49ers Injuries Shouldn’t Take Anything Away From Improbability of Browns’ Win

Injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel certainly took away some of the edge the 49ers had over the Browns, but Cleveland still beat tremendous odds in its Week 6 upset

Before anyone attempts to minimize the improbability of the Cleveland Browns’ win against the 49ers due to injuries to Christian McCaffrey or Deebo Samuel, they need to re-check the injury report leading up to the game.

Even without two of their top offensive weapons, the 49ers still should’ve had the edge over the Browns, who were down their starting quarterback, running back, left guard and right tackle in their 19-17 win. The Browns were always going to be the underdogs against San Francisco as long as backup QB P.J. Walker was going against Brock Purdy, who had yet to lose a game in his 15 prior NFL starts.

Purdy found himself without Samuel after he suffered a shoulder injury just eight snaps into the game, which was certainly a tough early blow to the 49ers offense. They lost McCaffrey a while later — he was injured in the third quarter and wasn’t ruled out until the fourth.

Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (54) tackles San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) as he throws the ball away during the fourth quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium / Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

But hasn’t the chatter about the 49ers so far all year been about their deep array of weapons?

Pro Bowl TE George Kittle and WR Brandon Aiyuk are special talents, as well, and the Browns shouldn’t take any less credit for shutting them down when Samuel and McCaffrey went to the sidelines.

Kittle had just one catch for a single yard a week after catching three touchdowns against a top-3 Cowboys defense. Aiyuk had a more respectable day with four catches for 76 yards, but he failed to connect another six times on 10 total targets from Purdy.

There’s no room for excuses for the 49ers, who found the end zone one more time than the Browns and won the turnover battle, 3-2. Those ingredients almost always spell a loss for the other sideline.

The Browns, though, were an outlier to that formula. Led by a backup QB, they stared the 49ers’ top-ranked defense in the eyes and marched into their territory in seven of their 13 total drives, turning five of those opportunities into points.

No, it was not a pretty game for P.J. Walker, who had been the Browns’ third-string QB up until this week. Walker threw two interceptions, but he completed passes when it mattered most and avoided game-costing mistakes.

The unbeaten 49ers had terrorized QBs up until their trip to Cleveland. Walker didn’t play scared, and he mainly leaned on WR Amari Cooper to guide him. Smartly done by Walker, who only had seven career starts since he resurrected his NFL career from the XFL three years ago.

Without Pro Bowl LG Joel Bitonio and starting RT Jack Conklin, Walker was sacked just twice. The offensive line also paved lanes for a running back room without Nick Chubb, allowing Jerome Ford to stack a career-high 84 rushing yards. None of them were more important than his 22-yard scamper that set up the Browns’ go-ahead field goal in the final two minutes.

The Browns had an excellent game plan from Kevin Stefanski, one that was designed around the players they knew they had.

Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks up from his play sheet against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium / Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

The 49ers lost key weapons, sure, but their defense looked susceptible to what Stefanski had schemed. Their offense, meanwhile, mightily struggled to adjust to their own injury adversity.

The Browns deserve credit — full credit — for one of the most improbable wins in the NFL this year.