Cleveland Browns offense fails in too many important situations in Week 13 vs 49ers

The Cleveland Browns’ offense out-gained the 49ers in yards 253-252, but in between the numbers, things weren’t good enough. Cleveland was 3-of-11 on third down (27.3%), and then making matters far worse, they were 0-of-4 (0%) on fourth down. The Browns had three drives in the first half that were shaping up to be sustained ones that could have led to points, but instead they only scored on one of them.

Below, we analyze the snap counts and stats on offense for the Cleveland Browns’ Week 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Quarterback

• This really is a tough scenario for Shedeur Sanders, where it starts begging the question, “What exactly do we need to see in order to make a decision on whether he can be a starter next year?” On one hand, I think we’re so in awe of a guy who even attempts to throw the ball down the field, that Sanders’ stock has been elevated because of that. However, P.J. Walker could throw a ball down the field at times, but it was clear he wasn’t a starting NFL quarterback. Right now, Sanders’ time to process things, particularly in long down-and-distance situations, is far too long. It’s only been two games, though — but if that doesn’t see substantial improvement by the final game, I don’t think you can roll the dice on him as the future with that hanging over your head.
• With all that said, I still thought it was a decent performance for Sanders, all things considered. The play that hurt most was him missing Jerry Jeudy breaking free early in the game, but it’s also hard to judge those plays because of the wind in this game. Brock Purdy wasn’t exactly slinging it down the field.
• PFF gave Sanders a grade of 56.1.

Running Back

• Three cheers for getting Quinshon Judkins back into the 4.0 YPC category. There were a couple runs that I thought maybe he could have broken out for bigger runs, but it didn’t happen. Although Cleveland had some better running lanes than they’ve had this week, the short yardage situations were a disaster. Judkins’ PFF grade wasn’t too kind, as he received a 58.1.
• Dylan Sampson continues to get some better runs these past couple of weeks.
• I also thought the screen passes to the backs were delivered well and working for Sanders early on. I know many times, teams don’t want to repeat a play so often, but this was a week where I thought the team could have kept at it a few more times.

Wide Receiver

• Jerry Jeudy was visibly frustrated with Sanders in a clip that went viral, and of course that is not a good look for a guy that has been the most disappointing player on offense, with more lowlights than highlights week-in and week-out.
• The Browns’ most successful play seems to be when they bust out the jet sweeps or reverses with their receivers. They did it twice this week, and it worked for nine yards each time.
• Unfortunately, Cleveland’s receivers let them down on special teams. Gage Larvadain fumbled a couple times, losing one of them, and Malachi Corley killed a drive by stepping out of bounds at the 5 yard line on a kickoff.

Tight End

• Are we to assume that David Njoku’s diminished playing time over the past two weeks is a result of him playing through injury?
• Harold Fannin once again was the Browns’ leading receiver, as his stellar rookie season continues. He continues to also break multiple tackles on these short pattern passes. With that said, Fannin was the Browns’ second-lowest graded player by PFF, grading out to a 46.5. His grade may have taken a hit because he had the fumble on the fourth down play in Cleveland’s own territory, as the Browns were late to try a QB sneak.

Offensive Line

• The Browns chose to do a rotation with Wyatt Teller and Teven Jenkins this week, and it actually led to one of Teller’s highest PFF grades of the season. Teller was the Browns’ top-graded player on offense, grading out to an 83.9. Jenkins was fourth, grading out to a 72.6.
• Speaking of the Browns, the top five graded players on offense were all offensive lineman. Teller was first, followed by Joel Bitonio (81.6), Ethan Pocic (80.3), Jenkins, and KT Leveston (69.6). Even Cam Robinson wasn’t too shabby (65.1). Jack Conklin exited early with a concussion.