The Detroit Lions will know how meaningful their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night will carry before they step on the field.
If Minnesota defeats Green Bay on Sunday, the Lions will still have to beat the Vikings in the regular-season finale to take the NFC North and gain the top seed in the NFC playoffs. If the Packers win, the Lions (13-2) can lock up the division and best record in the NFC with a victory in Santa Clara, Calif.
In either case, Lions coach Dan Campbell plans to go all out to defeat the team that dashed their Super Bowl dreams in last season’s NFC Championship game. Detroit led 24-7 at halftime but San Francisco rallied for a 34-31 victory.
“I think that experience, as difficult as it was, served us well moving forward into this year,” Campbell said. “You don’t like to lose, so you’ve got an opportunity with a team that got the best of you, and so you just want to go out and find a way to get a win.”
With power back David Montgomery sidelined by a knee injury, Jahmyr Gibbs had 27 touches in a 34-17 win over Chicago on Sunday. He rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and gained another 45 yards on four receptions. Montgomery is expected to return for the playoffs, but the Niners can expect to see plenty of Gibbs on Monday.
Jared Goff surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark against the Bears. He’s thrown for 17 touchdowns, compared to one interception, over the last six games.
San Francisco (6-9) has lost five of its last six games and was officially eliminated from playoff contention last weekend. Kyle Shanahan expects his team to handle that reality in a professional manner.
“You’ve still got to go out there and perform the same way,” Shanahan said.
Goff expects a strong challenge, regardless of San Francisco’s plight.
“They’re a good team, I don’t care that they’re eliminated,” he said. “They have a lot of great players on that team that have played in big games and they’re going to want to beat us, so we have to come out ready to go. It’ll be hard on the road, good atmosphere — I get a lot of family there, which will be nice, but it’ll be a good one.”
With top running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason out for the season, the Niners’ offense has become increasingly reliant on quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle.
Purdy has passed for more than 300 yards in two of the last three games. Kittle has led the club in receiving yards four of the last five games.
Purdy threw for 31 touchdowns last season, compared to 17 this year with McCaffrey sidelined most of the year and premier receiver Brandon Aiyuk sustaining a season-ending injury in the early going.
“This year, just having a number of his guys down and things like that, it’s been harder for (Purdy),” Shanahan said. “Usually, that stuff can make you better. He fought through it all year and he’s got two more weeks to fight through it.
“I think he’s disappointed,” Shanahan added. “He had high expectations this year, just like we all did. He hasn’t ever been in a losing situation yet, so that’s been very hard for him.”
San Francisco placed offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle) on injured reserve. The Niners have also shut down linebacker Dre Greenlaw due to leg injuries. Running back Isaac Guerendo, who missed the Niners’ 29-17 loss to Miami on Sunday, practiced on a limited basis on Thursday.
Detroit cornerback Terrion Arnold missed Thursday’s practice due to an illness.
