Instant analysis of 49ers’ 26-8 win over Browns in Cleveland

CLEVELAND Win No in the ers seemingly playoff-bound season came in - fashion Sunday But it wasn t looking too secure until a third-quarter swing The ers clung to a - lead when well let s hear from referee Brad Allen Boom this way Allen shouted on a live mic as ers linebacker Luke Gifford recovered the Browns fourth-and- snap which was botched by Harrold Fannin at the Cleveland -yard line What ensued was a -yard touchdown run by Brock Purdy then a -yard touchdown pass from Purdy to Jauan Jennings with Matt Gay tacking on a -yard field goal in the final minutes Those unanswered points after halftime allowed the ers - to cruise to a third straight win their longest streak since a - start to the season The Browns - fell in the first home start for rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders who won his debut last Sunday in Las Vegas Cleveland hasn t won back-to-back games since The ers defense and special teams came through with plenty of highlights too in the gang s coldest battle this season degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of degrees amid -mph winds The ers now enter their long-awaited bye week the latest ever in an NFL regular season also idle will be the New England Patriots the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants No practices are anticipated as ers players likely will be excused after Tuesday s strength and conditioning Purdy came alive late in the first half finished with just passing yards committed no turnovers and got sacked just once when Myles Garrett notched his NFL-leading th sack About minutes before the fourth quarter Purdy put the ers ahead - with a -yard third-and-goal touchdown run with Garrett biting on Purdy s fake handoff to Christian McCaffrey Purdy kept that drive alive with a -yard third-down completion to George Kittle at the -yard line but only after McCaffrey earlier converted a third-and- run Even after Purdy got sacked by Garrett to force a punt the Browns muffed it and Darrell Luter Jr recovered for the ers at the Browns -yard line That led to Jennings signature third-down touchdown catch Gay s field goal with minutes left capped the ers scoring spree which he indeed began just before halftime when he banked in a -yard field goal for a - lead That end-of-half scoring drive came to life thanks on Purdy completions to Ricky Pearsall yards Jennings and Kittle yards at the -yard line The Browns had pulled ahead - when after nine consecutive runs to midfield Sanders floated a -yard touchdown pass to Fannin who slipped past Gifford then beat Renardo Green and Ji Ayir Brown to the goal line Another ers gaffe -men-on-the-field for a point-after kick prompted the Browns to go for a two-point conversion that Quinshon Judkins scored off a direct snap for an - lead seconds before halftime The ers improved to - when leading at halftime McCaffrey put the ers ahead - with a -yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter capitalizing on Skyy Moore s career-long -yard punt return to the Browns -yard line After throwing away an option pass on second down McCaffrey had a -yard catch to the -yard line then ultimately punched in his eighth rushing touchdown in eight games after none in the first four games McCaffrey ascertained a scoring lane between left guard Spencer Burford and center Jake Brendel McCaffrey finished with yards on carries and yards on four receptions On the injury front the ers casualties included fullback Kyle Juszczyk ribs linebacker Nick Martin concussion and left guard Ben Bartch foot Juszczcyk who notched his th career reception on the encounter s first snap was broadcasted injured early in the fourth quarter Martin sustained a first-half concussion on a fourth-down stop and Bartch was lost to a foot injury late in the third quarter Bartch had rotated with Spencer Burford for four games since coming off Injured Reserve The Browns ruled out right tackle Jack Conklin at halftime with a concussion then defensive tackle Maliek Collins a er got carted off early in the third quarter with a knee injury Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh s unit looked vulnerable to screen passes and runs up the middle early in the encounter But a slew of highlights offset those Browns yards Setting the tone late in the first quarter was safety Malik Mustapha combining with ex-Browns defensive tackle Jordan Elliott to stuff Judkins for a -yard loss on that fourth-and- run from the The ers first of three sacks on Sanders came early in the second quarter but only after coach Kyle Shanahan nullified a third-down stop to accept an illegal-shift penalty on the Browns to set up third-and- That led to Clelin Ferrell s sack of Sanders at midfield Ferrell later notched a second sack and Keion White recorded his first full sack with the ers Related Articles ers-Browns live updates Purdy TD extends Niners lead in windy Cleveland ers elevate kicker Matt Gay linebacker Jalen Graham from practice squad ers keys to winning at Cleveland for first time since Kurtenbach ers can exploit Shedeur Sanders weaknesses but they can t overlook the rest of the Browns How to watch ers vs Browns on Sunday Sanders first home drive as the Browns starting quarterback ended with him overthrowing Jerry Jeudy who was open past Brown chosen yards downfield Sanders final snap a -yard run before he slid down in ers territory on a fourth-and- play Sanders finished -of- for yards with the one touchdown and no turnovers Mac Jones finished things off for the ers taking a knee and cueing a Kendrick Bourne backflip in the conquest formation