2023 NFC Championship Game

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2023 NFC Championship Game
DateJanuary 28, 2024
Kickoff time3:40 p.m. PST
Stadium Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Favorite49ers by 7 [1]
Referee Clete Blakeman
Attendance71,824
TV in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi
Nielsen ratings U.S. TV viewership: 56.7 million [2]

The 2023 National Football Conference (NFC) Championship Game was a National Football League (NFL) game played on January 28, 2024, to determine the NFC champion for the 2023 NFL season. The game was played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and featured the Detroit Lions against the San Francisco 49ers.

Contents

The Lions made their first appearance in an NFC Championship Game since 1991, while the 49ers made their fourth appearance in five seasons. In the game, the 49ers overcame a 24–7 halftime deficit to defeat the Lions and clinch their second conference championship in five seasons.

Background

The Detroit Lions entered the 2023 season possessing both the longest active streak without a playoff win and an NFC Championship Game appearance, both having last occurred in 1991. In 2022, the Lions began the season 1–6, but finished the season 8–2 with a promising future outlook. The Lions finished the 2023 regular season with a 12–5 record, clinching a NFC North division title for the first time since 1991. In the Wild Card Round, the Lions won their first playoff game since 1991, defeating the Los Angeles Rams. In the Divisional Round, the Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31–23, advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991 and seeking their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2023 season coming off of an appearance in the prior year's NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 31–7. The game was heavily impacted by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy suffering a torn UCL in the first quarter. With Purdy fully healed, the 49ers posted a 12–5 record in the 2023 regular season, earning the top seed in the NFC playoffs. In the Divisional Round, the 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers, 24–21, advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Game summary

First half

The Lions started off with an explosive offensive push that saw them score a touchdown within the first two minutes of the game; they would score two more touchdowns and a field goal, as well as the defense forcing an interception on Purdy, to take a 24–7 lead at halftime.

Second half

Although the 49ers only managed a Christian McCaffrey touchdown in the first half, they proceeded to score 27 unanswered points off of huge plays: a 51-yard pass from Brock Purdy was recovered by Brandon Aiyuk as it deflected off Kindle Vildor's helmet on a touchdown drive, which was immediately followed by a fumble recovery off of Jahmyr Gibbs that the 49ers converted into another touchdown drive. They also benefitted from two turnovers on downs when the Lions were in field goal range both times. Midway through the third quarter, Josh Reynolds dropped a pass on 4th-and-2 at the San Francisco 28-yard line. [3] Then in the fourth quarter, the Lions unsuccessfully attempted a fourth down conversion instead of going for a field goal, and both turnovers on downs, plus the fumble by Gibbs, proved costly as the Lions would ultimately lose by a field goal. Both the 49ers and Lions got touchdowns after that point, but the Lions onside kick attempt with 56 seconds left was unsuccessful, allowing the 49ers to win.[ citation needed ]

Box score

Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Lions14100731
49ers07171034

at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

Game information

Aftermath

After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was criticized for his aggressive fourth down play calls, but he defended his decisions. [4]

The 24–7 halftime lead blown by the Lions mirrors a 49ers' 24–7 halftime blown lead in the 1957 NFL Western Conference Championship game against the Lions, who later went on to win the 1957 NFL Championship Game against the Browns. The Lions’ collapse in the NFC Championship entered football lore as part of the Curse of Bobby Layne superstition used to explain the Lions' championship drought since 1957. [5] [6] In addition, the 17-point comeback tied for the largest comeback in NFC Championship history. [7]

The 49ers advanced to Super Bowl LVIII, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime, 25–22.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NFC Championship - Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers - January 28th, 2024". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ Lewis, Jon (January 29, 2024). "Nearly 57 million watch Lions' near miss in NFC Championship". Sports Media Watch. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Josh Reynolds on his two drops: I didn't want to drop them, but shit happens". NBC Sports. January 30, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Lions coach Dan Campbell stands by 4th-down calls vs. 49ers". ESPN.com. January 29, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  5. ↑ Baumgardner, Nick (January 28, 2024). "The Curse of Bobby Layne isn't real, but the one on Lions head coaches may be". The New York Times . Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ Gantert, Tom (November 27, 2024). "Did Peyton Manning Break the Curse of Bobby Layne?". Michigan Enjoyer. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ Breech, John (January 29, 2024). "49ers stunning comeback makes NFL history plus 13 other crazy stats from the AFC and NFC championship games". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
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