Sheduer Sanders made his first home start coming off a win over the Raiders in Week 12. Despite the weather forecast looking chilly and windy, there was plenty of buzz about how the rest of the season will unfold with Sanders under center. San Francisco came in with a strong 8-4 record and in need of a win to keep pace in the NFC playoff picture.
Cleveland entered the first half down 10-8 and looked solid on offense and defense. Ultimately, special teams was their undoing in this one as they fell to the 49ers by a final score of 26-8.
Browns fall to 49ers 26-8 in Week 13 after multiple special teams mistakes
The Browns leaned on the run early and often and found some success. Quinshon Judkins rushed 23 times for 91 yards, while Dylan Sampson added 23 yards on four carries. The offensive line seemed to be generating push at a pretty consistent rate despite the shuffling up front. However, they were unable to finish some drives in the 49ers' territory and came up short too often with poor fourth-down execution.
Despite a final score that implied a very uncompetitive game, the Browns averaged more yards per play than San Francisco at 4.2 to 3.9. The loss can be explained pretty easily, as the special teams unit had three major blunders that killed any chance they might have had at an upset.
The punt unit allowed a long return that led to a short field and a 49ers touchdown to get their scoring started. Then, Malachi Corley toe-tapped a kick return to pin the offense inside their own five, which eventually led to another easy San Francisco touchdown after a Gage Larvadain muffed punt that was brewing all day.
Sanders ended his second start 16 of 25 for 149 yards and a touchdown in the tough elements, including an impressive throw to Harold Fannin for a 34-yard score that capped off a 90-yard drive. He looked better navigating the pocket than expected, and only took one sack before the game was out of balance and he was looking to extend plays he shouldn't have.
On the bright side, Myles Garrett did get one sack closer to the record, and he had another disruptive day up front against Trent Williams. Cleveland will get another home game to right the ship next week when the Titans come to town.