Ahead of Monday Night’s NFC Championship game rematch, the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions are eager to face off once more.
The 49ers, currently sitting at the bottom of the NFC West, are experiencing their worst finish since 2020. Meanwhile, the Lions are 13-2 and fighting for the top seed in the NFC.
For the 49ers, the Week 17 matchup holds little significance. With two games left in the season, they are playing for pride.
A win would hurt their draft position but allow them to play the role of spoiler. A loss, however, brings them closer to a top-ten pick, making it a no-lose scenario.
The Lions are just half a game behind the Vikings for the NFC’s top seed. A win over San Francisco would set up a decisive Week 18 game for the NFC North and the number-one seed in the conference.
Despite 2024 being a tale of two seasons for both teams, the trash talk has been fierce.
49ers and Lions Trash Talk
With a playoff spot already secured, it was uncertain whether the Lions would field all their starters on Monday night. However, Lions head coach Dan Campbell put that speculation to rest.
“I’ll make this easy for everybody, that way, all the critics can jump out and start attacking, but that way, you don’t have to debate them anymore.”
Campbell also guaranteed a win, fueling the rivalry further.
“We’re bringing everything we got to this game, and we are playing. I don’t care what it looks like. Where it’s at and who’s this, who’s that. We’re going out to play and win this game, out on the West Coast. So there you go.”
In a conversation with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Greg Papa, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made his team’s intentions clear, despite their last-place standing.
“We all know the history from last year. So, that’s going to be fun for both of us to go through that, but nothing would be better than upsetting them and ruining their chance at the one seed and having a game that we can be proud of.”
While the two head coaches exchanged words, 49ers tight end George Kittle sent a bold message to the Lions.
“We’re all very aware that they think they gave us one last year. And I think they are going to do everything they can to beat us by 30 points.
And it’s our job to not let them do that. I fully expect us to win. I go into every single game expecting to win a football game.
If you go in expecting to lose, I think you are going to lose. No matter what. I think it’s going to be a really fun game on Monday Night Football.”
Kittle is just 33 yards away from his fourth 1,000-yard season and 86 yards shy of passing his second-highest receiving yard total in his eight-year career.
The San Francisco 49ers will host the Detroit Lions in their final primetime game of the 2024 regular season. San Francisco will look to improve to 7-9 and spoil the Lions’ NFC North hopes.