SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Poor Detroit.
It’s one thing to lose a game, even a championship tilt that had so much promise.
But to lose like the Detroit Lions crumbled at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday? Now that’s just cruel. The Lions built a 17-point halftime lead against the San Francisco 49ers and still lost.
Call it a gigantic tease and an epic collapse.
And as the Lions fell, 34-31, in a wild NFC title game, there were no kneecaps to bite.
Instead, the 49ers stormed back to match the biggest comeback victory in NFC championship game history and claimed a berth in Super Bowl 58 for a Super rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs. Whew.
Grit, meanwhile, took a serious punch to the gut.
As much as the top-seeded 49ers demonstrated tremendous resilience to finally claim a Super Bowl berth after losing in the previous two NFC title games — and a week after barely surviving against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs — this one felt more like a big, fat, ugly Lions loss.