CLEVELAND vs SAN FRANCISCO
49ERS WIN 26 – 8
- Story of the Game – The Browns Offense Struggles Once Again as the 49ers Scrape Together Another Win
While the 49ers offense was far from their best they did more than enough to get out of Cleveland with a win especially with how the Browns offense played this game. While some may place blame on their new starting QB Shedeur Sanders or their HC Kevin Stefanski I just believe the blame needs to be spread around. Sanders wasn’t perfect and certainly could have done a better job operating on time within the offense, Stefanski could have created some easier looks and utilized the lack of pass rush from San Francisco to their advantage more, and the passing attack specifically could have been far more effective had the WR’s been able to create and consistent amount of separation. It’s not just one thing this Browns offense needs or struggles with… the entire operation needs to be redone and they flat out need more talent here. Because of the struggles and issues with the Browns offense their defense once again played a great game but came up short of a win. All game long they forced the 49ers to inch their way down the field and the constant attention the 49ers were forced to send Myles Garrett’s way was giving them issues with the rest of their offense. So while it wasn’t a particularly impressive win for the 49ers to be sitting at 9-4 despite all of their injuries continues to be one of the most impressive showings from any team this year. As for Cleveland… I don’t know where you go from here. There’s no one thing that needs to be better for this to work this year it’s a matter of everything not being good enough so the Sanders and Stefanski discourse needs to stop.
- Key Notes for the 49ers
Brock Purdy has struggled ever since coming back from his injury and while he didn’t turn the ball over this game it still was far off from when he’s at his best. He doesn’t look comfortable under pressure in the same way he used to and he seems to be off on his timing which has been his superpower his entire career. Most of all he’s struggling to stretch the field with his arm which is closing windows that he’s already late to finding even faster which is leading to more turnovers and mistakes. He improved from last game and even later on in this game he found Kittle in some key spots and looked closer and closer to his old self. I’m not worried about Purdy or this 49ers passing game but it’s got to get up to speed faster if they plan on beating teams with better offenses than the Browns.
The rhythm of this offense was completely off this game and while Purdy was a big part of that the entire group needs to be better. Despite only giving up one sack they struggled to create any real pockets for Purdy to throw from, the receiving corp wasn’t creating any consistent separation, and the run game continues to disappoint outside of the red zone. HC Kyle Shanahan through all of the struggles has still kept this offense on track and putting points on the board.
The 49ers pass rush while coming up with a few big plays, especially late in the game, was far too inconsistent for them to affect anything against a more capable offense. The Browns OL has been unimpressive to say the least this year and yet Sanders had an alarming amount of reps where he got to sit in a wide pocket and attempt to push the ball downfield. The secondary did make up for the lack of pass rush though and really never allowed anything over their heads or frankly downfield at all. This side of the ball I’m a bit more concerned about considering the losses they’ve had here and I don’t see any real way to fix it.
- Key Notes for the Browns
The Sanders and Stefanski discourse has gotten out of control and while I’d admit I’m not in love with the plan of an attack throughout games no matter the QB I can’t say I have many answers with the roster Stefanski has been given. The QB talent no matter who has started here this year hasn’t been consistent enough, the game planning has been lackluster from a HC that has done far better in the past, and the talent on this offense especially in the receiving corp is far from enough to have any type of a sustainable passing attack. The problem goes far beyond just the QB or just the HC… there’s issues all over the offense that are limiting or failing these two. Does that mean they should both be back next year? No, if anything I might recommend this franchise goes a separate way at both positions and begins to build this from the ground up once again.
The defense continues to play outstanding football and give their offense chance after chance despite them almost never paying it off. Myles Garrett even through all of the attention he was being given by the 49ers found a way to have an effect on the game including a ridiculous move to get a sack through a chip and Trent Williams. He makes this entire defense work with the way he forces Offensive Coordinators and Head Coaches to gamelan their entire day around him and not to mention the attention he draws within the game and production he has by himself on offenses. Along with the success they had up front the man coverage they attacked with wrecked a big part of the 49ers offense. This defense as a whole was aggressive and attacked the 49ers at all 3 levels all game but the inability of their offense to move the ball put them in a too many bad positions to overcome.
The special teams unit made crucial mistakes down the stretch of this game including a muffed punt that was recovered by the 49ers and a terrible mistake by Malachi Corley on kickoff that pinned their struggling offense inside their own 5yd line. They were outplayed start to finish on this side of the ball and when you combine that with the offensive struggles you don’t give yourself any chance to win the game.
- Standout Performers
SF
George Kittle – 4/67
Trent Williams – Gave up one sack to Myles Garrett that’s getting put everywhere online but overall held up incredibly well against the best pass rusher in the NFL
Malik Mustapha – 7 Tackles (5 Solo) 1 TFL 1 PBU
Deommodore Lenoir – 4 Tackles (1 Solo)
CLE
Quinshon Judkins – 23/91 – 3/18 rec
- Only consistent piece of the offense week to week
Harold Fannin Jr – 3/43 1 TD
Myles Garrett – 5 Tackles (2 Solo) 1 Sack 2 TFLs
Carson Schwesinger – 10 Tackles (5 Solo) 1 TFL
