The biggest upset for Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season was, without a doubt, the Cleveland Browns taking down the San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Even though the Philadelphia Eagles also lost on Sunday by getting upset by the New York Jets, the Browns had to play arguably the best all-around team in the league without star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is still dealing with a rotator cuff contusion.
The 49ers were favored by -9.5 points coming into this matchup, and even though it was on the road, it seemed like it was a foregone conclusion that Cleveland wouldn’t stand a chance against San Francisco.
However, that was far from the case, with the Browns playing well defensively on Sunday, which led to the worst performance of Brock Purdy’s career thus far.
Despite Purdy’s struggles against the Browns defense, head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t place the blame directly on his starting quarterback, according to David Lombardi of The Athletic.
“It wasn’t just Brock. It was everybody. Everybody had their turn on offense and it starts with me.” Shanahan said.
“It wasn’t just Brock. It was everybody. Everybody had their turn on offense and it starts with me.” – Kyle Shanahan
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 15, 2023
Once Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel went down with injuries and didn’t return to the field on Sunday, Purdy struggled to get anything going offensively for the 49ers, leading to 125 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.
Credit has to be given to the Browns for being able to contain this offense while keeping Purdy in check, as no other team they’ve faced thus far has been able to do that.
As for San Francisco, Shanahan and company will get back to work next week against the Minnesota Vikings on the road, with Purdy hoping to take advantage of a team that has only won two games thus far.
