Detroit Lions insist revenge is not on the menu when they travel to play San Francisco 49ers

THE Detroit Lions are returning to the field where their magical 2023 season came to an abrupt end, but quarterback Jared Goff said it’s still not the right setting for revenge.

THE Lions (13-2) travel to face the San Francisco 49ers (6-9) on Monday Night Football in Week 17. The Lions had a 17-point lead over the 49ers last year in the championship game NFC, but squandered the lead and the team’s best shot to reach the Super Bowl in the second half.

Instead of playing for a trip to the Super Bowl, the Lions and 49ers are on opposite paths in 2024. The 49ers have already been eliminated from the playoffs, while Detroit is in a heated battle with the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC North and home. -home field advantage in the playoffs.

“No, not really,” Goff said when asked if this was a chance for revenge. “Now, if it was the NFC championship game, maybe so, but it’s a regular season game.

“The one we have to win. The one we want to win. They’re a good team. I don’t care, they got knocked out.”

The Lions held a 24-7 lead in the NFC Championship Game before falling due to a series of costly mistakes in the second half. Cornerback Kindle Vildor bounced a ball off his facemask into the hands of Brandon Aiyuk for a huge gain, Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled and senior wide receiver Josh Reynolds got two key drops on potential conversions in the 34-31 loss .

“We’re definitely more mature, I guess – that’s probably the best way to put it,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “I mentioned, every year you kind of learn something about winning and losing and when you take an L like we did last year, you learn from it.

“There’s a number of things we did wrong and a number of things they did right. I think you understand how the game can play out and if it can swing and just keep your blood- cold.”

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The 49ers went from having the best offense in the NFL to ranking 16th in scoring heading into Week 17 with 22.1 points per game. San Francisco, like Detroit, has dealt with numerous injuries to key players but hasn’t found the recipe for the same level of success after finishing second in 2023.

San Francisco still has defensive stars such as linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa, both All-Pro talents, on a defense that ranks second in the NFL in yards allowed (304.3). The defense is led by first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, who replaced Steve Wilks, after previously coaching pass defenses and cornerbacks.

“There are differences, there are slight differences, but it’s largely the same,” Goff said. “And we’re slightly different and a lot of what we do is the same.

“So we’ll see if we change a lot or add things and I’m sure that will be the case as well. You always expect a little problem when the match comes.”

Jared Ramsey is a sports journalist for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on @jared_ramsey22and email him at [email protected].

This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions not worried about avenging playoff loss to 49ers