Blowout turns into close call as 49ers hold off lowly Lions 30-27

SANTA CLARA - The 49ers won. That’s the most important fact about this game.

Not the fact they almost blew a 17-point lead to the Detroit Lions with fewer than 12 minutes remaining.

Not the fact the 49ers almost lost when Jimmy Garoppolo threw an interception the officials called back.

Those were mere footnotes. Tiny pieces of trivia. Here’s what matters: The 49ers didn’t blow their lead, Garoppolo’s interception didn’t count and the 49ers won 30-27.

Had they lost, their record would have been 0-2. They would have had a nine percent chance to make the playoffs this season. Only six of 71 teams that started 0-2 have reached the playoffs since 2009. The 49ers’ season probably would have been over.

Instead, the Lions season probably is over. Their record is 0-2. The 49ers are 1-1. They’re alive.

Every win in the NFL is gold. The 49ers have been gold-deficient since Week 13 of 2014, have won just 15 of 55 games during that span. They need every piece of gold they can get. Doesn’t matter how they get them.

“It’s really hard to win in the NFL,” tight end George Kittle said in the locker room. “You could see that from a lot of games today. So, when you get a win, it’s really good. Obviously, we could make it a lot easier on ourselves by just executing. But, a win is a win.”

Last year, the 49ers probably would have lost this game. They lost five games in a row by three points or fewer early last season. They were the team that made the mistake that lost the game. They were the team that beat itself. They were the team that didn’t know how to win. On Sunday, they weren’t that team.

“That’s definitely a thing - learning how to win,” Kittle said. “I feel like we also have a more mature team. We had a lot of rookies playing last year. I know I’m a much better player than I was last year, just because I’m not running around with my head cut off not knowing what’s going on. All of our guys from last year have definitely stepped up, and I think we improved.”

The 49ers showed their improvement with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. At that point, the 49ers were clutching a 20-13 lead. They were letting an inferior Lions team hang around.

The 49ers started their drive from their three-yard line - a tough spot. If they had gone three-and-out, the 49ers might have lost. They definitely would have punted and given the Lions terrific field position.

After an 11-yard pass to Garrett Celek on the first play of the drive, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan called a run to the left for second-year running back Matt Breida. He gained 20 yards.

On the next play, Shanahan called the same play, but this time to the right. Breida ran 66 yards for a touchdown, and gave the 49ers a 27-13 lead.

Right guard Mike Person made the key block at the point of attack.

“I had a defensive tackle I was blocking,” Person said. “All of a sudden, I just felt Breida run right between (right tackle) Mike McGlinchey and me. Then, I looked and saw Pierre Garcon busting his tail (blocking for Breida) 40 yards downfield. So, Mike and I tried to get down there as fast as we could.”

Breida finished the game with 11 carries for 138 rushing yards and his long touchdown run.

Here’s the 66-yard touchdown run from his perspective: “It was just a great job by the O-line. They opened up a huge hole on that play, and I just followed Pierre into the end zone. He became my fullback essentially downfield.”

Breida followed Garcon for 40 yards as Garcon steamrolled Lions defensive back Nevin Lawson. This was the play of the game, the biggest reason the 49ers won.

On their next drive, kicker Robbie Gould made a 36-yard field goal, and the 49ers took a 30-13 lead.

That’s when things became tense.

First, the pass rush got tired, then the secondary got exposed. Nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams gave up a 67-yard catch to Golden Tate on third-and-17. On the next play, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon gave up a five-yard touchdown catch to Marvin Jones. And the Lions trailed 30-20, and were making the game a game.

Witherspoon had a particularly bad game. He gave up two touchdown catches - one to Jones, and one to Kenny Golladay during the first quarter. During the fourth quarter when the Lions had to pass to get back in the game, they targeted Witherspoon seven times. He committed a holding penalty, a pass interference and he broke up no passes. The 49ers had to take him out of the game at times to force the Lions to pick on someone else.

And they did. With 3:33 left, on third-and-goal from the 15, Lions tight end Michael Roberts beat safety Adrian Colbert for a touchdown grab, and the Lions trailed 30-27.

A minute later, Garoppolo nearly lost the game.

With 2:24 remaining, he threw blindly to his left, safety Tracy Walker intercepted the pass and returned it to the 49ers’ 7-yard line.

“We got the wrong route from a receiver,” Shanahan said, referring to rookie Dante Pettis. “Obviously, we’ve got to see that and still try not to throw it.”

But, the interception didn’t count, because Lions safety Quandree Diggs mugged Kittle away from the action. That was the Lions’ last shot to win.

“I think they had a crush on me,” Kittle said. “It was a simple 10-yard route, and he grabbed everything he possibly could grab. I’m really glad they threw the flag. That helped.”

It sure did. But, a win is a win is a win. Always.