Full disclaimer: I only saw the very end of the first half forward as I was taking my daughter to the airport, so I missed return man Skyy Moore's big punt return and running back Christian McCaffery's touchdown run. In fact, the first play I saw was Cleveland tight end Harold Fannin, Jr.'s touchdown reception.
On balance, though, this was a relatively relaxed win.
The first step to winning football games in the NFL is not to beat yourself. The cold and wind in Cleveland, especially the wind, made throwing the ball difficult, and the kicking game—both field goals and punt returns—was an adventure. The Niners made few mistakes. No turnovers. Only three penalties for 11 yards, and none in a significant situation. A hooked, wind-skewed field goal attempt bounced through.
Cleveland, on the other hand, was the reverse. Return man Gage Larvadain muffed a punt. Kick returner Malachi Corley fielded a kickoff and stepped out of bounds at the 6-yard line. And Fannin, in an attempt to catch the Niners napping, fumbled a 4th-down snap.
The first step in making the playoffs is to win the games you are supposed to win, and then hopefully take a few others. Sunday was one the Niners were supposed to win, and they took care of business.
Given the conditions, it was clear that throwing the ball would be difficult. But with only 39 seconds to go in the first half, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy made key throws to lead the team into field-goal range to retake the lead.
And with the game on the line in the second half, Purdy came through in a big way. Clinging to a 2-point lead, on 3rd-and-8, Purdy completed a 14-yard pass to All-Pro tight end George Kittle to put the team inside the 5-yard line. After the Browns stuffed two runs, Purdy read the defensive end perfectly, pulled the ball from a handoff on a designed run-pass-option, and waltzed into the endzone for an easy 6 to give the team some breathing room.
After Cleveland muffed a punt deep in their own territory, Purdy again made a key 3rd-and-long play to keep the drive going. A few plays later, Purdy hit wide receiver Jauan Jennings with a bullet for the score.
Overall, Purdy was sharp, making good decisions while not forcing the ball, using his legs to evade the rush, and throwing the ball away when necessary. Cleveland has an outstanding pass rush—Myles Garrett will likely shatter the season sack record—and they exposed the weaknesses of San Francisco's offensive line. Though Purdy was sacked only once, he was under pressure on the majority of his drop-backs and was hit seven times.
What we also saw, though, was the biggest difference between Brock and backup quarterback Mac Jones: athleticism. On several of those pressures, Jones (whom I love, and who will be the principal reason the 49ers make the playoffs—if they do) would have been sacked, whereas Purdy escaped and threw the ball away. That is a lot of yardage that would have likely stalled drives and led to punts instead of points.
The Purdy touchdown run was a great call by head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan would most likely not have called that play with Jones under center. Mac simply doesn't have the legs. That's a 4-point difference. At the end of the game, the Niners pulled away to win comfortably by 18. With Jones under center, it might have been closer to 8. That's not a knock against Mac, just a big reason there has never been a quarterback controversy among the coaching staff.
The lack of a pass rush has been a common thread in the media, but on Sunday, the defensive line came through. Defensive end Clelin Ferrell had nine tackles (ridiculously high for a defensive lineman), two sacks, and two quarterback hits. That is dominance. Defensive lineman Keion White had a sack and a brutal tackle for a loss that was a tone setter. Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders never had a chance to get comfortable. Running back Quinshon Judkins, who had 53 yards rushing in the first half, was pretty much shut down in the second.
It should also be noted that general manager John Lynch picked up White and Ferrell before the trade deadline. Many wanted a big-name acquisition, such as Cincinnati defensive end Trey Hendrickson. However, Lynch held onto the important draft capital and the money that would have been necessary to extend the contract of that kind of player, and brought in two who have been productive. If the Niners can hold onto them after this year, they will have a strong rotation when star defensive end Nick Bosa and promising rookie defensive lineman Mykel Williams return from injury.
Overall, this was a win the Niners had to have, and they made it fairly easy against one of the best defenses in the league and in conditions that favored the weaker team.
Now, it's off to a bye week and a well-deserved rest.