The Detroit Lions are returning to the field where their magical 2023 season came to an abrupt end but quarterback Jared Goff said it’s still not the right setting for revenge.

The Lions (13-2) are traveling to play the San Francisco 49ers (6-9) on Monday Night Football in Week 17. The Lions had a 17-point lead over the 49ers last year in the NFC championship game but squandered the lead and team’s best-ever shot to reach the Super Bowl in the second half.

Instead of playing for a trip to the Super Bowl, the Lions and 49ers are on opposite paths in 2024. The 49ers have already been eliminated from making the playoffs, while Detroit is in a heated battle with the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC North and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

“No, not really,” Goff said when asked if this was a chance for revenge. “Now, if it was the NFC championship game, maybe yeah, but this is a regular season game.

“One we need to win. One we want to win. They are a good team. I don’t care they were eliminated.”

The Lions held a 24-7 lead in the NFC championship game before falling due to a series of costly errors in the second half. Cornerback Kindle Vildor had a ball bounce off his facemask into the hands of Brandon Aiyuk for a massive gain, Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled and former receiver Josh Reynolds had two key drops on would-be conversions in the 34-31 loss.

“We are really more mature I guess — that’s probably the best way to say that,” head coach Dan Campbell said. “I mentioned, every year you kind you kind of learn something about winning and losing and when you take an L like we did last year, you learn from that.

“There was a number of things we did wrong and a number of things they did right. I think you understand how the game can go and were it can swing and just about keeping your composure.”

The 49ers went from having the best offense in the NFL to one that ranks 16th in scoring coming into Week 17 at 22.1 points per game. San Francisco, like Detroit, had to deal with a slew of injuries to key players but did not find the recipe for the same level of success after finishing runners-up in 2023.

San Francisco still has defensive stars such as linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa, two All-Pro talents, on a defense that ranks second in the NFL in yards allowed (304.3). The defense is led by first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, who replaced Steve Wilks, after serving as the defensive pass game and slot cornerbacks coach before.

“There’s differences, there’s slight differences, but a lot of it is the same,” Goff said. “And we’re slightly different and a lot of what we do is the same.

“So we’ll see if we change much or add some things and I’m sure they will as well. You always expect a little wrinkle when the game comes.”