Joey HickeySun, November 30, 2025 at 1:00 PM UTC·2 min readThe San Francisco 49ers (8-4) and Cleveland Browns (3-8) take the field on Sunday. It's a game the Niners should win but can ill afford to take lightly with a postseason berth on the line.
San Francisco currently stands as the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture. With a handful of remaining games against teams with winning records, the Niners can ill afford to lose the game. To do so, they will take on Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSanders enters Sunday on the heels of a 24-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in which he completed 11 of 20 passing attempts for 209 yards with a touchdown and interception. The game saw Sanders complete a 66-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Sampson to give the Browns a 24-3 lead.
Browns running back Quinshon Judkins did the bulk of the scoring for Cleveland with two early touchdowns of his own. He leads the Cleveland rushing attack this season with 173 carries for 667 yards and seven touchdowns.
Judkins' San Francisco counterpart has proven to be an elite weapon through the air and on the ground.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) hands the ball off to running back Quinshon Judkins (10) during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Huntington Bank Field. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images49ers running back Christian McCaffery has nearly 800 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in 2025. This season he has posted 217 carries for 796 yards and seven touchdowns. Through the air, McCaffery has 81 receptions for 785 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Limiting McCaffrey won't be an easy task especially with San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy back in the lineup.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPurdy did not have the most explosive game in Monday's win over the Carolina Panthers. Purdy completed 23 of 32 passes for 193 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The interceptions did not prove costly, but one would expect better football from Purdy than we saw last week. Certainly, the Niners would like to see more than 6.0 yards per attempt.
The Niners defense did its job last week, however, with just nine points allowed. San Francisco held the Panthers to just 230 yards of offense with Bryce Young having an off night. Young completed 18 of 29 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions of his own.
ESPN's matchup predictor gives the Niners a 77.2% chance to win the matchup. We like the 49ers to win the game, too.
San Francisco gets its offense going again, stifles the Browns offensive attack and cruises to victory.
Prediction: San Francisco 49ers 27, Cleveland Browns 9
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