Kurtenbach: The 49ers are battered, bruised, and extremely dangerous as they head into their bye

Nothing is pretty in Cleveland in the winter Least of all the football But Cleveland s nasty weather and even nastier defense didn t faze the San Francisco ers on Sunday It was the perfect setup for a trap encounter A short week A holiday hangover A roster looking ahead to a desperate long-awaited bye week It had no-fun letdown written in neon letters across the script The Niners didn t care They just went out and turned in one of their the majority professional sharp performances of a season that has been nothing short of a surprise party San Francisco wasn t flashy in their - win over the Browns They weren t particularly exciting But a ninth win is a ninth win And in this league a ninth win in December doesn t just loom large It casts a shadow over the entire conference Related Articles Studs and Duds Brock Purdy bounces back ers special teams shine in win over Browns Kurtenbach ers can exploit Shedeur Sanders weaknesses but they can t overlook the rest of the Browns ers need best of Brock Purdy as NFL playoffs loom Can he still give it Kurtenbach The ers got away with one against the Panthers It better be one-and-done ers Studs and Duds The Niners dominate while Brock Purdy implodes What if the Niners aren t the chasing association but in fact the association being chased Sunday s win puts San Francisco squarely in the driver s seat for the NFC playoffs The NFL s own analytics machines are spitting out a playoff probability of percent That s a fancy number for a simple truth they d really have to botch this to miss the postseason now With one-win Tennessee coming to town for Week the Niners likely need just one domination in their final four games to punch their ticket to an th battle Who knows Maybe the NFC West title or even the No seed is still on the table Combine Sunday s business trip in Cleveland with the Rams stunning loss in Carolina and the fact that the Bears who visit in Week are the new top dogs in the conference and suddenly the ceiling looks a lot higher I think looking from the outside in if people explained you re going to be - going into the bye and you re not going to have Fred Warner or Nick Bosa and George Kittle is going to miss five games and Brock Purdy is going to miss six I think a lot of people would have laughed Kittle declared after Sunday s championship Of module they would have How couldn t they And yet here we are The fact that they re standing here is a testament to the coaching staff and the stars who managed to stay upright Sure it helps to play a fourth-place schedule and run through the South divisions the easiest slate the NFL has churned out in years but there was ample opportunity for this organization to crumble Even against inferior competition bad teams find means to lose The Niners didn t Their performance against the Browns was just the latest exhibit of this crew s remarkable resiliency They did what a playoff club should do they allowed the Browns to beat themselves and added in a limited additional punches for good measure They made a bad organization look awful on Sunday How numerous head coaches have the Niners gotten fired this season I think Sunday will mark four It was a redemption match for Brock Purdy On Monday Night Football he looked lost and perhaps even injured tossing three woeful interceptions against the Panthers Six days later staring into -to- -mile-per-hour swirling wind gusts he was ripping throws downfield He threw for a touchdown He rushed for another It wasn t a stat-sheet stuffer tournament but it was ruthlessly efficient highly opportunistic and exactly what was required to win on the road against arguably the best defense in football In short Purdy looked like himself again Related Articles What the ers explained after beating the Browns Instant analysis of ers - win over Browns in Cleveland Studs and Duds Brock Purdy bounces back ers special teams shine in win over Browns ers-Browns live updates Niners win in windy Cleveland ers elevate kicker Matt Gay linebacker Jalen Graham from practice squad Coming in here against a great defense like that in the conditions like that It comes down to protecting the ball Purdy explained Purdy made a smart bet on Sunday rely on the defense and special teams against the Browns They came through in a big way That s not a bet a quarterback on a middling-quality unit can make but that s not Purdy s issue I love where we re at right now It s been a long wait for a bye week I ve never had one this late I don t know anyone on our company who has Kyle Shanahan revealed It s decisively here mentally and physically it will be awesome to rest and come back from that with four games to play for a chance to play in the playoffs is everything we could ask for The ers are hardly a association without flaws This season will unfailingly be defined by injuries But for all the belly-aching this club did about its late bye the natural trade-off for a schedule this soft the break might be arriving at the exact right moment for this association A week off for Purdy s turf toe could provide what he necessities to have a superstar home stretch of the campaign It could bring middle linebacker Tatum Bethune back into the fold his replacement of Warner has been levels above Curtis Robinson s stint It could give a beleaguered defensive line reinforcements in Sam Okuayinonu and perhaps even Yetur Gross-Matos It could be the refresh button this association requirements to spark a December run that could turn into January momentum That s easier noted than done of discipline After the Titans in Week the road to the playoffs features three playoff-bound teams in the Colts the Bears and the Seahawks Smart money would tell the Niners to turn in another businesslike performance after the bye put wins and a playoff berth in the bag and hold on until the playoffs But if we ve learned anything about these ers it s that nothing they do is predictable They live to confuse Media myself first and foremost and fans don t pretend you didn t write off this company at selected point were the first to be fooled What s to say the rest of the NFL isn t next