49ERS SLIP PAST LIONS
49ers lose big lead, hold on to defeat Lions 30-27
SANTA CLARA — The 49ers won. That’s the most important fact about this game.
Not the fact they almost blew a 17-point lead to the Detroit Lions with fewer than 12 minutes remaining.
Not the fact the 49ers almost lost when Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception the officials called back.
Those were mere footnotes. Tiny pieces of trivia. Here’s what matters: The 49ers didn’t blow their lead, Garoppolo’s interception didn’t count and the 49ers won 30-27.
Had they lost, their record would have been 0-2. They would have had a nine percent chance to make the playoffs this season. Only six of 71 teams that started 0-2 have reached the playoffs since 2009. The 49ers’ season probably would have been over.
Instead, the Lions season probably is over. Their record is 0-2. The 49ers are 11. They’re alive.
Every win in the NFL is gold. The 49ers have been gold-deficient since Week 13 of 2014, have won just 15 of 55 games during that span. They need every piece of gold they can get. Doesn’t matter how they get them.
“It’s really hard to win in the NFL,” tight end George Kittle said in the locker room. “You could see that from a lot of games today. So, when you get a win, it’s really good. Obviously, we could make it a lot easier on ourselves by just executing. But, a win is a win.”
Last year, the 49ers probably would have lost this game. They lost five games in a row by three points or fewer early last season. They were the team that made the mistake that lost the game. They were the team that beat itself. They were the team that didn’t know how to win. On Sunday, they weren’t that team.
“That’s definitely a thing — learning how to win,” Kittle said. “I feel like we also have a more mature team. We had a lot of rookies playing last year. I know I’m a much better player than I was last year, just because I’m not running around with my head cut off not knowing what’s going on. All of our guys from last year have definitely stepped up, and I think we improved.”
The 49ers showed their improvement with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. At that point, the 49ers were clutching a 20-13 lead. They were letting an inferior Lions team hang around.
The 49ers started their drive from their three-yard line — a tough spot. If they had gone three-and-out, the 49ers might have lost. They definitely would have punted and given the Lions terrific field position.
After an 11-yard pass to Garrett Celek on the first play of the drive, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan called a run to the left for second-year running back Matt Breida. He gained 20 yards.
On the next play, Shanahan called the same play, but this time to the right. Breida ran 66 yards for a touchdown, and gave the 49ers a 27-13 lead.
Right guard Mike Person made the key block at the point of attack.
“I had a defensive tackle I was blocking,” Person said. “All of a sudden, I just felt Breida run right between (right tackle) Mike McGlinchey and me. Then, I looked and saw Pierre Garcon busting his tail (blocking for Breida) 40 yards downfield. So, Mike and I tried to get down there as fast as we could.”