On FS1's "Undisputed," Keyshawn Johnson, Skip Bayless, and Richard Sherman discussed whether the Detroit Lions can beat the San Francisco 49ers during the NFC Championship Game this Sunday.
Sherman believes Sunday's game will be fun early.
"I think this Detroit Lions offense is gonna run the ball really well, as they have all year," Sherman said. "I think the San Francisco 49ers is gonna have some success on the ground and through the air. Obviously, this defense (Detroit) has been solid against the run, but they've been horrific against the pass by giving up 345 yards in the last five games."
Johnson, who was a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2002 Super Bowl team, said the 49ers could win the game, but he could not rule out a possible loss to the Lions.
Johnson pointed out that the 49ers offense looks completely different without wide receiver Deebo Samuel on the field. Samuel is dealing with a shoulder injury suffered this past weekend against the Green Bay Packers. His status for Sunday remains uncertain.
"We don't know the status of him as of right now, but I am sure he's probably gonna play," Johnson added. "He probably won't be 100 percent. They struggled in the secondary and given up the goods in the passing game, but their front seven comes to bear. If they could muster up just enough to get Brock Purdy off his spot, based on some of the things we saw Green Bay was able to do, then maybe you are talking about something different."
After crediting the 49ers offensive supporting cast, Johnson talked about Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and their possible game plan.
"He's going to bring that pressure, especially from the weak side," Johnson stated. "When that happens, and if they don't pick that up, then you are talking about a different game. I wouldn't be shocked if Detroit walked in there and ran the football down San Francisco's throat because we saw Green Bay and Aaron Jones. I'm sure they (Detroit) can go back and look at the Cleveland and other games when random teams ran the football pretty well on San Francisco."
Dallas Cowboys superfan Skip Bayless said he would love for Detroit to go into Levi Stadium and stick it to the 49ers, but he sees a mismatch.
"The harder I see, the harder I look, the more I see Cinderella turning back into pumpkins here," Bayless said. "I don't see how Detroit can stop San Francisco unless Brock Purdy turns back into a pumpkin. Unless he just goes haywire, and he does have that haywire gene.
"Richard doesn't like to hear about this, but he is capable of throwing four interceptions against Baltimore because I saw it. He did go on that jagged three-game losing streak and started throwing it to the other team, but the weather is supposed to be clear and beautiful. So there's no wet-ball problem.
Bayless commented on Detroit's 29th-ranked pass defense and the San Francisco 49ers top-ranked offense, especially when Brock Purdy is in rhythm.
"I just see them going up and down the field," Bayless said. "Keyshawn, what is your favorite phrase, boat race? I don't know where it came from because boat races could be close, but we use boat races as a wipeout, right? Like it's a blowout."
Bayless reminded Sherman about a couple of Detroit's losses.
"Richard, what happened when Detroit went to Baltimore," Bayless said. "You got a boat race. It was 28-0 at halftime, and it was 35-0 after three quarters. What happened when Green Bay found itself on Thanksgiving Day and opened a can on Detroit at Detroit? It was 23-6 at halftime. They are combustible. You can blow them up and blow them out. So, to me, I think it's gonna be a wipeout, and I hope I'm wrong, but I'm gonna call it a 35-14 home team, and think I might be conservative on that. Yeah, I think they could get into the 40s."
Even though he was not going to predict a winner until Friday's show, Johnson said he does not believe the 49ers will blow out the Lions.
Stating that he doesn't envision the 49ers losing, Johnson added. "I'm just giving a case that I'm not gonna turn my head and assume San Francisco is going to run through them like Skip said just because the 49ers has been the bullies on the block."