The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cleveland Browns in what looked like dominating fashion despite Brock Purdy throwing for under 180 yards and Christian McCaffrey running for less than 60 on the ground. It was an ugly game that showcased how poor Cleveland is, but there were still some takeaways for the 49ers.
The Red Zone offense was cooking
The offense was unable to string together success. At times, the group struggled within the red zone. However, overall, the offense looked good in the red zone. They needed the Browns’ help getting down there at times, but they scored three touchdowns and two field goals in the red zone, a perfect 5/5.
As Brock Purdy gets healthy and the skill players form together it is good to know that while the offense is working things out down-to-down, they dominate the have to have-to-have-them moments.
Special teams is no longer an issue
Earlier in the season, the 49ers’ special teams was letting the team down. Their kicker was not hitting kicks or even extra points, and they were losing the field position battle consistently. However, the unit has been strong over the past couple of weeks. It helps that the Browns decided to hand over two fumbles on special teams, but the unit is directly responsible for the 49ers dominating field position in this game.
Skyy Moore had yet another strong return that put the team right on the edge of scoring. Eddy Piniero has been nothing but money in recent weeks. San Francisco can find ways to win on the edges, and capitalizing in the red zone and making plays on special teams will make them a tough out.
San Francisco 49ers can win on the road
The 49ers will likely have to win a couple of road games if they want to make a serious run at the playoffs.That is good news because they are currently 5-2 in the road with just one game to play. Even at 5-3, San Francisco will have a winning record on the road.
To be fair, they beat Cleveland, New Orleans, and Giants. However, within that are also wins against the Rams and Seahawks, two of the fiercest teams in the NFL. If San Francisco does finish as a seven seed, the road games will not be a reason this team slips up, and seeing them take care of business on the road should solidify that.
