Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was feeling confident during the first half of the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers.
He was so confident that after the Lions took a two-touchdown advantage over the 49ers in the second quarter, he waved goodbye to the home fans at Levi’s Stadium.
It was a bold move by Gardner-Johnson, who was the NFL’s co-interceptions leader in 2022 when he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. But with plenty of football still left in the game, the hubris did not work out for him and it ended up backfiring in the most humiliating way possible.
CJ Gardner-Johnson waving goodbye to 49er fans in the 2nd quarter! pic.twitter.com/FrWjTNbrMZ
— ★★★★★ (@TSV__1) January 29, 2024
San Francisco eventually erased the 17-point deficit created by Detroit and even went on to win the game, 34-31, to earn another trip to play against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
After the game, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel tweeted about Gardner-Johnson waving goodbye and he asked if somebody could “go check on” the Lions defender.
Somebody go check on lil bruh https://t.co/8UgIk3iFkG
— Deebo (@19problemz) January 29, 2024
Before the game began, Gardner-Johnson also recorded a video talking trash about the San Francisco wideout.
So this may have been personal for Samuel, who also received a cheap shot from Gardner-Johnson during the game.
But it was Samuel who got the last laugh as he will have another opportunity to win a Super Bowl ring against Kansas City.
