3 Takeaways from Browns' Week 6 Win vs. 49ers
The Cleveland Browns came into Week 6 as heavy underdogs against the San Francisco 49ers and somehow came away with a 19-17 victory.
With Nick Chubb sidelined for the year and P.J. Walker being called from the practice squad to start at quarterback, it was a stunning victory for Cleveland.
To be fair, the Browns were aided by injuries—Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel both exited—a few questionable calls and a missed last-second field goal. However, Cleveland's vaunted defense lived up to its billing, holding the 49ers to just 215 yards and four second-half first downs.
Cleveland moves to 3-2 with the win and very much remains in the thick of the AFC North race. Here are our biggest takeaways from the Browns' Week 6 victory over the 49ers.
Cleveland Survives Mistakes, P.J. Walker
To be clear, Cleveland easily could have lost this game. Had Jake Moody connected on his 41-yard attempt with mere seconds remaining, it would have.
Mental mistakes and some up-and-down play from Walker put the Browns in that position.
Cleveland was flagged 13 times for 119 yards. It had two unnecessary roughness calls on San Francisco's game-opening touchdown drive and a pass interference call on the potential go-ahead 49ers drive. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has to get more disciplined play from his squad moving forward.
The Browns also need to get more careful play out of Walker if he's forced to start in Week 7—a distinct possibility with Deshaun Watson still nursing a shoulder injury.
"Although a Week 7 return is both realistic and possible, the Browns want to make sure that Watson's injury does not develop into a problem that lingers throughout the season," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote on Saturday.
Walker had a pair of interceptions, including one that set up a 49ers touchdown and was nearly picked on an ill-advised throw during Cleveland's go-ahead field goal drive in the fourth. While he played better than rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson did in Week 4, fans could easily be laming Walker for a loss on Monday.
Defense Passes Its Biggest Test of the Season so Far
Thompson-Robinson's mistake-prone play led to a blowout against the Baltimore Ravens two weeks ago. The Browns defense played mostly well but was repeatedly handed a short field and eventually collapsed in a 28-3 defeat.
For the second-straight game, the Browns played with an understudy quarterback, this time against arguably the most complete offense in the NFL. San Francisco came in ranked second in rushing yards, 13th in passing yards, third in total yards and first in scoring.
Myles Garrett and the defensive front made life miserable for Brock Purdy, the 49ers found few open receivers roaming downfield, and the Browns surrendered just 10 points on drives that didn't start inside their own 10-yard line.
Yes, this game might have looked a lot different with Samuel and McCaffrey healthy for its entirety. However, the 49ers have a deep roster and an offensive innovator in head coach Kyle Shanahan.
San Francisco marched 84 yards on the opening drive, but Cleveland's defense set the tone from there.
The defense couldn't carry Cleveland to a win against Baltimore, but it showed with Sunday's impressive performance that it is indeed one of the top units in the NFL.
The Run Game Is Starting to Reemerge
The Browns rushing attack just isn't the same without Chubb, and that should surprise exactly no one. However, Cleveland's ground game looked the best it has since Chubb went down in Week 2.
In-season acquisition Kareem Hunt is starting to get his legs under him. He finished with 47 yards and a 16-yard touchdown run. Jerome Ford struggled to find running room early but helped put the game away with a couple of big gains.
Ford finished with 84 yards and a 4.9 yards-per-carry average.
As a team, the Browns rushed for 160 yards and 4.7 yards per carry. They did it against a 49ers defense ranked ninth in yards per carry allowed (3.7) and second in rushing yards surrendered. They also did it without standout guard Joel Bitonio (knee).
A strong ground game allowed Cleveland to control the tempo and win the possession battle. The Browns ran 70 plays to San Francisco's 55 and held the ball for more than 33 minutes.
Ideally, Cleveland will keep finding ways to maintain a functional rushing attack moving forward.