They were right there. A commanding lead in the NFC Championship. A Super Bowl within reach. Flights from Detroit to Las Vegas booked. Then canceled.
The Detroit Lions’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 28, some 11 months ago, remains a sore subject for those on this year’s team. They watched a 24-7 lead evaporate. A series of unfortunate events — dropped passes, a fumble, some balls bouncing the wrong way and an inability to stop the bleeding — led to a comeback that propelled the 49ers into the Super Bowl, and sent the Lions home.
Ahead of a rematch on Monday evening that will undoubtedly lack the same feel, there’s still a desire for closure — even though the Lions can’t undo what happened back then.
“I would say that game was probably up there with one of the worst L’s that I’ve had in my life, in my football career,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “So, just the way everything played out was just … it was like a horror movie.”
Read below about the Lions’ mindset entering the NFC Championship Game rematch.
GO FURTHER
Lions-49ers doesn’t have the same spark, but Detroit is ‘bringing everything’ Monday
