The San Francisco 49ers are getting ready to play in the Super Bowl, but it took a miracle for them to beat the Detroit Lions and get there.
The 49ers had to rally from a 24-7 halftime deficit in the NFC Championship Game two Sundays ago, scoring 27 unanswered points in the second half to ultimately come away with a 34-31 win.
While San Francisco’s second-half performance was brilliant, it was the first 30 minutes that has safety Tashaun Gipson and the rest of the team disgusted.
Gipson called the Niners’ defensive lapses against the Lions “unacceptable” and said that the club was “fortunate” to be in their current situation.
But as for whether or not the 49ers’ defense could fold yet again against the Kansas City chiefs this Sunday? Gipson does not seem too concerned about that.
“That film was hard,” Gipson said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “You had to see that and you had to hear some choice words, because that’s not our brand of football. We are a lot better football team than that. It’s nothing I’m worried about moving forward.”
San Francisco’s defense ranked eighth in yardage and third in points allowed during the regular season, so its performance against Detroit was out of character, to say the least.
The silver lining is that he Niners’ defense showed up in a big way over the final two quarters against the Lions and much more closely resembled the unit we saw over the first 18 games (including the 49ers’ Divisional Round win over the Green Bay Packers).
Gipson registered 60 tackles, a sack, an interception and three passes defended during the regular season. He logged six tackles and a forced fumble against the Lions.
The 33-year-old is in his second season with San Francisco.
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