CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The star-crossed Cleveland Browns finally had the football gods smile upon them.
Or blew Jake Moody’s would-be game-winning 41-yard field goal wide right to preserve a stunning 19-17 victory to push Cleveland to 3-2 and hand San Francisco their first loss of the season and send the 49ers home 5-1.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from a shocker that actually went the Browns way on the lakeshore.
The Browns started off the week as 3.5-point underdogs and the line grew to double digits with the news Deshaun Watson was unavailable. “I'm aware of whether we're a favorite or an underdog,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “But I know the team we have. I felt good about this one. I'm pessimistic by nature, excuse me, I'm optimistic by nature, but I felt good about this one.” No one picked the Browns to win Sunday. Clearly, many fans sold their tickets to 49ers fans. That did not go unnoticed in the locker room. “People say they don't see the stuff on social media,” safety Juan Thornhill said. “I'm going to be honest, I saw it. It pissed me off just seeing that we had some of our fans not believing in us and obviously the 49ers thought they were going to come in and just walk all over us.” For once the Browns won a game no one other than the players and coaches thought they would win. “I'm sure a lot of so-called experts didn't pick us to win. I mean, we were 2-2. They were what, 5-0, so that's an easy pick,” receiver Amari Cooper said. “But I don't necessarily pay attention to what's on social media, so I didn't really see what he saw or what he said he saw. At the end of the day, man, it's any given Sunday, you go out there, you execute better, you play your brand of football, you go out there and you try to win. That's what we did.”
This game seemed destined to end in heartbreak for the Browns. “About time we got a little luck,” running back Kareem Hunt said. Clinging to a two point lead, the 49ers had one last chance and quickly drove into field goal range but this one finally broke Cleveland’s way. “Find a way to win,” defensive end Myles Garrett said. “When the chips are down and odds are against you, you know you got to make the most of what you got. We played the best we could with the cards were dealt and made the most out of it.” A pass interference penalty on Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. and a 25-yard pass from Brock Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk helped set up what should have been the game-winning field goal. “I just have to clean up my technique and don’t put that hand on him,” Emerson said of the penalty. “I didn’t need the hand. It was great coverage. I’m going to watch it and just clean it up for sure. I was a little tired, but I can’t let the tired make a coward out of me.” It didn’t matter because Moody pushed the 41-yard try wide right with six seconds remaining to seal the victory. “I mean that was all God, 100%,” receiver Amari Cooper said smiling. “I for sure was praying that he missed it, and I don't generally do that, but we needed that one, man.” Cooper hugged fellow receiver David Bell, who caught a critical six-yard pass to convert a fourth-and-4, on the go-ahead field goal drive. “The football gods were on our side,” safety Juan Thornhill said. “He missed the field goal and I'm happy that we got this win.” These are not the same ole Browns. “This can be the turning point when a lot of people don't believe in you and you just show the world that you're actually good enough to compete with anybody at this level,” Thornhill said. “I feel like this can be the time for us to take off and make everybody believe what we're really about.”
A fight broke out 40 minutes before kickoff with 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel and Thornhill in the middle of it. 49ers left tackle Trent Williams ran in and shoved Browns receiver Elijah Moore, knocking Moore’s helmet off. Officials raced in to separate the teams and restore order while shouting and shoving continued. Turns out all it did was anger and wake up the Browns. Read more about the melee HERE.
Cleveland's defense held the 49ers to a season-low 17 points and a season-low 215 net yards. The 49ers converted just 3 of 12 on third down. “I will say this defense is the best defense that I've ever been a part of and I've been to three Super Bowls,” Thornhill said. “And that's if you're making it to the Super Bowl each and every year, you have a good defense. But this team is unbelievable.” Let everyone in the NFL be on notice: this defense is the real deal. Cleveland's 1,002 yards allowed through 5 games is the fewest allowed by an NFL team to begin their season since 1974. “We say we're the best in the world,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “It doesn't matter who we're playing or whatever, we're going to stick to what we do and we're going to execute. And I feel like at times today we executed. There was still some stuff we left out there on the table where we didn't execute and the game wouldn't have been as close at the end.”
This was not one that will go into the annals of football lore when it comes to the magical battle between Brock Purdy and P.J. Walker. Both quarterbacks struggled. Walker was 18 of 34 for 192 yards with two interceptions and a rating of 45.2, but it was good enough. “They tie their shoes like us, man,” Walker said of the upset. “At the end of the day, they're good, but we all here for a reason. And at the end of the day, that's what it's about. I mean, they're a great team. They're a great football team. And for us, it's just go out there and battle. We ain't going to bow down to nobody and that's it.” Purdy finished 12 of 27 for 1256 yards with a touchdown and interception to earn a 55.3 rating. “If you just look at the stats, they really couldn't do much,” Thornhill said. “They couldn't run the ball, couldn't throw the football, so we were all over the place.”
Kicker Dustin Hopkins missed his first field goal of the season – a 47-yard try into the Dawg Pound with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter to keep it 7-0 San Francisco, but he was perfect the rest of the afternoon. Hopkins hit from 42 to tie the game at 10 early in the third quarter, from 46 to give the Browns a 13-10 lead with 2:59 left on the clock in the third, from 50 with 3:21 remaining to pull the Browns within 1 at 17-16, and his 29-yarder gave the Browns a 19-17 lead with 1:40 on the clock. Hopkins is the first Browns kicker to hit from 50 in four consecutive games.
Walker’s second interception came early in the fourth quarter that 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir returned 28 yards to the 8. The very next play saw 49ers running back Jordan Mason run it in for a 17-13 San Francisco lead. “You're going to make mistakes, but you can overcome mistakes as well,” Walker said. “Because you'll get another opportunity right after that. So for me, it's always about bouncing back. I mean, things happen and just keep going.” The opening possession for the Browns ended when Walker threw it right to 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, who returned it 32 yards to the Cleveland 26. The defense held and forced a 54-yard field goal try from Moody that sailed wide left.
Hunt scored the lone touchdown of the afternoon for the Browns on a 16-yard run thanks to stellar blocking up front on a Harrison Bryant pitch left to convert third-and-1. It cut San Francisco’s lead to 10-7 with 5:38 remaining in the first half. “It felt great, man,” Hunt said. “If you asked me about a month or a month and a half ago, probably have thought I'd been on the opposite team coming in that end zone again. But hey, it's a wonderful feeling. Love being from Cleveland. Love scoring touchdowns in Cleveland.” The Bryant short yardage package continues to do well, and that wrinkle put points on the board. Hunt finished with 47 yards on 12 carries rushing and caught three passes for 24 yards.
Cooper got free on a 56-yard catch and run in the second quarter and in the third quarter high pointed a 27-yard completion on the far sideline. “A lot of people don't get to see me do that that often, and so they mistake it for me not being able to do that,” Cooper said. “That's been a theory since I came out of college because generally I try to get wide open, so I'm not often in that position. But I've been playing receiver since I was a kid and that's one of the things that I've always worked on. So it was really a typical catch for me. I just high pointed the ball.” That second grab set up a 42-yard field goal to tie the game at 10. Cooper caught four passes for 108 yards.
Jerome Ford ran for 84 yards on 17 carries. The Browns out-rushed the 49ers 160-108.
It took no time for the 49ers to get on the board – okay, it took 2:44 for Purdy’s shovel pass to Christian McCaffrey to be turned into a 13-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II was called for a late hit out of bounds and defensive end Za’Darius Smith a facemask among three defensive penalties on the drive to aid San Francisco. McCaffrey has scored in 15 consecutive games.
Purdy's interception-less streak ended with 10:08 remaining in the third quarter when Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. picked him off and returned it 13 yards to the 49ers 38-yard line. “That turnover just let them know we’re different,” Emerson said. “They’ve never seen anybody like this 11 all year.” Unfortunately, a holding penalty on first down called on Donovan Peoples-Jones and a third down sack blew any hope of capitalizing on the mistake to smithereens.
49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. Samuel had two carries for 11 yards and did not catch a pass prior to the injury. McCaffrey suffered an oblique injury and was in and out of the lineup in the third quarter before being ruled out. He finished with 43 yards on 11 carries and caught three passes for nine yards and a score.
The Browns lost linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. to a concussion.
Tight end David Njoku was this week’s game captain. Former Browns and 49ers kicker Phil Dawson was the Dawg Pound captain/guitar smasher.
