SANTA CLARA, Calif. >> The Detroit Lions needed a play, and Kerby Joseph gave them one — two, actually.

After five games without a Lions interception, Joseph, a third-year safety, picked off 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. They took place in the second half of the Detroit Lions’ 40-34 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, after 37 minutes of wondering how in the world this defense was going to get a stop.

The pass rush was nonexistent. At the second level, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan‘s offense feasted on Detroit’s linebackers. Like clockwork, the Lions defenders vacated a space and a 49er would appear, be it wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (141 yards) or tight end George Kittle (112).

The Lions trailed 28-24 midway through the third quarter, and to that point, the only 49ers drive that didn’t end in a touchdown was an end-of-half situation where San Francisco ran out of time and settled for a field goal (and missed).

Admittedly, the first interception that landed in Joseph’s hands was a gift. Purdy sailed a pass while looking for Pearsall and it landed right in Joseph’s hands before the man they call “Zuper Man” returned it to the San Francisco 43 to set up a go-ahead, fourth-down score to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

But the second one was all instincts, as Joseph jumped a throw to Pearsall over the middle, his league-leading ninth interception of the season, and set up another touchdown drive, this one to go up 40-28 with 2:58 remaining. He’s the first Lions player since 1981 (Jimmy Allen) to have nine interceptions in a season, and he’ll have the chance to extend that mark in Detroit’s all-important Week 18 finale against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field.

“He has been talking about it for the past three weeks and I’m so happy that he got two tonight,” defensive lineman Za’Darius Smith said. “Hopefully he gets two more next week. I’m just happy for him.”

Leading the NFL in interceptions is an impressive feat in its own right. But Joseph also leads the NFL in interceptions (17) since he entered the league in 2022. In a world where Lions records and historic milestones grow on trees, Joseph’s achievements in this area might be one of the most impressive individual feats going.

“I envisioned it,” Joseph said of his unrivaled success intercepting the ball. “I want to be great in this league, man. I don’t want to be no average Joe. … I want to be able to say I deserve that gold jacket some day.”

The Lions lost a pair of captains, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Alex Anzalone, to injury earlier this season.

While Joseph doesn’t wear the “C” on his chest, he’s become one of the defense’s important leaders. He plays hard, hits hard, and wears his heart on his sleeve. He supplies a lot of the glue that is holding this team and defense together through an adversity-riddled season. Every week, Joseph hosts the Lions’ defensive backs at his house for Thursday Night Football.

When Brian Branch was photographed flipping middle fingers to the Green Bay Packers sideline in Week 9, Joseph was the one who ordered shirts with the picture on it and handed them out to the entire team. His energy is infectious, and as he matures, he’s become more intentional as a leader.

“When we needed him the most, he came up big,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew we needed to get takeaways, and it was just another example playing complementary football. He came up in a big way, not just that the picks, he had some critical tackles in this game and just really showed up for us.”

To win in the playoffs, you gotta have a guy who can take matters into his own hands with the game on the line. In the absence of a game changing edge rusher, Joseph’s skill set is the next best thing.

Lack of pass rush

The Lions’ pass rush had one of its quieter games of the season, which is a pretty big red flag entering the finale against Minnesota. Part of the problem against San Francisco was that the coverage behind the defensive line wasn’t holding up, making it difficult for the Lions to make a real impact on Purdy over the 29.5% of snaps he was pressured.Smith was the only player to record at least three pressures while defensive linemen Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike each chipped in two.

The Vikings’ passing offense ranks fifth in the league, and quarterback Sam Darnold has more than proven he’s capable of getting the ball into the hands of playmakers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, who might be a mismatch for a Lions secondary playing without veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III.

If the Lions can get back Anzalone, that’ll help solve problems on multiple levels of the defense. But it’s no secret they’ve got a lot to clean up after the win at San Francisco.

“Do you want to play a little bit better? Yeah, you do, in areas, but we calmed some things down in the second half and those guys did a good job,”Campbell said. “We talked about man disruption and takeaways and we got those and that’s the world we got to live in. So I feel good.”

Detroit and Minnesota tied the turnover battle (one apiece) in the Week 7 meeting, a 31-29 Lions win. They’ll probably need to win the turnover battle to complete the sweep and play the type of complementary football Campbell envisions.

Road playoff games shouldn’t be daunting

If the Lions end up losing to Minnesota next week, there will rightfully be a ton of frustration about this historic season ending with having to go on the road during wild-card weekend.

But wouldn’t it just be perfect? Maybe I’m blinded by Campbell’s excitement to play this high-stakes matchup against the Vikings, and I do think Ford Field is one of the best home-field advantages in the sport, but after finishing the regular season a perfect 8-0 on the road (the first perfect road season in Lions history and the 10th in NFL history) would just be all too perfect, what is there to be afraid of?

“We’re a resilient group. We just are. We’re built to handle things that not everybody can do. You go 8-0 on the road, you’re a pretty good team and you can handle adversity,” Campbell said. “I’m proud of these guys, I’m proud of the coaches. It takes a village, it takes everybody. We prepare that way and we play that way.”

Would you prefer to have a first-round bye and home-field advantage? One hundred times out of 100. But at this point, there’s just no other choice than to believe that this team is capable of tackling any type of adversity or road-less-traveled that it may encounter over the next month.