Detroit Lions safety CJ Gardner-Johnson on Sunday saw his early celebration come back to haunt him following his team’s 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Lions were firmly in command during the first half of the NFC Championship Game held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Detroit went up 21-7 after capitalizing on a San Francisco turnover midway through the second quarter. On 1st-and-10 at the 49ers’ 15, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs completed a 15-yard rush to score the team’s third touchdown of the first half.
Gardner-Johnson celebrated the score by waving goodbye to the 49ers’ home crowd before the extra point was converted by Lions kicker Michael Badgley.
From that point on, the 49ers took control of the contest. The Niners outscored the Lions 27-10 thereafter as their explosive offense came alive in the second half and stole a Super Bowl appearance away from the visitors.
Gardner-Johnson became the butt of several jokes on social media after the Lions ended up saying goodbye to their season.