There's no other way to put it -- the San Francisco 49ers looked to be on the verge of heading into the offseason after their miserable first half against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game.
The 49ers were getting pushed around on defense by the Lions and limped into the locker room at halftime with a 24-7 deficit. A second half comeback didn't feel like it was in the cards -- but that's exactly what happened, thanks to some confidence, pride, and a few halftime adjustments.
It would have been understandable if the first two items on that list took a serious hit as a result of the first half, but that's not what happened. The Lions rolled up nearly 300 yards on offense in the first half, with 148 of those coming on the ground, which led to a sour mood in the 49ers locker room as a result. But they made a conscious decision not to end their season on such a down note, and it helped spur a remarkable comeback coming out of halftime that eventually led to a 34-31 win and a spot in Super Bowl LVIII.
"It was embarrassing," defensive end Nick Bosa told reporters after the game. "Kind of felt helpless. We didn't want to go down as failures. We knew our defense is way too good to play like that."
"I think we were just pissed off. I think guys were extremely pissed," head coach Kyle Shanahan said in his postgame media session. "I mean, that first half, it wasn't just that we were down by 17, it was the way we were down. They were kind of having their way in the run game. We weren't getting much in our run game either, and we don't want to go out like that".
It was hard to come away with confidence in the 49ers' defense after the way they played in the first half, but defensive coordinator Steve Wilks didn't lose faith in his unit in the slightest. Wilks said he never had a doubt that the team would rally, despite how bleak things looked after two quarters.
"Just character, man," Wilks told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area following the game. "The men in that locker room, I knew for a fact that we were going to win that football game. It wasn't really a lot of yelling and screaming. We just talked about the things that we had to correct and everybody had to do their job."
So what exactly did the 49ers focus on in the second half to get things turned around so quickly? On defense, Wilks said the 49ers pivoted to playing more man-to-man looks while focusing on creating a turnover. The 49ers made that happen when safety Tashaun Gipson knocked the ball out of running back Jahmyr Gibbs' hands with the team trailing 24-17 in the third quarter.
Tashaun Gipson knocks it loose and @arikarmstead recovers!
📺: #DETvsSF on FOX
— NFL (@NFL) January 29, 2024
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"Starting up front, the D-Line took control," Wilks said. "We started playing a little bit more man-to-man, which allowed our linebackers to get downhill. And we needed someone to spark us. We talked about trying to create a takeaway, and 26 (Gibbs), he carried the ball loose. We mentioned that all week. And when Gip came up with that play, man, it was phenomenal. I knew right now that was the one that was going to turn the tide for us."
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan also focused on the fact the deficit was far from insurmountable. The 49ers were slated to get the ball to start the second half, which gave them the chance to get a quick jump on a comeback.
"We come up with eight plays to go over with the offense and how we're going to start it out and go with them," Shanahan said. "The defense goes and they all meet and they break up and they talk about all their stuff from positions and then we just pulled them up before and said 'Guys, it's only 17 points. There's been a lot of football games where you're down 17 points. We're starting with the ball. That's plenty of time to come back, plenty of points to come back. But regardless of any of that stuff, we're not going out like this. We got to be a lot more aggressive here in the second half and in everything we do.'"
The 49ers were also prepared for the Lions taking some gambles on fourth down. Lions coach Dan Campbell made two decisions on fourth down that will be discussed for days (if not years) to come, deciding to go for it on 4th-and-2 at the 49ers' 28-yard line up 24-10 in the third quarter and once again from the 49ers' 30-yard line when trailing 27-24 in the fourth quarter. Both decisions resulted in a turnover on downs, with both follow-up drives ending in touchdowns for the 49ers.
"We knew coming in all week that they were going to go for it on fourth down," Wilks said. "That's just who they are. And that's what we always talked about -- really trying to keep them out of 3rd-and-short because we knew they were going to go for it. Then in the second half, given the opportunity, they did. And we just rose for the occasion."
Campbell didn't second-guess his decision to not attempt field goals on those fourth downs, saying after the game, "It's easy hindsight, and I get it... but I don't regret those decisions." Bosa, however, didn't think Campbell's strategy was the best one.
"That definitely bit him in the butt," Bosa told Maiocco. "I feel like going for it on fourth down a lot will come back to bite you."
Throughout the season, the 49ers won a number of their games in lopsided fashion and weren't able to rally from behind in the games they faced a late deficit. But they've done it twice now in consecutive games, fighting back from a 21-14 fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in the Divisional Round before staging their memorable comeback against the Lions in the NFC Championship. The character they've shown in those comebacks comes as a result of the adversity they went through over the past year, according to running back Christian McCaffrey.
"I just think we have a really resilient group that's been through a lot together and with a lot of experience," McCaffrey said. "And I think when you've gone through hard times, I look back a year ago and what happened in Philly (losing the NFC Championship 31-7), it hardens you and it makes your team a lot closer.
"And so when you get in these moments and you know how crucial every single play is, it allows you guys to all focus on what's most important and that's going out and executing. So I was just proud of our team."
Perhaps the 49ers may need to do it all again one more time in their showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. They certainly have experience to dwell from now, and they'll have the motivation to do it for one another if the situation comes around again.
"The love, the brotherhood, it's real. It's the NFL," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "I guess you could say it's a business, but guys care about each other in this locker room and what we've been through, and we got a core group of guys that have been here for the last couple of years and the standard and culture that they've built. Then the guys that Kyle and John (general manager John Lynch) brings in, everyone fits that mold. And it showed tonight in a huge moment.
"Like, if you're down 17, you got to care about each other and you got to love each other to get a comeback going. And so I think we showed that tonight, and I'm really proud of this group."