San Francisco 49ers: The good, bad, and ugly in week two win over Lions

Bad: Failure To Close It Out

The flip side of the offensive firepower Garoppolo and the 49ers put on display though, is the defense, of course.

Despite Garoppolo and the offense putting up 30 points – which should be enough to win a ballgame – the 49ers still had to bite their nails, and grit their teeth until the clock hit zero. And that’s because the defense let a Lions team that isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, hang around, and hang around.

Credit where credit is due though – San Francisco’s defense finally stepped up at the end, thwarting a last minute drive to end the game, after letting the Lions whittle away at what had been a 30-13 lead at one point.

Immediately following a Robbie Gould field goal that provided the 30-13 margin – early in the fourth quarter – San Francisco’s defense let Matthew Stafford lead a Lions offense that they’d largely held in check for most of the day take them on a five-play, 80-yard drive to cut the margin to ten – the killer being a 67-yard Stafford completion to Golden Tate.

Of course, Cassius Marsh‘s face masking penalty didn’t help matters much.

After a San Francisco punt with about six minutes to play, the 49ers defense had another chance to step up and close out the ballgame. They didn’t. Stafford led the Lions on a 12-play, 79-yard drive to punch in another scored and close the gap to 30-27.

San Francisco’s defense stood firm on Detroit’s last chance, forcing them out on downs. But, it’s clear that the 49ers defense needs to develop a finishing move. That game should never have gotten that tight.