This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns face the San Francisco 49ers. Below we look at some pros, cons or general thoughts on the two teams before moving on to our predictions for the game.
A test of epic proportions
Call it hope or faith, but Cleveland Browns fans are buying an upset against the San Francisco 49ers this week. A lot of that is due to the belief or hope that Shedeur Sanders has that enthusiasm and a little bit of edge that the Browns needed on offense to successfully match up with the defense and win football games.
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It might seem delusional to take the 3-8 Browns over the 8-4 49ers, considering Cleveland only performed against one of the worst teams in the NFL last week in the Las Vegas Raiders. However, the elements could align in Cleveland this week for a variety of factors.
Under normal weather conditions, I’d pick the 49ers. They are generally an intelligent, veteran and disciplined team. However, strong gusts of wind are expected during the game with the possibility of precipitation, elements that do not favor quarterback Brock Purdy or a 49ers team that hasn’t won in Cleveland since 1984. Add to that the fact that the 49ers generate the least amount of pressure in the NFL, and I think you can have a similar formula of the Browns defense dominating the game and Sanders making a few more plays out of the pocket to fuel the offense.
All of these games are important for Sanders and the Browns, because there is a small window to determine if Cleveland needs to invest in a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. A mediocre performance here or a loss takes away from the hype that has been generated over the last week. But another victory? Now you will actually have people talking.
Fast hitters
defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz He talked about the 49ers and how they use movement in their offense:
“Yeah, you could probably go back to Miami week and the same conversations we had. You know, a couple of years ago, it was a little more unique with San Francisco making some of their moves. And some of their members have done some of that, including Mike (McDaniel) in Miami. But other offensive coordinators have copied it, so it’s given us more opportunities to work on it. But certainly, like I said, the scheme is extremely challenging. Not just from a schematic standpoint, but from a personal view, the way they use all their guys. So obviously the ability to counter all those moves, a big part of that is having the right view and good communication, things that we did a very good job of against Miami. So we’ll have to do the same in this game.
offensive coordinator Tommy Rees He was asked about the Browns’ use of the Wildcat and his personal experience calling him up:
“Like always with the Wildcat? When I was working at Notre Dame, we introduced it. I never got a lot of… I never got a lot of benefits there, just for some reason. I think we had it a few weeks ago, before the Miami game, we just felt like we could gain an extra gap in the running game, gain an extra hat in certain spots, it makes you really defend in the specific run looks, the 11, without giving up too much of the schemes, like there were some real advantages. Q has, you know, comfort in doing it and someone we trust to do it and you can define the look that you are going to have to attack. Obviously, we have had a lot of success here in two small sample sizes of games, but we have scored four touchdowns and we had some productive runs in the package, you know, our fullback was not available throughout the game.
special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone Asked about Gage Larvadain’s big return last week:
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“Yeah, it was great. I mean, I thought our guys did a good job of being able to stay in tune with their coverage guys down the field. And Gage did a good job of getting the ball downhill and attacking their coverage. He set up a score, which was great for us. So hopefully we’ll continue to build on that in the coming weeks.”
Some other notes to look forward to:
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I lock Jerry Jeudy every week, but I still don’t know what the hell he was thinking last week with that fumble. Hopefully all of these receivers see that Shedeur Sanders has the mentality of keeping a play alive and if he buys time, they need to be alert to find that opening and capitalize.
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The Browns’ blocking effort on the Wildcat looks substantially better than without it. It’s almost as if when they know for sure what their task is, they can thrive.
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The special teams put in a solid effort last week, let’s see if they can keep up. The Browns took care of business against teams like Miami and Las Vegas, but the reason things went wrong against the Jets was because of special teams.
Predictions
Here are predictions from several DBN staff:
Chris Pokorny: “Sometimes those weird stats don’t lie. The 49ers are touring the country, they haven’t won in Cleveland in a while, and the weather conditions aren’t in their favor. The Browns defense will be as fierce as ever.” Browns 20, 49ers 13
Jared Mueller: “I called it a home run. I called it Thanksgiving hope. Call it stupid, but I watched the Cleveland Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers with PJ Walker at quarterback and a good defense that isn’t as good as the one they’ll face in 2025.
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“Small travel and schedule factors could also play a role for visitors.” Browns 20, 49ers 17
Barry Shuck: “The 49ers are a dangerous team when they have the ball. Ranked #2 in passing yards and #3 in completions. Their running game is the bottom third, which means they’ll blow it out. How do you solve this? Another 10-sack game will certainly help. If the QBs are constantly getting harassed and thrown out of the pocket, their production goes way down. Ask Geno Smith. Meanwhile, the Browns have the league’s No. 4 pass defense. This will be the “. ” Browns 27, 49ers 24
Curtis Brown: “The last time these two teams played, we saw a pregame brawl on the field that led to the Browns physically manhandling the 49ers and pulling off a surprising victory.
Fast forward to now and the two teams are going in different directions. The 49ers aren’t the same team as last year (mostly on defense due to injuries) and their offense still has notable stars on that side of the ball. The 49ers are coming off a short week and have to travel across the country, so that could play a role. I could see the Browns pulling off the upset because, for some reason, Kyle Shanahan is fighting Jim Schwartz.
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Rookie QB Shedeur Sanders played well last week, but the 49ers defense is opportunistic and Robert Saleh has that group playing decent, solid football. The only way Cleveland wins this game is if Sanders keeps the Browns offense on schedule and the team plays complementary football. Force QB Brock Purdy to make mistakes and you’ll have a chance. I don’t see the Browns beating the 49ers this time (although they could beat them 2 years ago), there are just too many questions about what the offense will look like against a decent, well-coached defense.” 49ers 27, Browns 17
Ezweav: “Shedeur showed what appeared to be some improvement over Baltimore’s game and that’s encouraging. I think it’s possible that the Raiders, being less than impressive, may have covered up some deficiencies. The Niners, while injured, are still a real team and defense and will most likely be much more effective in troubling the rookie (by the way, a shout out to Las Vegas for taking their tanking operation seriously while we’re here playing).
I have no hope. I would LOVE to be wrong and have the kid continue to improve. My problem is (not that I know anything, but) he’s not getting better at the things I need to see improvement in (setting protections, raising money instead of getting out of it, hitting checkpoints, etc.). I just don’t do it, at least not substantially. And well, if he shows noticeable improvement and continues to rise, I will give him all the credit in the world.
Unfortunately, I think the problem stems from the same thing that ruins all non-FQBs: processing speed. It is the demarcation line. You can have absolutely everything else, but if you don’t, the rest doesn’t matter as much. It can get better, but there can also be a pretty strict limit for all but 8-14 guys on the planet at any given time. It is true that it is too early to make that determination. I am simply skeptical of a positive development.
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Let’s hope we’re wrong!” 49ers 37, Browns 16
Who do you think will win, Browns fans? Let us know in the comments section below.