CLEVELAND – Many things had to go awry for the San Francisco 49ers to suffer their first defeat of the season this Sunday.
They lost two of their most important offensive weapons — Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and Christian McCaffrey (oblique) — to injury and a third, left tackle Trent Williams, suffered an ankle injury serious enough to require a walking boot for the trip home. They were on the receiving end of two very questionable officiating calls late in the fourth quarter. And their rookie kicker (Jake Moody) missed a last second 41-yard field goal, giving the Cleveland Browns a 19-17 victory and knocking the 49ers from the undefeated ranks.
But mostly what happened is they encountered Jim Schwartz, the architect of a Browns defense that turned the game into a rock fight, forcing San Francisco into second- and third-and-long yardage, harassing Brock Purdy with pressure until he fell to Earth for the first time in his career, making bad decisions and missing open receivers. The 49ers had not scored fewer than 30 points in a game this season, and they had trailed for a total of one minute and 45 seconds in the first five games. But Schwartz has a long track record of success against Kyle Shanahan, when they have met as head coaches and coordinators (Schwartz is now 8-1 over Shanahan teams) and so little about how this game played out, except perhaps the result, surprised anyone.
The 49ers consistently referred to the situation as “grimy”. However, it is a privilege for a team as skilled as this, with such a solid track record, to respond to their first regular season loss in 16 attempts with a philosophical outlook and an extensive perspective.
“It’s easy to stand behind that 5-0 record and just expect to be perfect every time,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said after the game. “I think we’re all human and we all make mistakes. Making mistakes at some point is good because you learn more from your mistakes than you do successes.”
There is plenty to learn from. The Browns offense, without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, rolled up 334 yards, including 160 yards rushing, and linebacker Fred Warner predicted the 49ers will now see a heavier dose of how the Browns attacked them — with screens and perimeter runs and some shots down the field. Nick Bosa said the 49ers pride themselves on setting the edge and the Browns were beating them there.
After a nearly perfect first drive, the offense faltered. The 49ers had effortlessly advanced, utilizing Samuel and McCaffrey for significant yard gains and a touchdown. It seemed as though a landslide victory was imminent. However, subsequent drives were plagued with errors such as false starts and botched plays, leading to long downs and distances. This provided Schwartz the opportunity to deploy the Browns’ formidable pass rush, which is his forte. Purdy was sacked thrice, kept to a mere 125 passing yards, and threw his season’s first interception. Injuries further marred the game, with Samuel and McCaffrey getting hurt in the first and third quarters, respectively. The 49ers could only muster 23 rushing yards in the second half. Despite the setbacks, Williams found some comfort in the offense’s ability to execute plays during the final, intense drive when they were most needed.
Shanahan did not provide an update on how severe Samuel and McCaffrey’s injuries were, although both players were present in the locker room post-match. However, he did express that the 49ers need to improve in preparing all players, as positional changes during the game led to the beginning of mistakes.
“Too many errors were committed by us on offense,” said Shanahan. “We lost a few players during the game. We had to rearrange a few positions and we were not entirely prepared for that.”
Shanahan was questioned about the difficulty of functioning without Samuel and McCaffrey.
“He emphasized that it’s essentially about preparing all the players. He elaborated that the game plan is designed in such a way that it allows for positional adjustments. However, he admitted that they made too many errors.”
Purdy expressed that, in spite of the offense’s struggles, he remained confident that the 49ers would find their usual rhythm. As the final selection of the 2022 draft, many spectators have long anticipated this kind of game from Purdy. He managed to evade such a situation until now, but even as it was happening, Purdy never lost hope.
“We scored on the first drive and I adopted the mentality of getting into a rhythm, moving the chains, for the entire game,” said Purdy. “However, I feel like I didn’t meet the standard.”
Although he did not confirm, it is rare for few teams to sustain a peak as high as the 49ers throughout an entire long season. Prior to the game, it was reasonable to question if the 49ers would lose a regular season game at all, and this loss barely impacts their reputation as one of the NFL’s most talented teams. They didn’t deserve to win, according to Bosa. However, it served as a wake-up call, highlighting that even the most talented teams can’t avoid mental errors, even the most formidable teams will encounter opponents with strategic game plans, and even the best teams must be capable of facing and managing adversity. It is more beneficial to receive this reminder in Week 6 than later on.
“Bosa expressed his opinion on the length of the NFL season, stating, “The season is really long. Injuries are unavoidable and every team encounters them at some point. We’ve lost some players and we need to be better prepared to adapt when such losses occur.”
