In a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game, the 49ers lost 40-34 to the Lions on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.
Though the matchup did not affect either team’s postseason prospects – San Francisco was eliminated last week, and Detroit’s game against Minnesota is for the NFC’s top seed, regardless of Monday’s result – the teams battled with playoff-level intensity.
Brock Purdy had an up-and-down day before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with an elbow injury, completing 27 of 35 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns, but also throwing two second-half interceptions to Kerby Joseph on passes intended for first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.
The 49ers rookie went over the century mark for the first time in his career, catching eight passes for 141 yards and one touchdown. Fellow first-year player Isaac Guerendo led the 49ers in rushing with 34 yards.
It wasn’t a day to remember for the San Francisco defense, with the Lions running up 439 yards of offense and not punting once. But Nick Bosa had a productive and disruptive night, finishing with two sacks.
Special teams left much to be desired for San Francisco after Jake Moody missed two kicks from 50-plus yards in addition to an extra-point attempt. The second-year kicker is now 23 of 32 on field-goal tries for the season.
Bay Area native Jared Goff stood out for the Lions in his return to the Bay Area. The Marin Catholic High School and Cal alum threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns as the Lions improved to 14-2.
Here’s what the 49ers had to say after the loss:
Kyle Shanahan
On Brock Purdy’s injury:
We’ll probably check on it tomorrow. We’re not exactly sure.
On his level of concern that the injury could be long term:
I wouldn’t think so, and I’m just speculating here. I know when people hear about Brock’s elbow and stuff, just like me they (think of the injury) from a couple of years ago. But talking to the doctors, he just got hit in the right spot, and when you get hit there, your nerves go and you can’t feel much.
On Brock Purdy’s performance:
It seemed like he had a really good night except for those two picks, and they were two tough ones. It seemed like he was playing at a high level.
(On those two picks) the ball just sailed on him. It sailed on the first one the one versus man coverage.
On Purdy’s second interception:
I think he thought the safety was playing deeper than he was, and I think the safety read his eyes and teed off on it. It looked like cover three, but I think it was a Tampa Two player.
On Dobbs possibly being the starter against Arizona:
I’ll look into that when I start thinking about Arizona tomorrow. With some of our O-line issues and knowing how the game could be, where it could turn into a scrambling type day, I thought Dobbs would give us the best chance for that reason. He did a hell of a job coming in on that drive.
On the team’s overall performance:
We try to approach this game the same way we approach every game. We try our hardest to win and try to play our best. I thought the guys played real hard and competed, and had every chance to beat a real good football team there. Not everything was perfect, and we weren’t able to slow them down enough on defense. It’s a real good offense, but I thought we should’ve slowed them down more.
We had to win it in a shootout, and our difference was our two turnovers, and once that happened, that’s why you end up losing by one score.
On Ricky Pearsall’s big game:
He had better stats tonight so that’s how it looks for receivers. When the ball came his way he did a good job and had some good catches and had some big plays. It doesn’t always work that way for wideouts but when it came his way he did a good job of beating man coverage well and caught the all real well, too.
On Jake Moody and whether the team needs to evaluate the kicker position:
We already are, and we’re evaluating all positions. Early in the week I was talking about some of the things he’s been through this year, which are facts with him coming back from injury, and today was not a great day by no means. Missing a 51-yard field goal, and the 58-yard field goal, that’s just a got to have it situation and I’m not going to be too hard on him for that far of a kick. But I know he’s capable of making it, and it looked like he got the distance and just missed it. On the extra point, I don’t know how the snap and the hold were and we’ll look at it when we see the tape. Got to make that extra point.
On the lack of forced turnovers by the defense:
It’s extremely tough to win when you don’t get the ball like that. It didn’t seem like we had many opportunities today, and you have to create your own opportunities. This last month, we created a few opportunities and we just didn’t come down with them. Today I didn’t see too many opportunities.
On the team’s young players playing well and building momentum into next season:
I think everything is connected good or bad, it can lead to to good things the next year. We’re going through this, and we are by no means happy with what we’re going through, but I fully expect us to get better for going through this. It could’ve gone worse going through this today, and I expect us to learn a lot from going through this stuff and I expect for this to make us a better team next year. When this season is over, I can’t wait to get started figuring out how to do that.
Brock Purdy
On his elbow injury:
Nothing right now. We’re going to get a MRI tomorrow and see.
It doesn’t feel the best, but I’ll leave it at that.
In the moment, it felt heavy. Tomorrow, we’ll have an answer.
On what happened on the play that knocked him out of the game:
On that sack, I got hit on the backside and basically my arm was on fire kind of thing. I tried throwing a couple on the sideline and I couldn’t, so at that point. It has nothing to do with tapping out of the game or anything like that. I love my teammates and go to the very end for them and this fanbase and everybody. That’s what hurts me.
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On if it feels similar to the elbow injury that he sustained in the 2022 playoffs as a rookie:
A little bit. We did some test for UCL stuff, and I’m good in that regard. We have to get imaging tomorrow and see the whole thing.
On his two interceptions:
On the first one it got away from me and I left it too high for Ricky. On the second one, I saw the linebacker suck in and I thought I was going to have some space for Ricky. And sure enough there was a safety there in a disguised coverage. He jumped it.
On how much he wants to play the last game of the season:
One-hundred percent. If we’ve got a game, a regular season game that we have an opportunity to suit up and we’re healthy, then yes. For my guys, for this organization, I want to finish the season with our guys.
On possibly sitting out to stay healthy going into next season:
I don’t even know if that’s a thing in the NFL. Obviously in college going into the draft and such. But we’re here at the professional level, and it’s as good as it gets. Why wouldn’t I play for my team and try to get some momentum going for the our guys and make a statement to everybody here that I’m a competitor and want to be out on the field any chance I get?
Fred Warner
On the defense’s inability to force turnovers
I have no idea. Its the most maddening thing on the planet. But hey, we have one game to figure it out, I guess.
There’s just my bads, and everybody having that one play out there where its like ‘Dang, just be on it.’ I’m always going to look at myself to see how I can be better to bring everybody else along.
I put a lot of pride in in myself in taking the ball away for the defense and for the team, and I haven’t done it. I have no room to talk about anybody. You have to look at yourself.
On the Lions fourth-down conversions:
Its frustrating and we were prepare for it. We knew that’s what they wanted to do, and I feel like we had the right looks and I think they went for it three times on fourth down. And in crucial moments, just not being on it. On the Lions seeing this game as a revenge game:
I’m sure they were motivated and I’m sure they had all the motivation in the world to come in here and do what they did.
Nick Bosa
On his individual performance:
My goal is just to play as hard as I could. It was a little weird last week, playing a game that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in terms of playoff contention. I had to check myself and this week come in with a mindset of every week matters and we need to put out the best product we can and that’s what I tried to do.
On his concussion evaluation:
Sam just caught me and it was more of a stinger type of thing. The ref wanted me to go into the tent, so I had to answer some questions. Yeah, my neck was jammed.
On the Lions aggressive philosophy:
The mentality of the head coach, you could see it throughout everybody. It really is a cool team and i could just see from afar that its a fun team to play for.
On the defense struggling to force turnovers:
It goes into every level of the defense. When you have your opportunity, and I know we had two against Stafford, and maybe if we get those it sparks a bunch of other ones. You just have to make your plays when they’re there, and just be in the right spots. We haven’t done a great job of that.
George Kittle
On surpassing the 1,000-yard milestone this season
It feels good. Getting 1,000 yards is tough and you have to play a whole season for it. Besides that, not much else to say about it.
On concern for Brock Purdy’s health going into next week after he said he needs MRI
I’m not concerned then. I’ll be concerned tomorrow if I need to be but not right now I’m not worried about it. But Josh looked good though. That was fun.
On Ricky Pearsall’s big night
How many yards did he have? 140? Whew, that’s awesome. Those are the games I’ve always expected him to have just watching him practice and in OTAs. Every day he went off for 100-plus yards. Just to get that game under his belt will raise his confidence a ton. It is hard to go out there and get not a lot of catches and not get open a lot. Sometimes the ball and the game just doesn’t go your way. For him to go out there and do that and stack a bunch of catches and run efficiently and run downhill and o what we needed him to do, that’ll raise his confidence a bunch.
On the Lions defense
They played us in man a ton and Ricky was a very reliable receiver for Brock. I love press-man coverage and it is one of my favorites, and I had fun running routes tonight, and I know Ricky did as well.
On Jake Moody
This is one of those games that can go one of two ways. You can let it define you or you’re going to say that it won’t define me and I’m going to make a ton of kicks. He’s got the leg for it and we just have to get confidence in himself.
Ricky Pearsall
On getting back in a groove
It felt good to go out there and make some plays, but obviously as a competitor, I want to go out there and come out with a win, so it wasn’t as much fun as I thought it was going to be.
It felt good, but that’s what I’m supposed to do. That’s what they brought me here to do so I’m going to continue to do that. And for me, like I said earlier, its not a surprise for me. I have all the confidence in thew world in myself.
On his juggling catch on the sideline
No, that doesn’t surprise me. Those are catches I’m supposed to make when Brock throws the ball my way. I have to make the plays and make the most out of every opportunity I can. So no surprise.
On what went right in the first half
I think we just came out, and we started clicking right away it just created momentum for us. Each and every week we just try to have that same mindset. Every time we step on the field, we have to go down and drive down the field and score. So just going out there each play with the same mindset and building energy off one another and I think that’s what we were doing that was helping us click out there in the beginning.
