49ers, Lions Conference Championship Fantasy Football Takeaways: Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Jared Goff, Jameson Williams and More

The San Francisco 49ers rallied to a second straight postseason win by dominating the second half in a 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. Let’s dive into some of the numbers from the game and analyze things from a fantasy football perspective.

We already took a look at the Kansas City Chiefs win over the Baltimore Ravens, so be sure to check out that takeaway story as well.

49ers Rally Again

San Francisco fell behind 14-0 after a quarter and was down 24-7 at halftime. The 49ers found their groove in the second half, outscoring the Lions 27-7 in the second half to prevail.

San Francisco finished with 413 total yards of offense, which was about 30 yards less than Detroit. The difference in the game was a pair of fourth down stops by the San Fran defense in the second half.

Quarterback Brock Purdy was unimpressive for most of the first half, but got things going in the second half to finish with 267 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception while completing 20 of his 31 passes. He also gained 48 rushing yards on five attempts.

The second-year quarterback’s numbers haven’t been great through two postseason games, but he’s delivered when his team has needed him to. I think the narrative around Purdy has changed a good amount during the postseason, but by getting to the Super Bowl, he should have the chance to lead the team again next season. It will be a tough call on whether to utilize him or not for fantasy purposes in the Super Bowl.

Christian McCaffrey was largely held in check, but still finished with 132 total yards on 24 touches. He rushed 20 times for 90 yards and two scores, while catching four of his five targets for an additional 42 yards.

Through two postseason games, McCaffrey has 260 total yards and four touchdowns. He’s simply a fantasy stud. McCaffrey will be a popular player to bet on/utilize during the Super Bowl.

Deebo Samuel not only suited up, but put together a strong showing a week after sitting out the entire second half. He caught 8-of-9 targets for 89 yards and added 7 rushing yards on three attempts.

Samuel showed his versatility in the 49ers’ offense and will be utilized heavily in the Super Bowl alongside McCaffrey. San Fran will likely need big showings from both guys in order to win against the Chiefs.

Brandon Aiyuk only caught three of his eight targets, but tallied 68 receiving yards and a touchdown on the day.

He’s been held down pretty well through two playoff games, but he still should be a big part of the team’s offense in the big game. While his yardage and catch numbers aren’t much to brag about, his 14 targets over the past two weeks are the ones you need to focus on.

George Kittle was limited to 27 yards on two catches and three targets, which is pretty surprising seeing the team’s total yardage on the day.

Kittle has been kind of a boom-or-bust fantasy option all season and it’s continued through two playoff games. We’ll discuss Kittle, and all the other 49ers’ offensive weapons, going into the Super Bowl, so be sure to check back for those stories.

Jauan Jennings was relegated to a secondary role with Samuel back on the field. Jennings only had one catch for 8 yards on two targets. He’s a decent talent, but doesn’t get much work when the team is at full health.

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk finished with 36 yards on three total touches. He made a couple big catches for San Fran, but his usage is hit and miss.

Running back Elijah Mitchell had 7 rushing yards and a score on four attempts. His first carry came late in the fourth quarter, and he scored on a 3-yard touchdown. Mitchell got three late carries as the Niners ran out the clock and tried to avoid an injury to McCaffrey. Mitchell likely won’t have a huge role in the Super Bowl.

The San Fran defense made some timely stops (including one takeaway), but they were gashed most of the night. The matchup against the Chiefs’ offense isn’t as daunting as years past, but they’d be hard to trust after what they showed this week.

Lions’ Magic Runs Out

Coach Dan Campbell has always been an aggressive coach, and it’s great when the calls work in your favor, but when they don’t (like Sunday), you will take a lot of the blame.

The plays were there to be made, the Lions simply didn’t finish. They racked up 442 total yards of offense, which is more than enough to win a road playoff game, but the couple failed fourth down attempts and the turnover were the difference.

Quarterback Jared Goff was 25-of-41 on the day for 273 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. 

Goff had between 273-287 passing yards in all three playoff games, but only had four touchdown passes. He did a great job of taking care of the ball, and didn’t get a ton of help from his teammates on Sunday.

He was a surprise fantasy player this season and will be a sleeper pick later in drafts next season. There’s no reason to believe he couldn’t have an even better season if the Lions surround him with some more talent.

Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had solid fantasy days.

Montgomery went for 113 total yards and a touchdown on 17 touches. Gibbs had 56 total yards and a touchdown on 15 touches, but was the player who fumbled for Detroit.

While the Lions enjoyed the 1-2 punch of Montgomery and Gibbs, it was a nightmare for fantasy owners. Unless the Lions move Montgomery, they both should be heavily involved again next season. If I had to guess, Detroit would expand the workload a bit for Gibbs, which maybe means getting him more involved as a pass catcher.

Amon-Ra St. Brown had 89 total yards on eight touches. He caught seven of his 11 targets for 87 yards.

The lack of a score was disappointing to fantasy owners who utilized St. Brown, but it’s hard to get mad at a statline like that. ARSB emerged as one of the best wideouts in the game (and for fantasy purposes). He’s likely going to be a first-round pick in fantasy drafts next season, but could outperform lofty expectations with another playmaking pass-catcher on the opposite side of the field.

Jameson Williams made a claim that he could be that guy for Detroit. He had 67 total yards and two touchdowns on just three touches. He caught two of his three targets for 25 yards.

He only had four games over 50 total yards this season, but did score five total touchdowns. He’s an ultra-talented playmaker, but hasn’t been on the field enough to start his career. Hopefully this offseason he can take the next step and be a huge fantasy asset next season. 

Josh Reynolds, who is a free agent this offseason, tallied 25 yards on one catch and four targets. He had a couple of solid outings in the postseason, so I’m curious to see if Detroit retains him or not.

Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta capped his first season with 97 yards on nine catches and 13 targets.

LaPorta finished as TE1 this season and should be the first tight end selected in fantasy drafts next season. He should have an even bigger offensive role in his second season.

While the Lions emerged as a Super Bowl contender this season, this offseason feels like a big one for the organization if they want to remain in that class of teams. Expect an infusion of talent on both sides of the ball. They’ll be a fun team to watch this offseason.