Week 13 - Hitting the road for one final game before entering the Bye week, the (8-4) San Francisco 49ers would head into the dog pound to face the (3-8) Browns in Cleveland where the Niners have been unable to escape with a win since 1984, having lost in each of their last four tries. With a win on Sunday, the 49ers would be guaranteed to clinch their fifth winning season under head coach Kyle Shanahan. But with poor weather conditions expected in the forecast, defensive stalwart Myles Garrett and a stout Browns defense wouldn't be the only thing 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and company would have to worry about out onto the field. However, the snowy and rainy conditions that effected much of the area in the days leading up to gameday would clear for the most part in time for kickoff with the exception of the cold wind. Regardless, coach Shanahan would take no chances with mother nature as he won the coin-toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff to start Sunday's game, a rare occurrence for San Francisco.
Looking to shake off a rough performance in his last outing when he threw three first half interceptions in an ugly win at home over the Carolina Panthers, Purdy would complete a 23-yard pass on the game's first play from scrimmage before the 49er offense struggled to gain more than a yard over their next three plays and were forced to punt. Cleveland quarterback Shedeur Sanders who became the first Browns QB to win his first career start since 1995 a week earlier, saw a similar fate on his team's opening-drive by converting a quick first down before things went awry and ended with the punting unit. And on that punt, return man Skyy Moore would come up with another huge play on special-teams by logging a 66-yard return, the longest punt return of his career to set things up for the 49er offense inside the red zone. Dialing up a heavy dose of plays for running back Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco would strike first with a 1-yard touchdown on third and goal. The Browns offense would begin to march on their ensuing possession by making it to the San Francisco 20 yard-line, but that's as far as they'd go as a 4th and 1 attempt was stuffed by the 49er defense to force a turnover on downs.
With a series of punts from both sides, the Browns would get on the scoreboard before the end of the half after relying heavily on their rushing attack from rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. Following nine consecutive run plays to begin the drive, Sanders connected thru the air with his tight-end and fellow rookie Harold Fannin for a 34-yard touchdown. After a 49ers penalty for too many men on the field during the extra-point attempt, the Browns would try their luck at the two-point conversion and succeeded with a 1-yard rush from Judkins to give Cleveland a 8-7 advantage with 39-seconds remaining before halftime. 39-seconds would be all the San Francisco offense would need, however, as Purdy and company moved the ball 58-yards on three plays with passes to receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings and George Kittle, respectively. The last of which a 33-yard reception that setup kicker Matt Gay for a 25-yard field goal that clanked the left upright before making it thru as San Francisco jumped back ahead, 10-8 at the half.
After punts from both teams to open the second half, the 49ers pounced on the first of two Cleveland fumbles on the day when a fumbled snap on 4th and 1 allowed for a short field for the San Francisco offense. With little success from McCaffrey from inside the Cleveland 5 yard-line, Purdy executed a perfect read-option and ran it in for the touchdown on third and goal for his first rushing touchdown of the season. With nothing to show for on their next possession, the 49ers would punt before coming up with another big play on special-teams by pouncing on and recovering a muffed fair-catch attempt that resulted in a fumble. Turning another turnover into points, the 49ers cashed in on a third and goal with a strike into the end zone from Purdy to Jauan Jennings to take a 23-8 lead. Sandwiched between a pair of turnover on downs forced by San Francisco's defense, Matt Gay would add his second field goal of the afternoon to give the Niners a commanding 26-8 lead that they would hang onto for the win. Shanahan and Purdy became the first 49ers head coach-QB duo to pull off a win in Cleveland since a pair of Hall of Famers -- Bill Walsh and Joe Montana did it in 1984 with a 41-7 drubbing of the Browns.
On a day that was far from great for the offense, the 49ers won on Sunday by playing the field position game and took advantage of the opportunities they were given with short fields to work with. They also received big time contributions from their defense and special-teams units. Tallying three sacks on the afternoon, all from newcomers Clelin Ferrell (2) and Keion White (1), Robert Saleh's defense has turned in impressive performances in back-to-back games, allowing a combined 17-points over their last two games. Brock Purdy threw for 168 yards and a touchdown in the win, besting Cleveland's Shedeur Sanders who threw for 149 yards a touchdown in the loss. Running back Christian McCaffrey had another busy day at the office on Sunday but produced minimal results, totaling 20 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, as well as 4 receptions for 21 yards. With 849 rushing yards and 806 receiving yards on the season, McCaffrey joins Marshall Faulk as the only players in NFL history with at least 800-800 in three seasons. His counterpart Quinshon Judkins was one of the lone bright spots for a lackluster Browns team, rushing for 91 yards on 23 carries while adding another 18 yards on three receptions to put him over 100 total yards on the day. Niners tight-end George Kittle led all receivers with a game-high 67 receiving yards on 4 receptions.
Week 15 Preview: With the improving to 9-4 on the season following their win over Cleveland, coach Shanahan and the 49ers will head home for their Week 14 Bye before returning to Levi's Stadium in Week 15 where they will host the (1-11) Tennessee Titans and the No. 1 overall pick in last April's Draft QB Cam Ward. With their lone win of the season coming on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, 22-21 in Week 5, the Titans are in the driver's seat to draft first overall for the second consecutive season. Having fired their head coach Brian Callahan only six weeks into the season after a 1-5 start in back-to-back years, the team is currently led by interim coach Mike McCoy.
Follow me on Twitter/X: @FraserKnowsBest
