In the days leading into their Week 16 matchup on Monday Night Football with the Indianapolis Colts, the San Francisco 49ers have seen several things go their way.
The NFC West, of course, kicked off the Week 16 slate with a high-stakes matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks, and the Niners were hoping the latter would win, as that would make life a little easier coming down the stretch of this regular season. And that's precisely how things played out, as the Seahawks squeaked by with a thrilling 38-37 overtime victory.
As such, the 49ers now control their own destiny, as wins to close out the season over the Colts on Monday, the Bears in Week 17, and the Seahawks in Week 18 would not only give San Francisco the NFC West crown but also the No. 1 seed on the NFC side of the postseason bracket. So, Thursday was a good day.
And Sunday turned out to be a great day as well. Coming into the week, the 49ers had two scenarios that would allow them to officially punch their ticket to the playoffs. Well, technically, there were three, but the third involved two ties, which was never going to happen. So, it was really just two. One was simply beating the Colts on Monday night. But even before taking the field on Monday, San Francisco was guaranteed a spot if the Detroit Lions lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which, again, was precisely how things played out.
The 49ers officially clinched a playoff spot with the Lions' loss to the Steelers
Sunday's matchup at Ford Field was important for both teams, as the Steelers were looking to put more separation between themselves and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North, while the Lions, who came into this game at 8-6, were looking to take advantage of the Green Bay Packers falling to 9-5-1 on Saturday night in a loss to the Chicago Bears.
The score was tied 10-10 at the half, but the Steelers put up the first dozen points of the second half to take a 22-10 lead with 12:23 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lions got within five a few minutes later, but Pittsburgh again went up 12 after a 45-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Warren, who rushed for 143 yards and two scores on the night on just 14 carries.
But Detroit wouldn't go away and again got to within five at 29-24 after Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 4:11 remaining.
After a missed field goal by Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell on the ensuing drive, the Lions got a chance to steal the victory and actually got themselves all the way down to the Steelers' 1-yard line in the final minute.
Detroit actually scored two touchdowns on that final drive, only to have both nullified by offensive pass interference penalties. The first was called on Isaac Teslaa, who set an illegal pick on a 1-yard TD catch from Amon-Ra St. Brown. And the second, of course, was on St. Brown himself on the wildest final play of a game you'll ever see.
On that final fourth-down play, Goff hit St. Brown with a pass just short of the goal line, but as St. Brown was being tackled, he threw a lateral to Goff, who then dove into the end zone. However, it was ultimately ruled that St. Brown had pushed off Jalen Ramsey to get free, thus drawing a flag. And with zeroes on the clock once everything got sorted out, that was that.
While a bad break for the Lions, of course, San Francisco will certainly take it, as will the Bears, who also locked up their spot. The Packers are undoubtedly thrilled with the result as well, as that gives them a little more breathing room.
The 49ers are obviously thrilled to be back in the postseason after missing out a season ago, but their work isn't finished. As mentioned, three wins will lock up the No. 1 seed, and that starts with a victory on Monday night over the Colts.