Halftime Report: Browns Hanging Tough Against Christian McCaffrey, 49ers

Cleveland came in as a huge underdog against one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the league, but after a rocky start to the game, the Browns settled down and trail 10-7 at halftime.

49ers 10, Browns 7

Everyone and their brother knew this game was going to be emotional, as the Browns made it clear they don't want to get pushed around in their own building. I wasn't surprised to see a little pregame fight, but glad it wasn't a full-on melee and everyone avoided injuries.

It was a weird first half, with multiple challenges and an additional referee imposed-replay review, two missed field goals, a slew of costly penalties and some occasionally pouring rain.

The Browns defense has responded quite nicely after a miserable start to the game. Christian McCaffrey burned the Browns twice on that opening drive to put the 49ers out front immediately. But the defense stiffened and prevented San Francisco from blowing the game wide open by only allowing two total yards over the next seven plays. In fact, SF scored only three points in their next four offensive possessions.

Myles Garrett has twice been flagged for offsides and has yet to have a game-defining play. But he's certainly commanding a lot of attention from the 49ers offensive line. Dalvin Tomlinson has been an incredible force at defensive tackle.

Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs the ball as Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) grabs him by the face mask during the first quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium / © Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately, San Francisco's offense has been held in check with just 149 total yards on 31 offensive plays.

Offensively, the Browns couldn't get out of their own way early. PJ Walker's first drive ended after six plays when Fred Warner intercepted a pass towards David Bell. Once they got the ball back, the Browns had a beautiful 32 yard screen pass for a touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty.

Thankfully, Walker's 58 yard completion and an ensuing unique personnel package on a toss sweep to Kareem Hunt allowed the Browns to find the end zone.

Overall, Walker has played fairly well and Kevin Stefanski's play-calling seemingly has put Walker in a position to make plays. Walker got really lucky that his intentional grounding call was upheld at the end of the half when a fumble could also certainly have been called.

Oct 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback PJ Walker (10) throws the ball during warm ups before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium / © Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Deebo Samuel has played very little with a shoulder injury that he sustained early on, and I think the 49ers defense really misses Dre Greenlaw on defense.

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