Studs and Duds: Brock Purdy bounces back, 49ers special teams shine in win over Browns

The opposing defense was as stiff as the wind in Cleveland.

The 49ers cut right through it.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a marginal-stress road victory against an elite unit — the kind of win that a playoff team should author against the Browns.

Here were the studs and duds from the Niners’ 26-8 win, which gave them nine wins on the campaign and a foot into the NFC playoff bracket.

STUDS

Malik Mustapha • S 

A magnificent and loud run-stuffing game from the safety, who has really found his form in recent weeks.

Skyy Moore • PR

His 66-yard return was the catalyst this game needed. He’s going to break one soon.

Kyle Juszczyk • FB

In a game that resembled service-academy football at times, of course the fullback was exceptional. His lead blocking (out of very loopy “dash” motions) was a force throughout the first three quarters. He exited the game in the fourth quarter with a rib injury, and his absence was evident.

Christian McCaffrey • RB

I don’t care about the stats. Against this Browns defense, gaining any yardage is impressive. McCaffrey was at his best when the Niners needed it most.

George Kittle • TE

An up-and-down game from the tight end, who continues to do it all for the Niners. But the ups? They were way up. Big blocks, big catches — a big-time player coming through in a game that was something close to must-win.

Brock Purdy • QB

We’re grading on the curve against this Browns defense, yes, but I’m having a hard time finding any bad decisions from Purdy in this game. His toe looked healthy — he was scrambling around and driving the football down the field — and he made sharp, accurate decisions to ensure that Cleveland never had much of a shot in this game. Three touchdowns and a half-ending field goal in first four red-zone trips against this defense tells the story.

49ers Special Teams

This is not a new development, but the Niners won this game on the strength of excellent field position, with their special teams taking advantage of the Browns’ miscues and making a few plays of their own. For all the jokes made about the Niners’ special teams in recent years and even at the beginning of this year, they’ve been exceptional over the last month-plus.

Keion White • DE

The 49ers’ pre-trade deadline move, White has some serious pop. If he can be used less often than all the time, there’s really something there. Alas, that will not be this season.

DUDS

Luke Gifford • LB

To Gifford’s credit, he recovered a fumble in this game, but he also allowed a touchdown so egregious that it cannot be overlooked by this column.

If you’re wondering how the Niners can screw up having nine wins before their bye week in regards to not making the playoffs, I have one phrase: Luke Gifford is in at linebacker.

The 49ers’ defensive tackles 

The Browns ran the ball at will, and Shadeur Sanders had as much time as he wanted in the pocket. The lack of any push on the interior was the culprit. That could prove to be a huge problem against a competent team.

Curtis Robinson • LB

Understanding that he is a third-string starter, it’s been a tough watch. He’s stuck in the mud in coverage and does not fill in enough in the run game to make up for it.

Trent Williams • LT 

This is really just a means to say that Myles Garrett is so, so, so good. So good, in fact, he made Trent Williams look average.