49ers Overcome 17-Point Deficit to Advance to Super Bowl

Brock Purdy threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, and the San Francisco 49ers rallied from 17 points down at halftime to beat the Detroit Lions 34-31 on Sunday and reach the Super Bowl, the AP reports. The 49ers (14-5) scored 17 points in an eight-minute span of the third quarter to tie the NFC championship game and then pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a rematch against Kansas City after losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl four years ago. San Francisco mounted the fourth comeback ever from 17 points down or more in a conference title game thanks to some big plays by Purdy and bad mistakes from the Lions (14-6), including two failed fourth downs in field-goal range. Detroit fell short of reaching the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Earlier Sunday, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were at their magnificent best in the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs' game against the Baltimore Ravens, and Kansas City's defense delivered another masterpiece against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, leading the Chiefs to a 17-10 victory in the AFC championship game, the AP reports. Kelce caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown on a milestone day for the 34-year-old, who surpassed Jerry Rice's career record for postseason receptions. The Chiefs and the 49ers will meet at Super Bowl in Las Vegas on February 11. (Then there was the requisite post-game gawking.)