3 reasons why the Browns will be the toughest defense the 49ers have faced this season

The San Francisco 49ers continue their stretch of four must-win games with a trip to Cleveland for a date with the 3-8 Browns after handling business against the Cardinals and Panthers.

Cleveland hasn’t been too friendly to San Francisco over time, but the 49ers have some momentum, winning consecutive games for the first time since winning the first three games of the season.

While Cleveland has had their fair share of struggles, it does have one of the few players in the league who can single-handedly win a game. We start with him in this week’s numbers to know:

18.0

Myles Garrett leads the NFL with 18.0 sacks through 11 games.

This falls under the category of “numbers you already know.” Myles Garrett might break Michael Strahan’s sack record on Sunday, and that’s not even a commentary on the 49ers’ offensive line but instead a compliment to Garrett’s recent form.

Garrett has as many sacks in the last month as the entire 49ers defense has in their 12 games this season. His hot streak began against New England at the end of October, when Garrett got to Drake Maye five times, the most sacks in a game by a player since Khalil Mack recorded six in 2023. Garrett then recorded a measly single sack the following week against the Jets before sacking Lamar Jackson four times and Geno Smith three times last week.

Now, the 49ers’ offensive line has held up well the past few weeks, but Garrett is his own monster. In Brock Purdy’s four games this season, he’s only been sacked three times, with only one of those sacks in the last two games since he’s returned from injury. However, the quality of pass rush the 49ers have faced hasn’t been quite up to what Cleveland offers. Arizona got to Purdy once a couple of weeks ago and is currently ranked 22nd in the league in sacks, while Carolina was shut out against the 49ers, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since they’ve only recorded 18 sacks on the season.

Garrett alone will be the toughest test the 49ers’ offensive line will face all season. With Garrett included, the Browns’ 12.1 sack rate leads the NFL. While the Browns are among the worst teams in the league, San Francisco can’t allow Garrett to take over the game on Sunday single-handedly.

3

The Browns have had three games this season where their quarterback has thrown for more than 200 yards.

For as good as Cleveland’s defense has been this season, the offense has been the opposite. Only three times this season has Cleveland scored 20 or more points, with the Browns 2-1 in those games. But it’s been the passing game that’s held Cleveland’s offense back.

Joe Flacco opened the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback, and he opened with a bang, throwing for a Browns’ season-high 290 yards, but four games later, he was starting for the Bengals. It took Dillion Gabriel until his second game, but his one 200-yard game came in Week 6 against Pittsburgh.

But with Flacco no longer with Cleveland and Gabriel injured a few weeks ago, it’s the Shedeur Sanders show for the Browns. After a rough debut against the Ravens, where he completed four-of-16 passes, he finally got his chance as the starter and eclipsed the 200-yard plateau in his first start against Las Vegas last week.

While Vegas is a middle-of-the-road pass defense, the 49ers’ pass defense is worse (at least in terms of passing yards per game), ranking 26th in the league, allowing 241.8 pass yards per game. Since the Texans game, the 49ers have allowed more than 275 passing yards in three of their last five games, with Jacoby Brissett leading the way with his 452 yards on 47 completions. While the 49ers are 3-2 over their last five, they’re 1-2 in the three games where they allowed the opposing quarterback to eclipse the 275-yard mark.

Cleveland should be concerned with throwing for more than 200 yards before they worry about 275, but the 49ers defense has been vulnerable to the pass in recent weeks, and the Browns have an upstart quarterback looking to make an impact. The weather might have a say in the passing game for both teams, but it would be beneficial to San Francisco’s chances of winning if they can control Cleveland’s passing game, as so many other teams have this season.

14,994

Sunday marks 14,994 days since the 49ers last defeated the Browns in Cleveland.

While there are plenty of days between, that span only covers four games where the 49ers have made the trip to Cleveland, and that doesn’t even consider the four years where the Browns weren’t a franchise.

The last time the 49ers beat the Browns in Cleveland was 1984, when Joe Montana and the 49ers faced Paul McDonald and the Browns. Roger Craig scored his first of two rushing touchdowns at the end of the first half to give the 49ers a 13-0 lead at halftime, before the 49ers exploded for 28 second-half points to win 41-7.

In the four games in Cleveland since, the 49ers have combined for 47 points.

The most recent loss is the most relevant to this iteration of the 49ers, but it is also the closest the 49ers have come to snapping the streak in Cleveland. The last time these two teams met was in 2023, when the 49ers were without Trent Williams, and Deebo Samuel exited early with an injury in the 19-17 loss. Without his blindside blocker and a vital weapon, Brock Purdy completed 12-of-27 passes for 125 yards with an interception and a touchdown pass in the wet weather, but still put the 49ers in a spot to win the game. That’s when Jake Moody missed a 41-yard attempt as time expired to give the Browns the win.

The weather won’t be ideal like it was two years ago, with a chance of snow and rain and a high of 39 degrees, which could cause concerns for the 49ers, who have had issues in weather games in recent years. But it creates a perfect opportunity for Purdy and the 49ers to make up for the disappointing loss in 2023.