Who’ll remain with the 49ers in 2025? That’s the most relevant question entering the final game of the 2024 calendar year against the Detroit Lions.
This is a rematch of the epic NFC Championship Game from last season, which saw the 49ers rally from a 17-point deficit to beat Detroit 34-31. In the 11 months since then, a lot has gone wrong for the 49ers. Their dreams for this season are dead and the focus is on regrouping for 2025.
A particular player to watch is 49ers kicker Jake Moody, who grew up a Lions fan in the Detroit suburbs and went to college at Michigan. Moody surged to begin this season, making 13 of his first 14 kicks, but has made only 10 of 16 since suffering a high ankle sprain in October. One of those critical misses came in last week’s loss to the Miami Dolphins, sparking outside speculation about Moody’s future with the 49ers.
“I believe he is going to be our guy,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday. “Hopefully he can get to this offseason, heal up and find a stroke again and play at a high level. I think he will because he’s real talented. I think he’s made of the right stuff, just from a mental standpoint and everything and I think he has all the tools to be a great kicker in the this league. He’s still working to find that, though.”
The 49ers’ offensive line is also straining to find the finish line. With starting left tackle Trent Williams, starting left guard Aaron Banks and top swing tackle Jaylon Moore all done for the season, the 49ers will field a ragtag left side against Detroit — especially since third-string left tackle Spencer Burford (calf) also might not play. Newcomers Charlie Heck, Austen Pleasants and Sebastian Gutierrez may the only options to protect quarterback Brock Purdy’s blind side.
The smartest sports team in SF
Get stories from Tim Kawakami, David Lombardi, John Shea, and Danny Emerman straight to your inbox.
This isn’t a welcome birthday present for Purdy, who turns 25 today. But no one said the NFL was supposed to be easy.
Here are our predictions for Monday Night Football.
Purdy’s passer rating: over or under 100
Lombardi: UNDER
The Lions might be beleaguered defensively, but the 49ers’ tattered offensive means that this is unlikely to be smooth sailing for Purdy. The reason the QB’s rating dropped under 100 in Miami last week: an interception that wasn’t his fault. Center Jake Brendel failed to pick up a stunt. Just one more such mistake can drop Purdy below the century mark again.
Kawakami: UNDER
Even with all their injuries on defense, the Lions have kept opponent quarterbacks to just an 81.8 passer rating this season, lowest in the league. And Purdy’s been under this number four of the last five games. This might not exactly be a QB sprint to the finish line.
49er with the most yards from scrimmage
Lombardi: DEEBO SAMUEL
Let’s not forget that Samuel looked great in training camp and then over the first two weeks of the season before he suffered an oblique injury. He was later hospitalized with pneumonia, which can slow any athlete down for several weeks. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Samuel finally looked like his old self last week.
Kawakami: SAMUEL
Last week’s 117-yard total was only Deebo’s third game this season with more than 100 combined yards rushing and receiving — and first since getting banged up in October. Can he do it again? I think he’ll want to give the home crowd one last sign this season that he’s still got it.
49ers defensive player with the most big plays
We’re defining big plays as sacks + forced fumbles + fumble recoveries + interceptions.
Lombardi: LEONARD FLOYD
Floyd has been good for about 10 sacks in each of the past four seasons and is at 8.5 sacks right now. Detroit’s Jared Goff and Arizona’s Kyler Murray are the two final quarterbacks on the 49ers’ schedule. The Lions have the better line, but Goff is the much less mobile of the two QBs.
Kawakami: NICK BOSA
Bosa’s stat line in the NFC Championship Game victory over the Lions last January: 2 sacks, 4 QB hits, general mayhem. Lots of good mojo for Bosa in this one, especially if Nick Sorensen keeps him away from All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell.
Non-star who makes a big splash
Lombardi: RICKY PEARSALL
The rookie was clearly a more featured part of the offense as he notched a career-best four catches last week. Unfortunately, those two illegal formation penalties overshadowed that. Pearsall has a real-time shot at growth against a Detroit defense that’s surrendered big yards in recent weeks
Kawakami: ERIC SAUBERT
Well, he had a touchdown last week, right? This is strictly a guess that the sketchy offensive line situation will push the 49ers into going with multiple tight ends more than usual. Which will get the Lions to sell out for the run … and maybe allow Saubert to slip out for a few key catches.
Game prediction
Lombardi: Lions 31, 49ers 27
Detroit is an offensive juggernaut. But the Lions are leaking oil defensively and that is the greatest threat to their upcoming Super Bowl bid. Purdy and the 49ers, with their dilapidated O-line, will expose some of those cracks. But the 49ers don’t have enough in the tank to actually win the game.
Kawakami: Lions 31, 49ers 13
Can this really be about Detroit getting some revenge for the NFC Championship Game loss if the Lions have all the motivation (to move closer to clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed) and the 49ers have nothing to look forward to but the beginning of a long off-season? Well, maybe a little bit. This could get ugly swiftly.