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The 49ers are repeatedly delivering the type of balanced, complementary football that has fueled numerous deep playoff runs under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Sunday’s 26-8 road strong-arming of the Cleveland Browns, which pulled the 49ers (9-4) into a tie for the most wins in the NFC, verified this. It was the team’s most balanced performance of the season.
The 49ers have been successfully balanced for three straight games — all wins with Brock Purdy back in the quarterback spot.
No, the 49ers haven’t faced world-beating opponents in this stretch. But they’ve shown such a steady uptick in cohesive play that it’s not hard to imagine how they might fare against better competition.
Those chances are coming, as the 49ers will face the Indianapolis Colts (8-4), Chicago Bears (9-3), and Seattle Seahawks (9-3) to close the regular season. But first, they’ll enjoy a well-earned bye week before facing the Tennessee Titans (1-11).
Here are grades and snap counts from Sunday’s win over Cleveland.
Quarterback: Brock Purdy (63 snaps)
Game grade: A
If Purdy made a single mistake in this game, it wasn’t immediately obvious on tape. Even the throwaways — Purdy had a career-high six — were good plays, as it was critical to exhibit restraint in windy conditions against Cleveland’s top-five defense. Purdy’s elusiveness shined above all else. He took only one sack despite being pressured on 58% of his drop backs. That was no fluke. There’s a huge gap between Purdy and all other NFL quarterbacks in pressure-to-sack ratio, one of the most important stats to consider when evaluating a QB’s ability to elevate a system.
After watching Purdy repeatedly elude Myles Garrett and Co., it’s fair to say that his presence might’ve changed some losing outcomes for the 49ers earlier this year. How would Purdy have fared against the Houston Texans’ ferocious pass rush in Week 7, for example? That was an ugly loss with Mac Jones — who has a 17.4% pressure-to-sack ratio — at the helm.
Jones played efficient football over his time starting, but it isn’t hard to see why the 49ers committed up to $265 million for Purdy.
Running back/fullback: Christian McCaffrey (53), Brian Robinson Jr. (14), Kyle Juszczyk (24)
Game grade: A
Sure, an A grade may seem generous for backs who managed just 2.5 yards per carry. But it’s not like McCaffrey and Robinson left yardage on the table. They ran as productively as possible against one of the NFL’s top rushing defenses. And then there’s McCaffrey’s presence in the receiving game, which was instrumental toward the 49ers’ 10-of-16 finish on third downs. McCaffrey set up his opening touchdown with his catch from Purdy on 3rd-and-8.
Juszczyk, a Cleveland-area native playing in front of family and friends, exited early with a rib injury. He did log his 300th career reception on the game’s first play, but it’s an ideal time for a bye week.
Wide receiver: Jauan Jennings (54), Ricky Pearsall (58), Demarcus Robinson (29), Kendrick Bourne (23)
Game grade: B+
My goodness, what exactly is Jennings saying to opposing defenders? Because they’re absolutely losing it.
Here’s guessing that the NFL, even if its on-field microphones have captured Jennings’ on-field trash talking, won’t be keen on releasing such content. So we’ll probably never know exactly what Jennings is saying to rile opponents up to complete boiling points. But it has happened in two straight games, and it’s fair to say that Jennings is the type of player fans love when he’s on their team and hate when he’s playing for the opposition.
Outside of that drama, the 49ers receivers played a solid game in tough conditions. Bourne came out of the locker room barking and nearly made a sensational sideline catch (maybe Shanahan should’ve challenged the ruling of an incompletion). Pearsall isn’t back to posting prolific numbers, but he made a key third-down grab at the end of the first half. And Jennings, in what likely vexed the Browns, scored the final touchdown of the afternoon.
Tight end: George Kittle (58), Luke Farrell (14), Jake Tonges (8)
Game grade: A
We could talk about Kittle’s Hall of Fame prospects every week. That’s how consistently spectacular he is. His 33-yard catch on Purdy’s deep heave against the wind was one of the game’s most difficult and important plays. Afterward, Kittle contextualized the 49ers’ surge with his sage veteran’s perspective.
“Looking from the outside in, if people said we were going to be 9-4 entering the bye without Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, and Kittle’s going to miss five weeks and Brock’s going to miss seven games, I think a lot of people would’ve laughed at everybody,” he said. “Kudos to our coaching staff, coach Shanahan. [John] Lynch for bringing in the right guys to fill those spots. … It’s fantastic. We’re set up really well.”
Offensive line: Trent Williams (63), Spencer Burford (46), Ben Bartch (21), Jake Brendel (63), Dominick Puni (67), Colton McKivitz (67)
Game grade: C+
The O-line allowed pressure. And while it wasn’t realistic to expect a clean sheet from this group against Cleveland, it is worth noting that the Browns’ 58% pressure rate was their highest in three seasons. It was Purdy, then, who had to mitigate the struggles of this O-line with his quick release and excellent mobility.
Still, the 49ers did block effectively enough to give Purdy a chance. This particular QB gives this O-line a sizable margin for error, and that’s a luxury the front will gladly accept.
The 49ers lost Bartch to a foot injury. If he has to miss any time, Burford will take all of the snaps in his place. The two had been running a 50-50 split at left guard in the weeks leading to this game.
Defensive line: Bryce Huff (40), Clelin Ferrell (39), Keion White (35), Kalia Davis (33), Alfred Collins (38), CJ West (27) Jordan Elliott (25), Robert Beal Jr. (16)
Game grade: B+
Let’s invoke a baseball metaphor here. No one is better at “moneyballing” a front than 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, who has turned cheaper players into productive contributors over the years. Remember when Kerry Hyder Jr. racked up 8.5 sacks in 2020? Or when defensive ends such as Arden Key and Charles Omenihu breathed life into their careers while playing under Kocurek and taking to his creative interior pass-rushing alignments?
Similar dynamics are again at play this season. Ferrell (four sacks in five games) and White (28.6% pressure rate on Sunday) are both flourishing in Kocurek’s system. The Moneyball value is here; White came to the 49ers at a nominal trade price and Ferrell — initially a practice squad signing — came to them for free.
More good news for the 49ers: Yetur Gross-Matos, their top interior pass rusher entering this season, has a chance to return from his hamstring injury after the bye week.
Linebackers: Curtis Robinson (61), Dee Winters (63), Luke Gifford (9), Jalen Graham (2), Nick Martin (1)
Game grade: B+
The only reason we can’t award the front seven a pair of “A” grades is because of Cleveland’s 90-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, which featured nine straight runs to begin the series. The Browns have some talented running backs, but that was an alarming stretch for a 49ers’ defense that has enjoyed a surging performance against the run this season. The interior D-line struggled to hold its ground on that particular drive and the linebackers weren’t well positioned to clean up.
New signee Eric Kendricks made the roadtrip and was in the locker room after the game. The former All-Pro, 33, can learn the 49ers’ playbook over the bye week and potentially enter the lineup in Week 14 against the Titans. Perhaps Kendricks, who had 138 tackles for the Dallas Cowboys last season, can become the linebacking corps’ Ferrell-like addition of this season.
He can play a strong complement to Winters, who was the 49ers’ highest-graded defender Sunday by Pro Football Focus’ scale.
Martin exited the game with a concussion.
Safeties: Ji’Ayir Brown (63), Malik Mustapha (63), Jason Pinnock (15)
Game grade: A-
Week 12 was all about Brown, who notched two huge interceptions. Week 13 was about Mustapha, who finally looked as decisive and explosive as his pre-injury self. Mustapha torpedoed the backfield on the 49ers’ first of two fourth-and-short stops. He was also excellent in perimeter pursuit.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has landed on an increasingly effective safety combination: Mustapha brings the missile-like speed, Brown delivers ball-hawking instincts, and Pinnock — who mans the “big nickel” role — gives the 49ers man-to-man matchup adaptability in specific situations.
Cornerbacks: Deommodore Lenoir (63), Renardo Green (62), Upton Stout (38)
Game grade: B+
This wasn’t a challenging game for the 49ers’ coverage units. Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has gotten off to one of the worst starts in NFL history — he ranks No. 45 of 45 qualifying QBs in EPA/play.
The 49ers only truly failed once in coverage, and that wasn’t even against a receiver: Rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. leaked into open space to catch the pass defense napping after nine straight runs.
Stout did miss three tackles. That will remain a point of emphasis moving forward.
Special teams grade: A
The worst-to-first story of the 49ers’ special teams unit needs to be studied.
“They have been a weapon, especially this past month,” Shanahan said. “We were hoping to get some big plays but also not make any dumb plays with penalties and stuff like that.”
Aside from a 12-men penalty ahead of Cleveland’s extra point attempt, which allowed the Browns to instead go for two, the 49ers’ special teams unit executed that plan. Skyy Moore’s 66-yard punt return was the highlight, but Matt Gay’s steadiness at kicker must also be acknowledged.
Gay, filling in for Eddy Piñeiro, faced Cleveland’s howling winds for the first time in his career. He said that the lake-effect wind actually pushed the ball in the complete opposite direction on the field goal that he hit off the post and in at the end of the first half.
It wasn’t pretty, but a make is a make – especially in those conditions.
“How about Matt?” Kittle said. “He’s stepped up and made every kick since Eddy went out. He deserves a pat on the back.”