Purdy key to 49ers' scramble to Super Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers have turned into the comeback kids this postseason.

The only team that didn't pull off a second-half rally in the regular season has done it in back-to-back weeks in the playoffs, capped by one of the biggest comebacks in conference championship game history.

The Niners became the fourth team ever to overcome a deficit of at least 17 points in a conference title game, beating the Detroit Lions 34-31 in the NFC championship on Sunday, silencing the doubters who questioned whether they could stage that kind of rally.

"I've never felt like we didn't have a team who could come back or win a game like that," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "We just had to do it when it mattered the most."

That sets San Francisco up to face Kansas City in the Super Bowl on Feb 11 in Las Vegas, a rematch of the title game it lost four years ago.

The journey back wasn't easy. A week after needing a fourth-quarter drive to beat Green Bay, the Niners faced a much bigger climb against the Lions when they fell behind 24-7.

Brock Purdy threw an early interception and looked shaky in the opening stages of the game. Jake Moody missed a field goal on the opening drive. And the defense got repeatedly opened up by Detroit's running game.

"It was embarrassing," defensive end Nick Bosa said. "Kind of felt helpless, and we didn't want to go down as failures. We know our defense is way too good to play like that."

San Francisco turned it around in the second half, scoring on five straight possessions and holding Detroit off the scoreboard until the final minute of the half.

"That's back-to-back weeks with wins that we weren't supposed to have, apparently," receiver Brandon Aiyuk said. "Just two gutsy wins. Two wins that just shows you the type of team that we have — the mindset, the will and the heart that everybody had."

What's working

Purdy's scrambling. Purdy showed off his playmaking ability by extending plays in the pocket for completions downfield, and even some rare runs. Purdy had a pair of 21-yard rushes on touchdown drives in the second half, and a 10-yarder for a first down on a field goal drive. Purdy joined Lamar Jackson as the only QBs with multiple runs of at least 20 yards in a playoff game in the past 10 seasons.

"I thought he was the difference between winning and losing," Shanahan said. "He made some big plays with his legs, getting out of the pocket, moving the chains on some first downs."

What needs fixing

Run defense. San Francisco struggled to stop the run for a second straight week, allowing 182 yards rushing and three TDs against Detroit. The Niners were repeatedly pushed off the ball in the first half, when they allowed 148 yards to dig a big hole for themselves. The 318 yards rushing allowed by San Francisco in the past two games are the most ever recorded in the divisional round and conference title game for a team that made the Super Bowl.

Who's stock is up...

Aiyuk. The second-team All-Pro delivered the play of the game for San Francisco, when he caught a 51-yard pass in the third quarter that deflected off the face mask of cornerback Kindle Vildor. Aiyuk caught a 6-yard TD pass to cap that drive, and also broke up a potential interception in the first half.

...And who's is down

DE Chase Young. The big midseason acquisition has struggled with his running game in recent weeks, as he has had to take a bigger role on run downs following a season-ending knee injury to Clelin Ferrell. Teams have frequently run at Young with much success, leading San Francisco to move DT Arik Armstead out to the end for stretches in the second half.

Injuries

TE George Kittle (toe) and CB Ambry Thomas (ankle).

Key number

Eight — The Niners became the eighth team to reach the Super Bowl after overcoming second-half deficits in both the divisional round and the conference title game. Four of the previous seven won the Super Bowl. The last team to do it was Baltimore in the 2012 season on the way to beating the Niners for the title.

Next step

The 49ers will be playing in their eighth Super Bowl, tied for the second most ever. San Francisco is 5-2 in its previous trips and can tie Pittsburgh and New England for the most titles ever with a win against Kansas City.

Agencies via Xinhua