Dawgs By Nature
This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns take on the San Francisco 49ers. Below, we analyze a few advantages, disadvantages, or general thoughts about the two teams before getting to our predictions for the game.
Call it delusion or call it faith, but Cleveland Browns fans are buying in on an upset against the San Francisco 49ers this week. A lot of that stems on the belief or hope that Shedeur Sanders has that moxy and little bit of edge that the Browns needed on offense to successfully pair with the defense to win football games.
It might seem delusional to take the 3-8 Browns over the 8-4 49ers, considering that Cleveland only performed against one of the worst teams in the NFL last week in the Las Vegas Raiders. However, the elements might line up for Cleveland this week for a variety of factors.
under normal weather conditions, I’d be taking the 49ers. They are generally a smart, veteran, disciplined team. However, high wind gusts are expected for gametime with a chance of precipitation, elements that do not favor quarterback Brock Purdy or a 49ers team that has not won in Cleveland since 1984. Couple that with the fact that the 49ers generate some of the least amount of pressure in the NFL, and I think you can have a similar formula of the Browns’ defense dominating the game, and Sanders making some more plays outside the pocket to propel the offense.
All of these games are big for Sanders and the Browns, because there is a small window to determine whether Cleveland needs to invest in a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. A lackluster performance here or a loss kind of takes away the buzz that has been built over the past week or so. Another win, though? Now you’ll really have people talking.
Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz talked about the 49ers and how they use motion in their offense:
“Yeah, you could probably dial back to Miami week and the same conversations we had. You know, a couple of years ago, it was a little bit more unique with San Francisco was doing in some of their motions. And some of their tree has done some of that, including Mike (McDaniel) down in Miami. But other offensive coordinators have copied it, so it has given us more opportunities to work on it. But it certainly, like I said, the scheme is extremely challenging. Not just from a schematic standpoint, but from a personnel standpoint – the way they use all their guys. So, obviously, the ability to counter all those motions – a big part of that is having your eyes correct and good communication, things that we did a really good job with against Miami. So, we’ll have to do the same in this game.”
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was asked about the Browns’ use of the Wildcat and his personal experience with calling it:
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