Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
The Detroit Lions, the team that staggered to finish in their last trip to Levi’s Stadium 11 months ago, will begin Monday’s rematch against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara at full strength.
It’s possible the game will be meaningless when it comes to the Lions’ quest for the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but head coach Dan Campbell said the reeling 49ers (6-9) will get his team’s best shot.
After Detroit’s 34-17 win over the Bears last Sunday, Campbell ended his locker-room speech by saying, “Everything we got goes into San Fran. Everything we got, man.” It’s a message he continued Monday when asked about potentially resting starters if the game’s outcome didn’t impact Detroit’s playoff positioning.
“I’ll make this easy for everybody, that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking,” said Campbell, who had two key offensive players injured in a similar situation last season in Week 18. “But that way you don’t have to debate them anymore. We’re bringing everything that we have to this game and we are playing. And I don’t care what it looks like, and where it’s at, or who’s this, who’s that. We’re going out to play and win this game out on the West Coast. So there you go.”
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The Lions and Vikings have identical 13-2 records. If Minnesota beats the Packers on Sunday, the Lions can claim the No. 1 seed by beating the Vikings in their regular-season finale, regardless of whether they win or lose against the 49ers.
Of course, the all-hands-on-deck approach against the 49ers could be partly tied to their last visit. The Lions lost 34-31 in the NFC Championship Game in January after squandering a 17-point, third-quarter lead.
“Anytime we lose, the thought of losing is going to motivate you to not want to lose again, particularly with where you were at,” said Campbell. “So that’s always going to bring it’s own level of motivation to it.”
After Detroit’s loss in last season’s NFC title game, Campbell said it felt like his team had its “heart ripped out.” Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown discussed the nightmare loss this week.
“Just the way everything played out was like a horror movie,” St. Brown said. “But we’re back — new year. We got a chance to redeem ourselves, so I think we’re pretty excited.”
On Monday, the 49ers will meet the Lions under far different circumstances. They are assured of having their first losing season since 2020 and won’t have seven players who started in the January playoff game available due to injuries.
In the teams’ last meeting, a trip to the Super Bowl was on the line. Monday night, not much will be on line for the 49ers, but head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t think motivation will be an issue for a team that’s been to four of the past five NFC Championship Games.
“You have a standard to play for,” Shanahan said. “You don’t just sit there and play until you’re in (playoff contention) and then shut it down. You play one way. We’ve got two games left. That’s all that we’ve got and we’re going to — our goal is to find a way to play better. Our goal is to find a way to get a win, and that’s what I expect out of anyone involved in this.
“And if they don’t see it that way — and you’ve got to convince them too much more than that — then they’re probably not the type of guys that you want around here anyways.”
