Lions' Key Matchups to Beat 49ers in NFC Championship 2024 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Detroit Lions need a perfect performance to take down the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

The Lions can look at the Green Bay Packers' divisional-round approach at Levi's Stadium to find exploitable matchups on offense.

Detroit must win the battle with its running back tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs against San Francisco's linebackers to provide offensive balance around Jared Goff.

Goff is capable of winning the game with over 40 pass attempts, but that would likely mean the Lions are playing from behind for most of the contest.

Defensively, the Lions need to find a way to contain Christian McCaffrey, who could be even more important to the 49ers if Deebo Samuel is unable to recover from his shoulder injury in time to play on Sunday.