Lions' Key Matchups to Beat 49ers in NFC Championship 2024
The Detroit Lions need a perfect performance to take down the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
The Lions can look at the Green Bay Packers' divisional-round approach at Levi's Stadium to find exploitable matchups on offense.
Detroit must win the battle with its running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs against San Francisco's linebackers to provide offensive balance around Jared Goff.
Goff is capable of winning the game with over 40 pass attempts, but that would likely mean the Lions are playing from behind for most of the contest.
Defensively, the Lions need to find a way to contain Christian McCaffrey, who could be even more important to the 49ers if Deebo Samuel is unable to recover from his shoulder injury in time to play on Sunday.
David Montgomery & Jahmyr Gibbs vs. 49ers Rushing Defense
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The 49ers allowed their first 100-yard concession to an opposing running back in the divisional round.
Aaron Jones ran for 108 yards on 18 carries, a total that was boosted by a 53-yard run in the second half.
The Lions need to batter the 49ers front seven through David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs from the start of Sunday's game.
Green Bay started well in the divisional round because it trusted Jones to pick up yards on early downs to ease the pressure off Jordan Love.
Detroit must have the same approach to avoid getting into third-and-long situations where the 49ers can blitz and predict the Lions' offensive movements more.
The one-two punch of Montgomery and Gibbs must wear down the 49ers front seven, even if they gain two or three yards on each carry.
A handful of long drives would also keep the ball away from the 49ers offense and put more pressure on Brock Purdy to be precise in the time he has on the field.
Containing Christian McCaffrey
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Containing Christian McCaffrey is the most obvious and important defensive strategy for the Lions.
McCaffrey had 17 carries for 98 yards and two scores and seven receptions for 30 yards in the win over the Packers.
McCaffrey ran for at least 80 yards in three of his four playoff appearances with the 49ers. He also had 19 receptions in those contests.
Detroit needs to neutralize McCaffrey's impact on a handful of drives. It probably will not completely stop him, but if it can at least stop him on a few occasions, it will help deal with the 49ers offensive approach.
Slowing down McCaffrey could take on even more importance if Deebo Samuel is unable to play, or is severely hampered in game action, by his shoulder injury.
The 49ers struggled without Samuel in parts of the Packers game, and if McCaffrey is slowed without Samuel, Purdy may be forced to panic in long-yardage situations.
Sam LaPorta vs. San Francisco Linebackers and Safeties
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San Francisco's defense does not have many weaknesses, but it did allow 88 receptions to opposing tight ends in the regular season.
That was tied for the 11th-most catches given up to opposing tight ends.
Sam LaPorta could exploit that potential weakness to open up the game in Detroit's favor.
The assumption is that San Francisco will put a ton of attention on Amon-Ra St. Brown and make Goff beat it with LaPorta and other members of the supporting cast.
LaPorta caught nine passes on 11 targets in the divisional round win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were one of four teams to allow over 100 receptions to opposing tight ends in the regular season.
LaPorta may not have nine catches again, but he could produce somewhere around the 65-yard total he produced last Sunday.
A successful Goff-LaPorta connection combined with an effective rushing attack could be enough to put the Lions into the Super Bowl.
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