Sports
49ers overcome 17-point deficit to beat Lions, meet Chiefs in Super Bowl
Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers finally got their chance.
A year after their Super Bowl dreams died because of an elbow injury suffered by their then-rookie quarterback in the NFC championship game, the star-studded 49ers entered the season on a mission to return to the Super Bowl.
They achieved their goal Sunday, overcoming a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions 34-31 in the NFC championship game in front of 71,824 at Levi’s Stadium.
“You look back a year ago, got hurt, which sucks,” Purdy said, adding, “Obviously, to pull a comeback like that in the NFC championship … it’s special for me.”
Purdy passed for a touchdown and scrambled several times for long gains, running back Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns, and the defense forced a fumble and incomplete passes on several key fourth-down plays as the 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl for the eighth time.
The 49ers will play the defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
It is a rematch from the 2019-20 season, when the Chiefs defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
“Since we met them in ’19, seems like they’ve been there every year since,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We have been trying really hard to get back to this moment. We’ve been close a number of times. This time we got it done.”
The five-time Super Bowl champion 49ers are seeking their first title since 1995, when they defeated the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
In his seven seasons as coach of the 49ers, Shanahan’s teams had developed a reputation for not playing well from behind. But just as they did in a divisional-round victory over the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers came back to win.
The loss ended a dream season for the Lions, coach Dan Campbell and quarterback Jared Goff, who appeared to have the Lions on their way to their first Super Bowl appearance.
But Shanahan and the 49ers — defeated by the Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles in the last two conference championship games — were not going to lose a third in a row.
“I had plenty of opportunities to still win it there at the end and just came up short,” Goff said after completing 25 of 41 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. “I struggle finding the words to totally encapsulate how or why, but I do know I‘m proud of this team and proud of these guys and proud to be a part of it.”
By overcoming the 17-point deficit, the 49ers tied the championship game record they set in 2012-13 season, when they came back to defeat the Atlanta Falcons.
They did it after giving up Jameson Williams’ 42-yard touchdown run on a reverse and touchdown runs by David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs as the Lions built a 24-7 halftime lead.
The running of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was a big part of their comeback win over the Lions in the NFC championship game.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
But the 49ers did not panic.
“No one was rah-rah,” said Purdy, who passed for 267 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 51 yards. “No one was freakin out. … There really wasn’t much said.”
Linebacker Fred Warner delivered a message that was straight to the point.
“I told the team that there was no more time for pep talks,” Warner said. “Offense had the ball first, they had to go score. Defensively, we had to get a stop and if we didn’t, we’re not going to Vegas.”
The 49ers cut the lead with a field goal, and they seized the momentum after always aggressive Campbell opted to go for it on fourth and two at the 49ers’ 28-yard line rather than try a field goal. Goff’s pass to Josh Reynolds fell incomplete.
Two plays later, Purdy threw a deep pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The ball bounced off defensive back Kindle Vildor and into the hands of the diving Aiyuk for a 51-yard gain.
“It kind of unlocked the whole team,” Shanahan said of the long play, which set up Purdy’s six-yard touchdown pass to Aiyuk and pulled the 49ers within seven points.
“One of the coolest catches I’ve ever seen,” said McCaffrey, who rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns in 20 carries and caught four passes for 42 yards.
The 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk catches a 51-yard pass after it deflected off Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor.
(Godofredo A. Vasquez / Associated Press)
Aiyuk said he was not able to recount the specifics of the long play until he saw a replay on his phone in the locker room.
“It was lit,” he said.
On the Lions’ first play after the touchdown, the 49ers forced Gibbs to fumble. A Purdy scramble set up McCaffrey’s one-yard touchdown to tie the score. The 49ers took the lead early in the fourth quarter with a field goal.
When Goff’s fourth-down pass at the 49ers’ 30-yard line fell incomplete, the 49ers appeared to have the game in hand.
Elijah Mitchell’s short touchdown run extended the 49ers’ lead to 10 points, but Goff’s short touchdown pass to Williams pulled the Lions within three points.
Tight end George Kittle recovered the ensuing onside kick for the 49ers, however, and they ran out the clock, starting a jubilant celebration on the field and in the stands..
So now it’s on to the Super Bowl.
“We still got one more to go,” Purdy said.
Four years ago, defensive lineman Nick Bosa was a rookie when the 49ers played the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Now they are going back to once again play the Chiefs.
“It’s perfect,” Bosa said.
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
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The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
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HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
MONDAY’S RESULTS
First Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter 16, #17 Middle College 6
#20 Cleveland 20, #13 Dorsey 2
#10 North Hollywood 12, #14 USC-MAE 0
#18 Taft 13, #15 Central City Value 0
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys 19, #17 Alliance Bloomfield 2
#20 East Valley 14, #13 Community Charter 3
#14 VAAS 18, #19 Angelou 0
#15 Reseda 24, #18 Stella 0
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn 44, #17 West Adams 33
#20 Hawkins 28, #13 LAAAE 7
#14 Franklin 19, #19 Mendez 7
#18 Diego Rivera 24, #15 Discovery 8
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
First Round
DIVISION I
#16 Sherman Oaks CES at #1 Venice
#9 San Fernando at #8 Bravo
#12 Lincoln at #5 Chavez
#13 Animo Venice at #4 Chatsworth
#14 LA University at #3 Port of LA
#11 Harbor Teacher at #6 Eagle Rock
#10 Verdugo Hills at #7 Garfield
#15 LA Hamilton at #2 Marquez
Second Round
DIVISION II
#16 Triumph Charter at #1 LA Marshall
#9 Northridge Academy at #8 Rancho Dominguez
#12 Fremont at #5 Symar
#20 Cleveland at #4 Narbonne
#19 North Hollywood at #3 Roosevelt
#11 Orthopaedic at #5 Arleta
#10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 South Gate
#18 Taft at #2 LA Wilson
DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #1 Bell
#9 Palisades at #8 Hollywood
#12 Lakeview Charter at #5 South East
#20 East Valley at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #3 Maywood CES
#11 Westchester at #6 Torres
#10 Animo Robinson at #7 LACES
#15 Reseda at #2 Sun Valley Magnet
DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #1 Jefferson
#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Alliance Levine
#12 Downtown Magnets at #5 University Prep Value
#20 Hawkins at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #3 Santee
#11 Bernstein at #6 Camino Nuevo
#10 Rise Kohyang at #7 CALS Early College
#18 Diego Rivera at #2 LA Jordan
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals
OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills
#5 El Camino Real at #4 San Pedro
#6 Wilmington Banning at #3 Birmingham
#7 Legacy at #2 Carson
Note: Division I-IV quarterfinals May 22 at higher seeds; Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
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