DETROIT — The 49ers snapped the Detroit Lions’ nine-game win streak, 25-19, on Sunday at Ford FieldIt was the Lions’ first loss since a 24-20 defeat last season at the Chicago Bears on Dec. 5.
Here is some of the reaction from the Lions’ locker room:
"We’re not going to go 16-0. We didn’t play our best in any of the three phases: offense, defense or special teams. (It) still came down to one play at the end on defense we just fell short. We have to do a better job in all three phases. We have to protect the quarterback better, have to run the ball better, make more plays down the field. We have to stop the run better. We have to cover our kicks better. We have to convert field goals. Like I said, we didn’t play our best in all three phases and came up short."
–Coach Jim Schwartz
"They’re a good football team. San Fran’s got a great defense. They do a great job of stopping the run and getting after the passer. They played a lot of coverage and took away some of our guys and did what they’ve been doing all season. They did a great job in the red zone and held us out of some touchdowns."
–Quarterback Matthew Stafford
"If I were the 49ers and just beat these Lions with all this momentum, all this hype who had not lost since December — yeah, I would feel great about this. On the flip side of the coin, we feel terrible. It’s not a feeling we’re used to and it’s not a feeling we are going to get used to."
–Wide receiver Nate Burleson
"He (Stafford) got hit too much. Give them credit. They’ve got a good front. Justin Smith and Ray McDonald is one of the better D-tackle combos that we are going to face this year, and we’ve got to play better."
–Center Dominic Raiola
"There were a lot of run yards to their running backs. Our point of emphasis coming into the game was to stop the run game and we didn’t do a good job of that. We probably didn’t play well enough to win this game. But here we are at the end with the opportunity to beat a good team and we definitely didn’t play our best football. . . . They (the 49ers) should be excited. They beat a good team."
–Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch
"I think we definitely had him (Frank Gore) contained, but I mean those are big plays and that is what the NFL is all about — big plays that turn into scores for them. That is unfortunate that we couldn’t bounce back like we have in the past."
–Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh
"I was really frustrated because a couple plays before that, I think a couple guys — we got kind of flustered. Guys were lining up late, getting the calls late, kind of got rattled. Despite all that, we had them fourth and 6 and still had a chance to stop them. We usually rise to the occasion. We’ve got to be able to do that consistently."
–Linebacker DeAndre Levy on the 49ers’ game-winning touchdown
"Obviously, that determined the game. They did a good job of scheming us up in that red-zone route and, obviously, were successful at it."
–Safety Louis Delmas on the 49ers’ final TD.
Read more: Lions: 49ers ‘should be excited’
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