The 49ers on Sunday in Cleveland suffered their first loss of the year. San Francisco fell 19-17 in an ugly contest that ended on a missed Jake Moody field goal in the final seconds.
Let’s run through who was good, and more so who wasn’t, in the 49ers’ Week 6 loss:
Bad: K Jake Moody
Moody was selected No. 99 overall for his ability to make big-time kicks. Not only did he miss a 54-yard try in the first half, but he pushed his game-winning 41-yard try wide right. It wasn’t the reason the 49ers lost, but in a two-point game, it’s glaring when the kicker leaves six points on the board.
Good: DE Randy Gregory
Gregory had a really nice debut for the 49ers. He had a sack and a tackle for loss. San Francisco is going to need him to be good down the stretch, and early returns on the recently-acquired DE are strong.
Bad: QB Brock Purdy
This was the Purdy that skeptics of the final pick of the 2022 draft have been waiting to see. He was awful against a very good Browns defense. Purdy looked skittish in the pocket and he was inaccurate all game. He finished Sunday 12-of-27 for 125 yards with one touchdown and his first interception of the year. There were opportunities for him to find receivers down the field and he missed them with regularity.
Good: RB Jordan Mason
It wasn’t a huge day for Mason with the 49ers offense looking off kilter for most of the game. He was the first RB on in relief of Christian McCaffrey though, and he turned his five carries into 27 yards and a touchdown. He continues to look like the 49ers’ second-best running back, and they may need him more with McCaffrey now dealing with an oblique injury.
Bad: Offensive line
The 49ers offensive line stepped up against the Cowboys. They did not against the Browns. Purdy was bad, but he never got a chance to get in a rhythm with consistent pressure around him. San Francisco also struggled to get the run game going even before McCaffrey left the game with an oblique injury. McCaffrey broke a 27-yard run, but outside of that carry the 49ers ran 24 times for just 91 yards (3.8 yards per carry).
Good: WR Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk had a key drop on a deep shot from Purdy early in the game. Beyond that though he was excellent. He caught four balls for 76 yards including a huge 25-yard pickup on a short throw on the 49ers’ final drive to get into field goal range. Aiyuk hauled in just four of his 10 targets, but he was open a lot, especially down the field. If Purdy had a better game it might’ve been a huge one for Aiyuk.
Bad: Officiating
Let’s not get it twisted. The 49ers were the worse team Sunday. However, the officiating was dreadful.
They called a foul on the wrong team and then had to re-spot the ball after walking it the wrong way. They gave the Browns an awful spot on a third down, then measured and said it was short despite the fact it was not, before eventually giving Cleveland a first down. It looked like Browns QB PJ Walker fumbled before the half, but the refs called it a forward pass even after replay showed the ball moving in his hand before his hand came forward. San Francisco was also flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Tashaun Gipson for a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on the Browns’ game-winning field goal drive. Charvarius Ward was also called for a very questionable holding penalty that put the Browns in field goal range.
It was an all-around awful day for this officiating crew.
