Niners Nation
The sign of a good team is making bad teams look bad. The San Francisco 49ers are turning the corner defensively, while on offense, they’re figuring out ways to funnel their passing attack through their star tight end. Against the Cleveland Browns, Brock Purdy had his best game, while the pass rush looked as good as it has all season.
Here are Week 13’s winners and losers.
Kittle seemingly comes through for the 49ers when they need a play the most. It’s like that every week, and Week 13 was no different. On 2nd & 9 early in the second quarter, Kittle puts the moves on $100 million cornerback Denzel Ward to get open on an isolation route.
With 15 seconds remaining in the first half, Kittle caught a 33-yard slot fade. Those are the throws that make Purdy the ideal quarterback for Shanahan’s offense. Give your stars a chance to make a play. And boy, did Kittle. Not only did the All-Pro tight end come up with the catch, but he had the awareness to call a timeout while the refs were debating whether he caught it or not.
Clelin Ferrell made his mark in this game with multiple sacks, but it felt like White had just as many impact plays. White is always seen hustling to the ball. He had a play in the third quarter where he threw the left tackle out of the way and made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. That gets the defense into a third-and-long situation, and they get off the field.
White ended up with a team-high six quarterback pressures and two stops on the day, as well as a sack. It was the kind of performance the Niners needed without Sam Okuayinonu.
Ferrell had a pair of sacks, but his four stops were tied for second on the team. His hustle stands out, too. When you play hard, good things happen. The 49ers don’t have the edge rusher who can end drives single-handedly like Nick Bosa would once a quarter. But Ferrell and White had some positive flashes in Cleveland that should give both players plenty of confidence moving forward.
There were plenty of opportunities in this game for Purdy to go full sandlot and make a decision that would’ve given Kyle Shanahan an additional strip of gray hairs. It was always going to be a challenge facing the Browns’ pass rush. The trio of Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, and Maliek Collins makes life hell on opposing offenses.
Purdy played his best game within the pocket and decision-wise all season. During the two-minute drill toward the end of the first half, Cleveland ran a game up front and got a free rusher. Instead of taking a sack, Purdy heaved it down the sideline for an incompletion. If he takes a sack there, it’s 3rd and Akron, and Shanahan likely takes a knee, and the team goes...
