Lions head into NFC title game rematch vs. 49ers seeking top seed more than revenge

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Dan Campbell stood at the podium after Detroit blew a 17-point lead to San Francisco in last season's NFC title game and talked about how that might have been the Lions' only shot at reaching the Super Bowl.

The coach knew how difficult it would be to maintain that high level of play through injuries, attrition and with a target on their back as a top contender in the NFC.

Eleven months later as Campbell and the Lions prepare to return to Levi's Stadium for the first time since that loss, that has proved to be prophetic — for San Francisco instead of Detroit.

The Lions (13-2) head into the rematch Monday night with the inside track at the top seed in the NFC playoffs, while the 49ers (6-9) have already been eliminated from postseason contention.

The element of revenge for last season's 34-31 loss is secondary for Detroit, considering what's on the line the last two weeks of the season. The Lions can clinch the top seed in the NFC by winning their final two games or with a win against the Niners if Minnesota loses to Green Bay on Sunday.

“Anytime we lose, the thought of losing is going to motivate you to not want to lose again, particularly with where you were at,” Campbell said. “So, that’s always going to bring its own level of motivation to it. But this is where we’re at in the season, we know that we need another win, we understand where we’re at in the division and the NFC, so I think it’s all encompassing.”

While the Lions have no need to search for motivation, that's not the case for the 49ers, who are playing out the string of a lost season after making losing back-to-back NFC title games in 2021-22 and the Super Bowl last season.

A run of injuries to key players like Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk, combined with inconsistent play all season have led to the 49ers having nothing to play for in the final two games.

“It’s obviously not where you want to be this time of year,” Bosa said. "It’s different, especially watching where we’re at last year against this team. Just that feeling of December, January football is a feeling that I’ve gotten used to being really competitive and being in the mix. I think we’re doing a good job of staying engaged and obviously this is our job, so we’re going to finish it strong.

Detroit’s faith in Jameson Williams is paying off, taking advantage of his game-breaking abilities with big plays.

Jared Goff heaved an 82-yard touchdown pass over Williams’ shoulders and into his hands in last week’s win at Chicago. Earlier this season, Goff threw 70-, 64- and 52-yard passes for scores to the third-year receiver.

“We work on it a ton, him and I do, and it’s a testament to him,” Goff said. “He’s asking for it. He wants that work, and I’m more than happy to give it to him during the week. It’s good. Our connection continues to grow. He’s obviously one of the best deep threats in our league, even when it’s not perfect.”

The 49ers head into the game scrambling to put together an offensive line.

Williams has been out for more than a month with an ankle injury and his backup at left tackle, Jaylon Moore, is now sidelined by a quadriceps injury. Left guard Aaron Banks injured his knee last week, while his backup Ben Bartch is already out with an ankle injury.

That will leave the Niners with two third-stringers protecting Brock Purdy. But Shanahan said he isn’t thinking of sitting Purdy to protect him.

“People deal with that throughout the year on other weeks, too,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got a football team. We’ve got to go out and we’ve got two games here and we’ve got to see what guys we can put out there and whatever we do we’re going to put a game plan together to, as best as we can to give us a chance to win.”

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who may have a chance for the second straight offseason to be an NFL head coach, routinely pulls off trick plays and his latest was a doozy.

Goff intentionally stumbled after taking a snap and Jahmyr Gibbs went to the ground as their teammates yelled, “fumble,” to fool the Bears on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta.

“Those make you feel good because everybody is invested in it,” Campbell said. “It’s fun. It’s different. It’s sound.

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s sound.”

San Francisco kicker Jake Moody is having a rough second season after being drafted in the third round a year ago. Moody has missed seven field goals this season, including a 41-yarder last week at Miami.

Moody is just 10 for 16 since coming back from a high ankle sprain in his kicking foot, but Shanahan said he still has confidence in him.

“I still feel the same about him, that I believe he’ll be our guy,” Shanahan said. "I mean everyone’s got to perform and do things like that. I think he has had a tough year. Before his high ankle sprain, he missed one. ... I think he was 12 of 13 before that, so I thought he was doing really well."

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Khalil Davis (50) leaves the field at the end of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan leaves the field at the end of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal celebrate his recovery of a Chicago Bears fumble during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell smiles along the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs celebrates his touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NEW YORK (AP) — Years before Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce was born, his father spent time in prison for an armed robbery conviction that prosecutors now say was tainted by a detective’s lies and “highly suggestive” photo identification techniques.

Jeffrey Koonce, now 67, will ask a suburban New York judge on Friday to vacate his conviction for a 1981 robbery at Vernon Stars Rod and Gun Club in Mount Vernon, where three people were struck by shotgun pellets as patrons were looted of cash and jewelry.

Koonce, who spent nearly eight years in prison, has always maintained his innocence. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah is backing his request after her office uncovered trouble with the case.

Rocah’s Conviction Review Unit investigated the 1983 conviction and found evidence that Mount Vernon police pressured the lone victim-witness to implicate Koonce, made Koonce’s picture larger than others in a photo array and failed to interview alibi witnesses who corroborated his claim that he was elsewhere.

A Mount Vernon detective later lied about the composition of the photo arrays when he testified at pretrial hearings and Koonce’s trial, and a court subsequently ordered the department to change its unduly suggestive photo identification practices, Rocah said. One of the detectives involved in Koonce’s case later went to prison following a federal corruption sting.

In a statement, Rocah said Koonce’s conviction “was tainted by such questionable investigatory processes and procedures” that her office can no longer stand by it.

Koonce and his lawyer, Karen Newirth, are set to appear Friday before Westchester County Judge James McCarty to request that he vacate Koonce’s robbery and weapons possession convictions and dismiss the underlying indictment.

“Today marks the end of a 41-year injustice, as Mr. Koonce is finally vindicated in court. DA Mimi Rocah and her team should be commended for their commitment to seeing justice done for Mr. Koonce," Newirth said.

Koonce absconded from court during jury deliberations and was found about seven months later, sleeping on his girlfriend’s couch in the Bronx, according to newspaper reports from the time.

He was sentenced to 7½ to 15 years in prison for the robbery and served a shorter, simultaneous sentence for bail jumping. He was released on parole in August 1992. His brother, Paul, a high school sophomore at the time, also was charged in the robbery. He was acquitted.

Malcolm Koonce was born in 1998. The NFL's Raiders drafted him in 2021. Another son, Dejuan Koonce, is a retired New York State Trooper who was assigned to protective details for Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Police accused Jeffrey and Paul Koonce of being among the three men who held up the Vernon Stars club on June 20, 1981. Patrons were forced to lie face down on the floor and made to hand over about $500 in cash, jewelry and other valuables, police said.

One of the perpetrators had a sawed-off shotgun and fired off at least two rounds, striking a 15-year-old and two other patrons, police said.

Rocah’s office found that detectives used dubious tactics to compel a victim to identify Koonce as the shooter. He was the only person to do so. Others told investigators that it was too dark in the club to identify the perpetrators by their faces.

The witness, a high school freshman at the time, picked Koonce out of a photo array that featured Koonce’s enlarged photo and smaller images of men who didn’t look like him.

The witness later told Rocah’s office that he didn’t remember seeing any faces in the dark club and that other patrons immediately covered him after the shooting, obscuring his view.

Detectives then brought Koonce to the hospital where the witness was being treated so he could identify him in person. The witness told a pretrial hearing that he felt pressured to quickly identify Koonce. The trial judge called the tactic “impermissibly suggestive.”

Rocah’s office also found Mount Vernon detectives harmed Koonce by failing to interview all his alibi witnesses. They include a now-retired New York City police detective who said Koonce was with him in the city the night of the robbery.

FILE - Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce (51) runs off the field at halftime of an NFL preseason football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Aug. 10, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)