6 Winners and 3 losers from the 49ers blowout win over the Browns

The sign of a good team is making bad teams look bad. The San Francisco 49ers are turning the corner defensively, while on offense, they’re figuring out ways to funnel their passing attack through their star tight end. Against the Cleveland Browns, Brock Purdy had his best game, while the pass rush looked as good as it has all season.

Here are Week 13’s winners and losers.

George Kittle

Kittle seemingly comes through for the 49ers when they need a play the most. It’s like that every week, and Week 13 was no different. On 2nd & 9 early in the second quarter, Kittle puts the moves on $100 million cornerback Denzel Ward to get open on an isolation route.

With 15 seconds remaining in the first half, Kittle caught a 33-yard slot fade. Those are the throws that make Purdy the ideal quarterback for Shanahan’s offense. Give your stars a chance to make a play. And boy, did Kittle. Not only did the All-Pro tight end come up with the catch, but he had the awareness to call a timeout while the refs were debating whether he caught it or not.

Keion White

Clelin Ferrell made his mark in this game with multiple sacks, but it felt like White had just as many impact plays. White is always seen hustling to the ball. He had a play in the third quarter where he threw the left tackle out of the way and made the tackle at the line of scrimmage. That gets the defense into a third-and-long situation, and they get off the field.

White ended up with a team-high six quarterback pressures and two stops on the day, as well as a sack. It was the kind of performance the Niners needed without Sam Okuayinonu.

Clelin Ferrell

Ferrell had a pair of sacks, but his four stops were tied for second on the team. His hustle stands out, too. When you play hard, good things happen. The 49ers don’t have the edge rusher who can end drives single-handedly like Nick Bosa would once a quarter. But Ferrell and White had some positive flashes in Cleveland that should give both players plenty of confidence moving forward.

Brock Purdy’s decision-making

There were plenty of opportunities in this game for Purdy to go full sandlot and make a decision that would’ve given Kyle Shanahan an additional strip of gray hairs. It was always going to be a challenge facing the Browns’ pass rush. The trio of Myles Garrett, Mason Graham, and Maliek Collins makes life hell on opposing offenses.

Purdy played his best game within the pocket and decision-wise all season. During the two-minute drill toward the end of the first half, Cleveland ran a game up front and got a free rusher. Instead of taking a sack, Purdy heaved it down the sideline for an incompletion. If he takes a sack there, it’s 3rd and Akron, and Shanahan likely takes a knee, and the team goes into the half. Instead, it’s an incomplete pass, and Purdy connects with Ricky Pearsall on the ensuing play for a first down in a drive where the offense ends up getting points.

On first down to begin the third quarter, Shanahan has a concept in which Purdy takes a three-step drop, but nobody is open on the front side of the formation. Guess what happens? Myles Garrett happens. Purdy turns a would-be sack into a four-yard completion and keeps the Niners ahead of the chains.

Some of the best plays Purdy had in this game were throwaways, a sign that he can take coaching and live for another down. Purdy threw the ball away seven times against the Browns. He had seven throwaways all season before Week 13. He threw the ball away on the next drive with a defender in his face on second down. Instead of a sack, it’s an incomplete. Then, on third down, he rips an out route to Jauan Jennings in man coverage outside of the numbers to move the sticks.

There were countless sacks Purdy escaped in this game. His mobility will be needed down the stretch and in the playoffs against the best pass rushes in the game. If the 49ers can’t get their running game going, which was the case against the Browns, they’ll be faced with obvious passing situations, leaving their offensive line susceptible.

From the two-minute drill on, on 3rd & 5 or longer, Purdy went 6-for-8 with five first downs and a touchdown. He played his best game of the season.

Losers

Curtis Robinson

Robinson is the reason the 49ers went out and signed a linebacker who hasn’t played football all of 2025. You can see Robinson’s limitations and inexperience at the position as early as the first quarter, when he has a clean run and the running back and misses, or lets a tight end cross his face while he’s staring in the backfield, and that tight end gains ten yards for a first down.

On other plays, Robinson is indecisive, which leads to him getting blocked. Ideally, Tatum Bethune returns after the bye week, or Eric Kendricks gets up to speed. Again, we’re talking about a third-stringer and a lifetime special teamer, so we’re not going to act as if Robinson was supposed to be an impact player. But against a viable offense, the Niners would be in trouble at linebacker.

Run defense

The 49ers got pushed around defensively on the ground in the first half. In the game, they allowed 138 yards on 31 attempts, but allowed rushes of 12, 9, 9, and 9. It was troubling considering the defense was facing a backup quarterback.

Furthermore, those woes were compounded by allowing 126 yards after contact with 15 missed tackles. The Browns marched 90 yards and ran the ball eight or so plays in a row out of their own end zone. It’s all a red flag that can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.

One-dimensional offense

While it’s encouraging that Brock Purdy bailed the offense out several times on third down, the fact that the offense faced as many third-and-long situations as they did should be concerning. Yes, Cleveland has an elite defense. They had the second-best schedule-adjusted efficiency run defense in the league. But, more than likely, this is what the 49ers will run into in January.

The longest run of the game was nine yards for the 49ers. They averaged 2.8 yards per carry on 33 attempts with a 32.3 percent success rate, good for 23rd in Week 13. Yes, you pay Purdy to get you out of situations, but not as many as the offense was in on Sunday. Ultimately, the lack of a rushing attack could be what costs the 49ers this season — which is a wild thing to type about an offense that Kyle Shanahan calls the plays for.

Winners

Skyy Moore

Could you imagine if the 49ers pulled the plug on Moore early in the season when he was having his miscues? Now, he’s on pace to have the highest average punt return in a season as a 49er since Tedd Ginn in 2011. Coincidentally, Moore’s 66-yard return was the longest punt return since Ginn had a 78-yarder in 2010. Moore is a weapon for the 49ers.

Second-half defense

Robert Saleh must’ve given quite the tongue-lashing at halftime. The 49ers didn’t allow any points in the second half, which was the first time they’ve held a team scoreless in the second half since 2023. The 49ers’ defense also kept the Browns out of the red zone. That was the first time the defense had done that since Week 5 of 2023. The Browns’ offense is woeful, and the defense made them look like it.