After dominating the competition throughout the first five weeks of the 2023 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers were upset in Week 6 by the Cleveland Browns, who didn’t even have star quarterback Deshaun Watson under center.
The 49ers were heavy favorites (-9.5) coming into this showdown with the shorthanded Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium, with the consensus being that San Francisco would cruise to victory with relative ease.
However, Cleveland’s defense had other plans, especially after stars Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey were unable to return to the field after suffering injuries.
The narrative this week will be that the 49ers aren’t as good as people thought they were and that Brock Purdy suffered his first loss while having a poor performance, but Emmanuel Acho of FOX Sports believes some context is needed.
Acho tweeted that the 49ers were without McCaffrey, Samuel, and Dre Greenlaw, yet they were a 41-yard field goal from winning the game.
The Niners went the majority of the game without:
All Pro, Christian McCafrey.
All Pro, Deebo Samuel.
Pro bowl (talent) Dre Greenlaw. *whole game*
Yet were still a 41 yard field goal away from winning on the road. I’m really not worried, AT ALL. @49ers
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 15, 2023
Next week, the 49ers will get back to work on the road as they’ll face the lowly Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium, with Kirk Cousins and company desperately seeking another win and Purdy wanting to bounce back with a vengeance.
Few players will get criticized more than Purdy this week, as it seems like a lot of media outlets have been waiting for him to fail in order to label him nothing more than a system quarterback under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
It’ll be interesting to see if the team can bounce back quickly and how long San Francisco might be without arguably their two best offensive weapons in McCaffrey and Samuel if their injuries turn out to be serious.
NEXT:
LeBron James Reacts As Christian McCaffrey Keeps Chasing History
