Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions and finished with only 100 yards passing.
Nick Chubb did finish with 87 yards rushing and Jarvis Landry notched 75 yards in the receiving game.
The now 2-3 Browns stagger back to Cleveland for a short week encounter against the Seattle Seahawks.
Brownie Bits
1) The talk of the night?
Nick Bosa's sack of Baker Mayfield and pantomiming of Mayfield's famous flag plant in Columbus.
Here's my take.
Bosa didn't stand over Baker and do it, so it wasn't a taunting penalty, but I had no problem with it.
Why?
Baker Mayfield's a cocky guy and cocky guys will do things that tick people off.
When you do, people don't always forget and they'll take their shots at you in payback.
Don't want that to happen? Be a class act and it won't.
2) Nick Bosa was also the impact player of the night as he would later sack Mayfield again and strip him of the football, although the Browns recovered the football.
Bosa bullied Greg Robinson all night, but the 49ers defensive line harassed Mayfield all night long and many times on this night there was absolutely no time to throw the football.
3) Baker Mayfield also continued his alarming habit of throwing the football high and either overthrowing his receiver or making them leap into the air for what should be a routine catch and instead of making the attempted pass-catcher vulnerable to hits.
The first interception of the two (both were intended for Antonio Callaway) was definitely on Mayfield as the ball was high as it has often been this season, but the second wasn't as the pass was on target and Callaway simply didn't secure the football as it bounced into the air to be grabbed by former Brown K'waun Williams.
4) I'm not sure what to do with Antonio Callaway.
Coming back from his four-game suspension for drugs, Callaway stood and watched as Richard Sherman intercepted Baker Mayfield without even an attempt to break the play up, was called for a false start and dropped the above pass that could have gotten the Browns back into the game at the time at 14-10.
Callaway started the game, which he probably shouldn't have been given a reward upon his return, and returned the gift with an uninspired performance that would eventually see him benched.
The Browns stated after the game that they were shoving Callaway into a new position in the slot, which really makes me question what's going on in the decision making as they try to teach a player that has missed the last month and is an enigma, to begin with, a new position on the road on national television.
5) As noted, the offensive line was inept against the strong defensive line of the Niners and what was also concerning was the sudden struggles of Joel Bitonio as well,
Bitonio is looked at as the best lineman of the unit, although J.C. Tretter at center would receive my vote for this season, and when he is having problems, what do you expect from the rest?
John Dorsey knows that his lack of attention to the offensive line has been a grave error in the off-season and unless there is a talent that is so good that he cannot be passed over, the Browns will have to pick a tackle in the draft in the first round and Cleveland may even trade up to add a player that Dorsey really likes.
You've made the decision to draft a smaller quarterback, you must give him time to find his lanes to throw- this line isn't doing that from week to week.
6) The Browns could not stop the San Francisco running game and it was apparent from the first play as Matt Breida raced 83 yards for a touchdown.
San Francisco rushed for 275 yards on the game and averaged 6.9 yards a carry.
Sieve-like might be very charitable for the run defense and with a similar running attack coming in the Seattle Seahawks
7) Freddie Kitchens tried to keep the creative juices flowing after Baltimore with the first play of the game sending Odell Beckham around the end to throw the football when he hit Jarvis Landry with a 20 yard gain.
After that play, the can must have had a hole in it, as some of the calls just were ridiculously dull.
Down 28-3 and the first possession of the final quarter, Kitchens called two run plays out of three plays before one of seven Jamie Gillan punts.
8) On the final possession of the game with five minutes to go, Kitchens removed Baker Mayfield (which I can understand under the conditions of an already decided game with bad offensive play to avoid injury) for backup Garrett Gilbert.
Gilbert would throw only one pass and hand the ball off twice before a Gillan punt, but who ran the ball? Nick Chubb. Tell me how that makes sense?
I think it's a good idea to avoid injuries for your stars, but if that was the case why were Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry, and Odell Beckham all on the field for this possession?
It makes no sense at all.
9) Jamie Gillan punted well as he averaged 56.7 yards a punt on seven boots and dropped four of those punts inside the 20 of San Francisco.
The Scottish Hammer continues to show his value and why the Browns took the risk in keeping a rookie punter over a solid veteran in Britton Colquitt.
10) Odell Beckham fumbled a punt in the fourth quarter as he tried to make a big play, but the bigger question is why was Beckham returning punts at all?
Beckham had not returned them all season, Jarvis Landry hadn't made any mistakes doing it and even if a big play was made, how much would the Browns have gotten out of it anyway at that point?
Another head-scratching move.
11) Myles Garrett finished with a sack, but was otherwise silent as the 49ers running game's success and not needing to throw the football as much as the Browns defensive line was a non-factor, although Chad Thomas did notch a sack for his first this season.
12) Ok, this was awful and yes, the 49ers appear to be much better than I thought after their wins over weak competition and could be a force to deal with in the NFC.
I'll try to write this off as an off night going to the West Coast against a team that is better than most (and I) believed.
BUT the alarming thing is the almost passive way that the Browns are accepting these lopsided losses ( two of the three) and why those losses continue to occur.
The inconsistency and desire were unacceptable and while I still think the Browns can weather the storm after the brutal first half (Seahawks and at the Patriots remain) considering the weaker second half, the way these losses are occurring is concerning to me.
Let's assume the Browns lose both the Seattle and New England (possible, but not a slam dunk) to leave them at 2-5, the Browns might have to go 8-1 or 7-2 at worst to be a playoff team.
That's very possible with the best teams left is Baltimore and surprising 4-1 Buffalo both at home with games against the battered Steelers (twice), the awful Bengals (twice) and the even worse Dolphins ( one win currently between those three teams), and road games out west against the Cardinals (a win and a tie) and the Broncos (one win).
The same people talking about the rugged opposition will be talking at the end of the year that the Browns haven't beaten anyone.
Keep that in mind.
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