(Photo: BVM Sports)

NFC Championship

(3) Detroit Lions at (1) San Francisco 49ers

Lions: Sunday in the divisional round was as much of a battle as I anticipated. They were matched up evenly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and I knew that wouldn’t be a game where they would just take it. In other words, they would have to earn it and they were able to survive. The saying “All Grit” fits them because they play that gritty style of football where they have to grind games out. The display of football may not be the prettiest, but they make it work and find a way. Can we give Brad Holmes, the General Manager his flowers? He has done an AMAZING job putting this roster together. He’s done it the old fashioned way by drafting a bulk of this team. Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St.Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch are some of the names he’s been able to draft. Also, he made the bold move to trade Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff to the Los Angeles Rams and the rest is history. That’s good segue because I wanted to talk about the Quarterback. I remember a few days before the divisional round, I was asked about which Quarterback I trusted most in the NFC and I said Jared because he knows a thing or two about these playoff games and out of every Quarterback remaining in the conference, he’s the only one that has actually played in a Super Bowl. Jared is the perfect fit for this offense and when you don’t pressure him, he will pick you apart. I still remember when the Lions went winless back in 2008. They have certainly come a long way since then and with a few more pieces added to this roster, we are looking at a potential powerhouse in the NFC. This Sunday, they will make a trip to Levi’s Stadium.

49ers: I hope last week in the divisional round was a wake up call for them because they didn’t look the sharpest against the Green Bay Packers. The rest can unfortunately show rust after that week off. We know how good this team can be because they were so dominant from the get go at the beginning of the season when they started 5-0 and were looking like the best team in all of football. On this offense, Christian McCaffrey might be their best player, but Deebo Samuel is what makes this engine go in my opinion because he has the ability to keep a defense on their toes and you just never know what he’s going to do because they get him the ball on receiver screens, jet sweeps, line him up wide on the perimeter or in the slot and they will even use him in the backfield and he’s impactful, no matter where he is. Deebo unfortunately got hurt in the game on Saturday with a shoulder injury and didn’t return. I saw all the chatter. Let’s see what Brock Purdy does without a key component to this offense because people love criticizing this kid for some apparent reason. Brock grew up last weekend and put the 49ers on his back and when you needed him to either lead drives or make some big throws, he did it and helped lead the team to victory. This is what the good teams do and that’s find different ways to win football games and they have done that throughout the year. When they have everything clicking for them, there’s not a team that can beat this group when healthy in the NFC. The Eagles and Cowboys were supposed to be threats to them, but look how that panned out. They exposed the Eagles after beating them in December and look how they handled the Cowboys back in October. They are back in the conference title game for the third consecutive year and looking to advance to the Super Bowl for the second time under Kyle Shanahan.

Lions X-Factor: Brian Branch– I love what he brings to the Lions defense and to think he fell to the second round of the NFL Draft. What can’t Brian do? He plays in the box, drops back in coverage and swarms to the football as if he’s a Linebacker. To be so young, Brian is so instinctive and knows exactly where to be to make a play on the football. He plays the run and defends the pass with the same energy. To think he’s only a rookie, he played as if he had been in the league for about five years when I watched him this season.

49ers X-Factor: George Kittle– Iowa is known as “Tight End U”. Sam LaPorta went there and so did who I’m about to bring up now. George is the heart and soul of this 49ers team. When healthy, he’s still one of the best receiving Tight Ends in the league and I’ve always been a fan of the energy that he provides for this team. What I admire about him is how he took a step back to let the others on this offense do their part. He’ll be key in handling the Lions’ physicality throughout this game. He’s always been known to be a phenomenal blocker.

Final Thoughts: Never in my lifetime did I think I’d see the Detroit Lions win one playoff game and I’ve seen them win two. To think of the struggles this team went through makes this moment so much more deserving and I couldn’t be happier for them. On the other side, the 49ers were expected to be here and this shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone. The key for the Lions is to start quickly and give the 49ers a taste of their own medicine which is being physical with them. Say it with me, “the bully doesn’t like being bullied”. When you’re downhill and more ugly with them, they fold and will never recover. Jared also knows a thing or two about playing these 9ers dating back to his days with the Rams. Speaking of Jared, spread that ball around and make the this defense second guess. You have the weapons to attack this unit! On the 9ers side, how healthy and ready will Deebo Samuel be? He’s the most important piece to this offensive puzzle as I said up top. San Francisco must also bottle up the Lions running game and put this game in the hands of Goff. I need to see the 49ers have a much better performance against the running game on Sunday. Aaron Jones had way too many looks for my liking last weekend in the divisional round. I could see this game being close until the 4th quarter. The 49ers will be going back to the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons. I like them to win the NFC.

Prediction: 49ers 31, Lions 23