Super Bowl 2024: Date, Schedule and Predicting Teams for NFL Championship Game | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Lions have never played in a Super Bowl, and their path to the NFC Championship Game hasn't been easy. Detroit squeaked out a one-point win over the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round before outlasting the Buccaneers by eight points.

However, the Lions are fine with taking the hard road.

"Things aren't always easy here," head coach Dan Campbell said, per The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner. "But that's what we're about."

Detroit is a dangerous matchup for San Francisco because it can stop the run and features a multi-faceted offense loaded with playmakers. Jared Goff might not be viewed as an elite quarterback, but he's more than capable of distributing the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

The 49ers are also loaded with playmaking talent. Quarterback Brock Purdy was an MVP candidate for much of the season, and he can lean on the likes of Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk when necessary.

However, with Deebo Samuel sidelined for most of the divisional round, Purdy struggled for much of the game against the Green Bay Packers. Samuel is one of two key players to watch leading up to this matchup.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Samuel (shoulder) is considered "50-50" to play against Detroit. The Lions, meanwhile, are unlikely to have standout guard Jonah Jackson.

Both injuries loom large, but Samuel's may be more critical. With him out of the lineup, the 49ers lost three straight games in October. If Samuel can go, he won't be at 100 percent, and that could be enough for Detroit to finally end its Super Bowl drought.

Look for the Lions to do exactly that.