Here's the recipe the Detroit Lions must use to beat the San Francisco 49ers

It’s not gonna take a miracle.

But a Brock Purdy interception would help.

It’s not gonna take a perfect game.

But a huge, turnover-free game from Jared Goff would be just perfect for the Detroit Lions.

Yes, the Lions are the underdogs against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.

Yes, they will play on the road, away from their wild, fun-loving, ear-shattering fans in Ford Field.

But it’s not impossible — the Lions can beat the 49ers — and it wouldn’t be shocking.

In fact, I truly think they will for several reasons.

Let’s start with the quarterbacks.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff has experience winning the NFC championship game (for the Rams), 49ers QB Brock Purdy has not.

And that means, all the pressure is on Purdy, not Goff.

“Certainly, road playoff games I think are extremely hard to win and I’ve been fortunate to have success in them in the past,” Goff said. "You can draw on that a little bit.”

The recipe to success

In many ways, the Lions are built to win this game.

What’s the recipe to beat the 49ers?

Dominant the line of scrimmage, run the ball, lean into the play-action passing game, throw short passes that are effectively running plays, eat up the clock, squeeze everything out of every possession by taking chances in the red zone — yes, going for it on fourth down and not settling for field goals — and keep that explosive 49ers' offense on the sideline.

Wanna know who has the team built to do that?

The Lions.

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Wanna know who has a talented, physical offensive line? The Lions.

Wanna know who has the best tackle in football? The Lions.

Wanna know who has a couple of talented backs? The Lions.

Wanna know who is going to come up huge in this game? Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Reynolds.

Wanna know who looks so dang comfortable in the play-action passing game? The Lions.

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Wanna know who has gone for it so many times on fourth down that it doesn’t even seem startling anymore? The Lions.

We are gonna see a who bunch of Gamblin’ Dan Campbell in this game.

"Our guys will be ready,” Goff said.

Pressure is on the 49ers, not the Lions

Of course, it’s not going to be easy.

Because San Francisco has such a loaded roster with top-tier talent on both sides of the ball.

The 49ers are the most explosive team in the NFL, which is concerning considering the Lions secondary is the team’s biggest weakness.

But even if the 49ers get some chunk plays, the Lions have improved their red zone defense.

Yes, the 49ers have Christian McCaffrey, an outstanding back.

But the Lions' run defense has been outstanding. They rank fourth in the NFL, allowing just 78.5 yards per game.

And Deebo Samuel's shoulder injury makes this all the more intriguing. ESPN had an interesting stat on Friday:

The 49ers offense with Samuel: 7.1 yards per play, 5.6 yards per rush and 74 QBR.

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The 49ers without Samuel: 5.6 yards per play, 3.6 yards per rush and 65 QBR.

And yes, the Lions will bring all kinds of pressure on Purdy — get ready to see a huge dose of Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch shooting in from the secondary, trying to force Purdy to make a mistake.

Granted, it’s hard to get to him. He’s taken just four sacks in five career playoff games.

And by the way, he has never thrown a playoff interception. But the Lions will take their shots at him, even if they give up some big plays.

“Yeah, we’re disruptive,” Campbell said. “We’re disruptive, we’re aggressive and we hit. And that, to me, has got to be what we’re about. Those are the principles. Look, we may get hit on a couple of things and I know, for me, I’m willing to give up something to get something. And sometimes you’ve got to — things may happen, but that’s OK because it’ll pay dividends by the time you hit the fourth quarter and I think that’s what we’re doing. I think it is a salty group."

Built for the moment

But there’s something else.

The Lions have an important intangible: resilience and mental toughness. I seriously doubt the Lions will freak out in this moment or on this kind of stage.

This is largely the same team that went into Green Bay and beat the Packers at the end of the 2022 season.

This is the same team that went into Kansas City and beat the Chiefs at home on national TV to open the season.

This is the same team that beat the Los Angeles Rams, which was, at the time, one of the hottest teams in the NFL.

So the moment won’t faze them.

Campbell won’t allow it.

“If you can win on the road, that means you can handle adversity, you can handle the ebbs and flows of a game, you don’t crack, you handle pressure well,” Campbell said. “And so, I think that’s something that we’ve talked about here, the way we practice, the way we do things, the way camp is, all of that. And I think it serves you well. You can — when you’re able to play a certain way on the road and handle a certain amount of pressure, that travels anywhere.”

If the Lions lose the turnover battle? Yes, it’s over. They will lose the game.

But if they don’t, if they can slow the run and limit the explosives and score touchdowns instead of field goals — well, that would be purdy.

Before this season, my boss asked me to offer some preseason predictions, and I wrote the Lions would finish the regular season 12-5 and lose in the NFC championship game.

But this Lions offense is better than I anticipated. The defense has improved. And several young players don't seem so young anymore — they've grown. This entire team has improved.

So, I’m adjusting that earlier pick.

Lions 31, 49ers 28.

And can we all just agree right now: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Yes, the Detroit Lions can win the NFC championship. Here's how