Lions' Stock Rising, 49ers' Tanks

Latest 'Lone Wolves' podcast previews Lions-49ers Monday matchup.

Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown makes a catch against 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Monday's game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers will carry massive playoff implications.

Detroit is hoping to secure the NFC's No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. If the Minnesota Vikings win, then this game will not have an impact on the Lions' ability to clinch. However, a Vikings loss means Detroit would clinch the one seed with a win over the 49ers.

It's fitting that the Lions are returning to San Francisco for a game of this magnitude. Last year, Detroit's season ended at Levi's Stadium when the 49ers stole the NFC's bid in the Super Bowl with a furious second-half comeback.

The 49ers are in a much different position than they were last year, as they've been decimated by injuries and are already out of playoff contention. 49ers OnSI beat writer Grant Cohn joined the 'Lone Wolves' podcast to preview Monday's NFC Championship rematch, giving the 49ers point of view on where things stand ahead of the Week 17 game.

“I think they’ve been talking about the fact that they know the Lions want 'revenge,' that the Lions are coming in looking to make a statement," Cohn said. "That statement is a big, blowout win over the team that beat them in the NFC Championship game. I mean, really, the Lions should’ve won that NFC Championship game. They were up 17 at halftime. There was that miracle catch, that 50-yard throw that bounced off Kindle Vildor’s facemask and landed in Brandon Aiyuk’s (hands). It was a very improbable win for the 49ers and I think that a lot of people are expecting the Lions to really eviscerate the 49ers, and I think I’m expecting that too."

There have been a number of significant injuries to the 49ers, including Christian McCaffrey and Dre Greenlaw in recent weeks. With no returns to give the team extra life in the final stages of the season, Cohn believes the team Detroit will play Monday is on its last legs.

“They’ve given up a 100-yard rusher in four of the last five games," Cohn said. "They had a streak of 55 games in a row without giving up one. It kind of feels like they’ve got a standing eight count, and all the Lions really have to do is lean on them.”

The latest edition of the 'Lone Wolves' podcast previews the showdown between Detroit and San Francisco, analyzes what has gone wrong with the 49ers and much more.

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