Going into their Monday night matchup, the Cleveland Browns were on a bit of a roll. After a close loss to the Los Angeles Rams, they went on the road and hung 40 on the defending AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens. The Browns moved to 2-2, tied for first in the division, and things seemed to be looking up. That is, until, they ran into a buzzsaw named the San Francisco 49ers. Not only did the 49ers dominate in every aspect of Monday’s game. They made the Browns look unworthy of playing on the same football field.
San Francisco 49ers Defense Dominates in Decisive Win Over Cleveland Browns
Front Seven Domination
Up front, the Niners were a terror to Baker Mayfield. On the Browns’ second possession of the game Nick Bosa pressured Baker and forced him to loft the ball over the middle of the field, and right into the arms of Richard Sherman. Jimmy Garoppolo took this gift from his defense and marched down the field for another 49ers touchdown. Two possessions later, Bosa penetrated the Browns’ O-Line yet again. He got around the edge to force and recover a fumble from Mayfield. Later in the game, Bosa worked his magic again. This time, he strip-sacked Mayfield even though the Browns were fortunate to retain possession. After all was said and done, Bosa recorded six pressures, five quarterback hits, 2.0 sacks, and played a big role in each of the takeaways the 49ers were able to get.
No-Fly Zone
The bad news for Cleveland is that Baker looked just as bad running for his life as he did standing in the pocket and delivering throws. Cornerbacks Richard Sherman and K’Waun Williams each nabbed an interception and helped hold Mayfield to just eight of 22 for 100 yards. Baker recorded a passer rating of just 13.4, the lowest of his career. No matter what he did, his passes just weren’t connecting. A big factor of Baker’s pitiful performance was the 49ers secondary swarming receivers and forcing them to as few yards-after-catch as possible. Even the Browns run game couldn’t get much going. The team racked up 102 total rush yards, just a fraction of the 275 the 49ers were able to gain. While the Browns’ stock keeps falling, the 49ers keep rising. Throughout the night the 49ers showed vast superiority in preparation and execution, and dominant wins like this will go a long way towards silencing the doubters.
