The San Francisco 49ers couldn’t have asked for a better start. Kyle Juszczyk caught a 23-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. However, the offense only gained 1 yard on the drive after that and was forced to punt.
The Browns picked up a first down, too. But Shedeur Sanders’ errant pass to Jerry Jeudy, who was open, was long, and that forced a punt. These days, you don’t want to punt to Skyy Moore.
Moore had a 66-yard punt return to set up the 49ers with ideal field position. A trick play didn’t work. Christian McCaffrey attempted to throw a pass, but the Browns were all over it. McCaffrey caught a 12-yard pass on the ensuing play. Purdy missed Luke Farrell open in the end zone after his throw sailed on him. But McCaffrey would not be denied from the goal line as the 49ers took an early 7-0 lead.
Scoring in the red zone has been a strength of the 49ers this season. Since November, they’ve scored a touchdown on 79 percent of their trips. That’s second in the NFL during that time.
Cleveland put together a promising drive the second time they had the ball. But a 4th-and-1 attempt was shut down by Malik Mustapha and Jordan Elliott.
Kendrick Bourne made a heck of an effort on third down on the following drive, but he couldn’t control the ball through the catch, leading to another punt.
Robert Beal hit Shedeur Sanders’ arm on the third drive of the game. The ball was in the air forever, but it still resulted in an 18-yard completion. Those are the types of plays that result in turnovers for most teams. When it’s not going well, those are completions.
The 49ers moved the Browns back to force a 3rd & 15 instead of giving them 4th & 10. Clelin Ferrell sacked Sanders, taking the Browns out of field goal range and forcing a punt. Points were always going to be tough to come by in this game, and that felt like a pivotal point early.
Clelin Ferrell’s third sack put him one behind Bryce Huff for the team lead.
George Kittle got things going on the next drive with a 14-yard reception. A defensive holding put the Niners in Browns territory, but a tackle for loss meant 3rd & 10. A six-yard gain wasn’t enough for Shanahan to go for it in plus territory.
Thomas Morstead’s punt was caught at the ten, meaning Cleveland would need to drive 90 yards. It was yet another sign that Shanahan does not respect this Browns offense.
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Curtis Robinson went down on the field, which was suboptimal. Luke Gifford and Jalen Graham were the only other options at linebacker. Rookie Nick Martin was ruled out with a concussion. Graham came in for Robinson, but Robinson returned after the two-minute warning.
The Browns got to the part of the field where the Niners had punted within for our five plays. It might have seemed like the wrong decision in hindsight, but it was worthy of the gamble. There were no signs that the defense would get punked eight plays in a row on the ground. Cleveland moved the ball into San Francisco’s territory without needing to throw.
Then, a coverage bust led to a touchdown. A defensive penalty allowed the Browns to go for two, and that conversion put them up 8-7.
The 49ers took over with 39 seconds remaining in the half, and Ricky Pearsall came through on 3rd & 10 with a 13-yard reception. Jauan Jennings followed that up with a 12-yarder. George Kittle, basically with one arm, caught a 33-yard pass. Matt Gay doinked in a field goal to give the Niners a 10-8 lead.
The 49ers could have had an opportunity to run another play, but the referees did not see Kittle signaling for a timeout. Instead, they were discussing whether Kittle had caught the ball or not:
The Browns begin the second half with the ball. Keion White made a play on second down, which meant the Browns would need to throw. Sanders’ pass was incomplete, and the Niners got the ball back.
During the two-minute drill, Purdy had success throwing to his left. Would the offense continue to pick on Greg Newsome? That’s where Jauan Jennings’ third-down reception happened.
But after that, the offense played behind the line of scrimmage and was forced to punt. The Browns began to generate pressure, but Purdy was not helping by holding the ball. Perhaps some of it was due to players not getting open. Something was notably off.
Cleveland inexplicably went for it on 4th & 1. They couldn’t get a play off, as there was a fumble.
Shanahan schemed open Kittle on 3rd & 8 for a 14-yard gain. Then, on third and goal from the two-yard line, Purdy ran a zone read, pulled the ball, and caught everybody in the stadium off guard. That touchdown gave San Francisco a 17-8 lead.
Matt Gay’s kick was headed for out of bounds, but the Browns’ returner fielded it. On 3rd & 9. Sanders looked like he could have been flagged for intentional grounding. There was also an obvious hold. For whatever reason, neither of those was called, and the Browns were fortunate to avoid a safety.
San Francisco had great field position, but Myles Garrett beat Trent Williams cleanly to the inside, forcing a punt. The Browns gave the ball right back to the Niners after muffing the ensuing punt.
Shanahan called a screen on 3rd & five. McCaffrey benefited from a quality Spencer Burford block in the open field. Then on 3rd & goal from the seven, Jauan Jennings won to the inside and scored to give the Niners a 23-8 lead. That red zone score meant San Francisco had scored on 22 of their previous 26 red zone trips.
A holding call prevented Kalia Davis from picking up a sack. However, Keion White ended the drive with a sack on 4th & 16. Sanders had plenty of time, but that was the problem.
The 49ers tacked on a field goal to make it 26-8. Clelin Ferrell picked up another sack. And the 49ers dominated an opponent they were supposed to.
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