SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A one-of-a-kind season.
An all-too-familiar heartbreak.
Stunning, historical heartbreak.
The Lions stunned top-seeded San Francisco by racing to a 24-7 lead in the NFC championship game on Sunday night, the kind of lead that no team has ever squandered in the history of the conference championship games, the kind of lead that has always — always, all 21 times — led to a trip to the Super Bowl.
Until the Detroit Lions came along, allowing 27 consecutive points in an unthinkable 34-31 loss at Levi’s Stadium.
Head coach Dan Campbell is the biggest reason the Lions have risen from the ashes, and came within 30 minutes of their first trip to the Super Bowl. But he’ll be heavily criticized for a pair of fourth downs that failed in the second half, one of which came instead of attempting a game-tying 48-yarder in the fourth quarter, and both of which were followed by 49ers points.
Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs also fumbled as the tide turned in the third quarter, while Josh Reynolds dropped one fourth-down pass and another on third down that would have been a conversion.
Good players got Detroit here. Big mistakes sent them home, ending one of the most memorable seasons in Lions history.
They won a franchise-record 14 games, captured their first NFC North title, and didn’t trail while advancing to the NFC Championship game, capturing the heart of America along the way. They’ve been singing Jared Goff’s name everywhere from college hockey games to Division II basketball games, and even the grocery store. His name was written across the Detroit skyline on Saturday night.
The Lions looked like they might run away from San Francisco early, too. Jameson Williams opened the game by weaving through the 49ers defense for a 42-yard touchdown on the fourth play from scrimmage, and David Montgomery (1 yard) and Gibbs (15 yards) ran for scores of their own in the first half. Once Michael Badgley tacked on a 21-yard field goal with 7 seconds left before…
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