to reverse field once again. As the lead back in I-formation, he initially feigned a lead block for Guerendo (31) going right before peeling back left behind the formation.

Purdy rolled left after faking the handoff where the QB found Juszczyk uncovered. Safety Kerby Joseph had a shot to make a stop short of the goal line but overran the play as the fullback cut back into the end zone.



Third drive

Seven plays, 70 yards, touchdown

Despite giving up 18 yards on the first two snaps, you started to see Detroit’s defense tightening up during this possession. An outstanding open-field tackle by Melifonwu on an end-around to Pearsall set up a desirable third-and-7 for Detroit’s defense.


But disaster struck on that snap. The 49ers motioned Pearsall from the left side of the formation to a three-receiver bunch on the right. Cornerback Terrion Arnold followed the motion, revealing the Lions to be in man coverage.

The defense’s structure collapsed when Jennings, the middle man of the receiving trio, sliced left at the snap, causing Arnold and Branch to collide.

Joseph, the deep safety, stayed in the middle of the field to address Jennings, allowing Pearsall to run free down the right sideline as Arnold scrambled to recover. He couldn't as the pass gained 40 yards and set up a touchdown run by Purdy two plays later.



Fourth drive

Eight plays, 59 yards, missed field goal

San Francisco continued to move the ball well on their final drive of the first half, starting with a 40-yard wheel route to Guerendo.

While it might initially look like Reeves-Maybin is responsible, I’d pin the breakdown on Arnold. Based on how the outside corners drop, the Lions appear to be in Cover 3. Arnold (lined up at the 13-yard line, top of the screen) overcommits to Kittle’s in-breaking route, leaving the deep third to his side undefended.

Reeves-Maybin, who has shallow responsibilities to the wide side, picks up Geurendo out of the backfield before releasing him at the top of his zone responsibility, expecting Arnold to pick him up. But the rookie is AWOL, resulting in the long gain.


Reeves-Maybin isn’t off the hook the next two plays, missing a sack after coming through clean on a blitz, allowing Purdy to dump the ball off for an 8-yard pickup, followed by a bad zone match on the ensuing snap for a chain-moving 6-yard grab.

The 49ers appeared to move into a first-and-goal situation on a 23-yard shallow cross to Kittle, but rookie receiver Jacob Cowing (19) was busted for offensive interference after he subtly shoved Campbell into linebacker Evan Turner, who was in man coverage on Kittle.

The design of the dueling crossers was solid. If Cowing hadn't unnecessarily redirected Campbell into Turner, the play likely would have been successful.



Fifth drive

Six plays, 84 yards, touchdown

Coming out of halftime, the 49ers attacked the aggression of Detroit’s linebackers with play-action passes. On the first snap, Jennings took advantage of the vacated middle of the field for 13 yards against Cover 3.


Two plays later, same thing: Cover 3, linebackers sucked up, in-breaking route. But this time, the damage was greater because Jennings ran a vertical route, creating additional space for Pearsall to run after taking the 16-yard dig route. By the time the rookie receiver was corralled, he had gained 39 yards.


Kittle would add 22 more on the next snap, taking a play-action pass in the left flat and running through a tackle attempt behind the line of scrimmage by cornerback Kindle Vildor to set up first-and-goal at the 5.

The 49ers would punch it in with a well-executed tap pass to Samuel that operated like a stretch zone run to the right with Guerendo added in as a lead blocker.



Sixth drive

One play, 0 yards, interception

The one-play drive was actually two after an unnecessary defensive pass interference penalty against Branch wiped out a Joseph interception. Outside the penalty, the Lions had defended the play-action design very well, including a delayed rush and QB hit by Campbell.

But the safety got his takeaway back on the next snap because of an error by Pearsall. Running an in-breaking route out of play-action, Pearsall had inside leverage on cornerback Amik Robertson, but the receiver slowed his feet out of his break, potentially flustered by the defender’s physical coverage.

Purdy threw a leading ball to where he expected the route to go, causing it to go high and wide of the intended target and into the waiting arms of Joseph.



Seventh drive

Seven plays, 30 yards, missed field goal

This was probably Detroit’s best defensive series, despite allowing a couple of first downs. Purdy delivered a couple of tip-your-cap, tight-window throws early, beating a good blitz by Melifonwu on the first and besting tight coverage by the safety on the second for a pickup of 18 yards to Kittle.

Following that completion, the Lions snuffed out a trick play, forcing Pearsall to throw the ball away while looking for a downfield option after taking a reverse handoff.

On second-and-10, Branch smothered a slant to Juszczyk, forcing an incompletion. And Levi Onwuzurike beat the block of backup guard Nick Zakelj (63) with a two-handed swat to generate quick pressure, rushing a third-down throw that was broken up by Robertson, forcing a long field goal try that Moody missed.



Eighth drive

Five plays, 34 yards, interception

It took all night, but the Lions finally got home for a sack to open this defensive series. The initial pressure came from a blitzing Reeves-Maybin, who barreled over rookie guard Dominick Puni (77), and edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammah, who was left unblocked as the line adjusted to Reeves-Maybin’s blitz.

Purdy somehow managed to wriggle away from Muhammad, but was quickly cleaned up by defensive tackle Myles Adams for a loss of 5.


But even after a delay of game had the 49ers in a second-and-20 hole, they dug out of it as Pearsall got back 15 yards on a deep curl against Detroit’s Cover 3 in front of Branch, followed by the rookie receiver getting the better of Robertson in man-to-man with an escape route on third down to extend the possession.

The 49ers looked to be on the march when Kittle beat Branch with a circus route for 24 yards on the next snap, but that was negated by an ineligible man downfield (the left tackle) on the long-developing play.


Branch’s struggles on the series continued with a self-inflicted wound, a post-whistle shove of the agitating Jennings that drew a 15-yard infraction. But Joseph came to the rescue of the Lions once again with his second interception of the game.

After the 49ers had feasted earlier in the half on in-breaking routes out of play-action against Detroit’s zone coverage, Joseph made an adjustment and drove hard from his middle-field, Cover 3 alignment to undercut Pearsall’s dig route for the pick.



Ninth drive

11 plays, 72 yards, touchdown

Sitting on a two-score lead with under three minutes remaining, the Lions give up three quick first downs on a series of short throws as Purdy completes four-of-five for 37 yards to open the drive.

Then, on a first-and-10, Branch comes on a zone blitz from Purdy’s blindside. With Kittle, the first read, initially covered across the middle, the QB never senses the nickel bearing down and takes a big hit, knocking him from the game.


Backup Josh Dobbs enters and immediately delivers a nice timing throw to Jennings across the middle for 15 yards, despite Arnold draped all over the target on the curl pattern.


Dobbs extends the drive with a short out route to Jennings on third down, then does what Purdy didn’t, quickly finding Kittle across the middle before a blindside blitz gets home.


Two snaps later, Dobbs is in the end zone on a scramble. With Detroit’s man coverage taking away his options on the shotgun snap, the QB makes a quick decision to take a widened lane to his right created by Za’Darius Smith’s spin move from an inside rush alignment, beating Joseph to the front pylon.



Concluding thoughts

● Detroit’s run defense was pretty damn good, all things considered. The 49ers threw a lot of eye candy at them with receivers regularly motioning through the backfield post-snap, but the Lions handled that well.

The longest ground gain was an 11-yarder by Guerendo, who came into the game averaging better than 5 yards per carry. Still, he was limited to 34 yards on nine attempts (3.8 YPC).

● The Lions did have a couple lapses with their rush-lane integrity, resulting in a pair of QB runs for touchdowns. Minnesota’s Sam Darnold has a similar level of athleticism to Purdy/Dobbs, so it’s something to stress during red-zone work in the upcoming week of practice.

● The defense is typically effective against the run because they prioritize stopping it. But the 49ers attacked that aggression through play-action passing and successfully worked the middle of the field behind Detroit’s linebackers.

Purdy is good with play-action, posting a 109.7 passer rating on those throws this season. What’s concerning is it's Darnold’s bread-and-butter. The Minnesota quarterback has an eye-popping 135.1 passer rating after a play-fake in 2024.

● The Lions need to tackle better than they did on Monday. I didn’t tally them in my notes, but Pro Football Focus had Detroit with nine whiffs and Reeves-Maybin responsible for a third of them.

● Regarding the three biggest plays allowed, two coverage busts should be easily correctable. Add them both to the list of growth opportunities for Arnold.

● The pass rush generated a decent amount of pressure, overall, but it still felt inconsistent and they didn’t get enough hits on Purdy. Detroit was at its best when blitzing and it feels increasingly like the unit needs to lean more heavily into that in the postseason.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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