Niners Have Fast Start But End with Familiar Finish

The 49ers started out strong Sunday, scoring their first first-quarter touchdown of the season and almost matching their NFL-low season scoring average of 14.4 points per game with 14 points just 3½ minutes into the second quarter.Unfortunately for them, they must have been exhausted by that point. They went on to lose to the Lions 32-17 in Michigan.The 49ers dropped to 4-11 with the defeat to the 6-9 Lions with just one game remaining – mercifully – in this most disappointing season. San Francisco will close out its season on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 3 by hosting the St. Louis Rams.The Niners started the game with a beautiful 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Blaine Gabbert's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vance McDonald.Then, trailing 10-7, San Francisco took a 14-10 lead after a seven-play, 82-yard drive that featured Gabbert's 16-yard TD strike to Torrey Smith.From that point, however, the 49ers' play was punctuated by penalties (including seven offside or neutral zone infractions), missed tackles and offensive inefficiency.San Francisco converted Phil Dawson's 40-yard field goal with 40 seconds before halftime, but then allowed the Lions go to 60...