The San Francisco 49ers found themselves in the Buckeye State in Week 6 for a matchup with the Cleveland Browns. A slow start on the offensive side of the ball, injuries to key playmakers and weather all played a factor in the team's 19-17 loss to their AFC North opponent. The loss marks the first of the season for the 49ers after starting the year 5-0.
"We went in thinking it was going to be a grimy game like it was," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "We would have felt really good initially coming in, if we would have made that (kick) on that last play. My message to them was, regardless of whether we hit that kick or not, there is a lot of stuff from this game we have to improve on.
"I thought we made way too many mistakes on offense. Losing a couple guys in the game, we had to switch a couple guys around, and we weren't quite ready for that. That starts with me with too many mistakes. This is our first time having to come in after a loss in a long time. It's time to get back in, go to work and make sure we come back stronger next week."
Here are six takeaways from Sunday's game:
CMC Extends His Touchdown Streak
Running back Christian McCaffrey continues to light up the scoreboard for San Francisco and wasted no time in doing so on Sunday. The running back caught a 13-yard touchdown pass on the 49ers opening drive to extend his streak of games with one-or-more touchdowns to 15-straight games. The score ties McCaffrey with Hall of Fame running backs O.J. Simpson and John Riggins for the second-most consecutive games (including playoffs) with a touchdown in NFL history.
All-Pro LB Fred Warner Secures Picks in Back-to-Back Games
The league's reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week continued to make big-time plays in Week 6. Warner picked off Browns quarterback P.J. Walker on a pass intended for receiver David Bell, and he returned the interception 32 yards to set San Francisco up on Cleveland's 26 yard line.
Additionally, with his seven tackles in this game, Warner has overtaken linebacker NaVorro Bowman for fourth-most tackles in franchise history with 681. He now sits behind linebackers Patrick Willis (950), Derek Smith (703) and Ken Norton (695).
"In order for us to be the team we want to be moving forward, we need to get battle-tested," Warner said. "That's exactly what today was. We'll learn from it, watch the tape, look at it hard internally and be better from it."
Injury Bug Hits in Cleveland
San Francisco had two of its offensive starters get banged up in the first quarter of Sunday's matchup. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams got rolled up on during a running play on the 49ers third offensive series, however, he was able to walk off the field under his own power. Williams was initially listed as questionable to return with an ankle injury but did return to action early in the second quarter.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel also left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. The team listed him as questionable to return but after being taken to the locker room for further examination, he did not re-enter the game. He was downgraded to out later in the third quarter.
Midway through the third quarter, McCaffrey was added to the injury list. He suffered an oblique injury and was listed as questionable but was back out on the field for the final possession of the frame. Following the end of the drive, he exited the game to get further checked out and was later downgraded to out. Safety George Odum suffered a thigh injury in the third quarter as well.
LB Randy Gregory Gets His First Sack with San Francisco
Following an interception by quarterback Brock Purdy, the newest member of San Francisco's pass rushing unit came up with a key third down sack to prevent Cleveland from capitalizing on the turnover. Gregory got home on third-and-22 for a loss of seven yards and forced a Browns punt.
"I definitely saw him make some plays," Shanahan said. "He got a sack in there, got a TFL. It was nice to see him in some action."
Clutch Plays in the Fourth Quarter
Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir secured interception No. 2 of the day, picking off Walker on second-and-16 and returning the interception for 28 yards. That play set the 49ers offense up on the Cleveland eight yard line, and running back Jordan Mason took it from there. The second-year back barreled into the end zone to put his team ahead 17-13 with 10:58 remaining in the game.
Special Teams Mistakes Prove Costly
Rookie kicker Jake Moody entered the team's Week 6 contest with a perfect record going nine-of-nine in field goal attempts and 20-of-20 in PATs through the first five weeks of the season but saw his streak end in Cleveland. Moody missed two of his three field goal attempts on the day including a 41-yarder in the final seconds of the game. He went one-of-three in field goal attempts and two-of-two in PATs in Sunday's matchup.
"It's always tough to miss that last kick, but that happens in football," Shanahan said. "They played better than us today. That was the last play, but there was a lot more today than just that."
