The San Francisco 49ers beat the Detroit Lions as expected on Sunday, but they certainly made things needlessly interesting late in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers held a 24-point lead against the Lions in the fourth quarter Sunday, but Detroit stormed back with the help of an onside kick recovery to make it a 41-33 game. Still, the 49ers needed only one first down to ice the game.
They got it on third down, but as wide receiver Deebo Samuel crossed the marker, he had the ball punched out by Detroit’s Trey Flowers, leading to a fumble that changed the game completely.
Samuel had the first down, and had he been able to hold on and go down, that would have been it. Instead, the Lions got another chance. Fortunately for Samuel, the defense held firm, and the 49ers held on to win.
The error shouldn’t distract from the rest of Samuel’s day, which saw him make nine catches for 189 yards and a touchdown. He’ll still be the most relieved man in the building, though, and we can add his turnover to the list of near-misses in terms of costing teams a game.
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