The final day of 2024 is here, meaning you have just hours left to finish your resolutions before you start planning for 2025. I made a resolution seven years ago to never make another one, and it’s been working perfectly.
Speaking of resolutions, we decided to create one for each NFL team, mainly because we’re an NFL newsletter, and that’s what we do on days like today.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll also provide grades for Detroit’s 40-28 Monday night victory over the 49ers. We’ll unveil Prisco’s latest power rankings and share some early Week 18 predictions to kick off the New Year.
Just a quick note: there will be no newsletter tomorrow since we’ll all be busy watching the College Football Playoff. (If you want to check out our predictions for the quarterfinal games, you can do so here.)
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1. Lions top 49ers: Grades and notes from Detroit’s Monday night win jameson-williams.jpg Getty Images If you’re wondering just how good the Lions are, they had nothing to play for Monday night and still defeated the 49ers by double digits, 40-28.
Here are our grades from the game:
LIONS GRADE: B+
Dan Campbell said he’d play his starters, and he kept his word. This game meant nothing for the Lions, but they played like their playoff spot was on the line. The offense exploded for 40 points behind Jared Goff, who threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Ben Johnson unleashed another trick play with a hook-and-ladder touchdown that went for 41 yards (watch the play here). The 49ers had no answers for Jahmyr Gibbs, who racked up 163 yards on just 22 touches. The defense did struggle at times but came alive in the second half with two interceptions from Kerby Joseph and two sacks on Brock Purdy. This team is primed for their showdown with the Vikings on Sunday.
Lions notes
1,000-yard club. With 75 total yards against the 49ers, Jameson Williams has 1,028 yards from scrimmage this season. This makes the Lions the first team in NFL history to have two running backs and two wide receivers all top 1,000 scrimmage yards in a single season. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Amon-Ra St. Brown reached 1,000 scrimmage yards earlier this season.
40-burger. This game marked the fifth time this season that the Lions scored 40 or more points with no turnovers, setting an NFL record. They were previously tied with the 2024 Bills and 2019 Ravens, who both achieved that feat four times in a season.
Goff is heating up. Jared Goff threw for 303 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, marking the third straight game he’s thrown for at least 300 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. This ties Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes for the longest streak in NFL history.
49ERS GRADE: B-
For the first two quarters of this game, the 49ers offense showed the form we expected to see this season, but they faltered in the second half. Brock Purdy, who threw for a career-high 377 yards and three touchdowns, was impressive for most of the game, but he also threw two second-half interceptions. The 49ers did see a breakout performance from Ricky Pearsall, who caught eight passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough. In the end, the 49ers lost because their defense couldn’t contain the Lions, and their kicker struggled (Jake Moody missed two field goals and an extra point). The 49ers were beaten by a team playing for nothing, which pretty much sums up their 2024 season.
49ers notes
Purdy struggles. The 49ers will have to decide on Brock Purdy’s contract this offseason, and one reason they might hesitate to offer him $60 million per year is his struggles in key moments. Throughout his career, Purdy has performed poorly in games where the 49ers are trailing by one to eight points in the fourth quarter or overtime. During these situations, Purdy has completed just 56.4% of his passes, with three touchdowns and seven interceptions, leading to a 52.9 passer rating. Purdy also suffered an elbow injury at the game’s end.
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