The San Francisco 49ers are back on the road for the second-half of a two-game road trip this weekend. The 49ers travel to Ohio to face the Cleveland Browns. The game kicks off at 10:00 a.m. PT, and will air on FOX. The announcer crew consists of Joe Davis and Brady Quinn in the booth, and Peter Schrager on the sideline. This is the bottom FOX crew, so it is safe to say this will be a very regional broadcast.
This game is.....something. A couple weeks ago this looked like a potential showdown for a high draft pick. A win over the Bears later, the 49ers are 4-8 and two games back of the Browns for the top pick. The 49ers seem to be slowly figuring something out, and though they will likely still only win six or seven games, there are some positives to take from this stretch of games.
On the other hand, the Browns are in a tailspin and things are not improving. They benched Johnny Manziel due to off-the-field issues, and that lasted two games. Josh McCown replaced him and was injured in Week 12 against the Baltimore Ravens. Austin Davis replaced him and was not good against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team announced on Tuesday that Manziel would return to the starting lineup this weekend. I don't know if that would happen had McCown remained healthy, but given that this is the Browns, it is safe to say, probably not.
The Browns are still listed as a favorite in this game. The Browns are either a 1- or 1.5-point favorite, according to the various sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Given how bad the Browns are, this line seems a little odd. The 49ers have been awful on the road for much of the season, but against bad teams they have played fairly well. They covered the spread and almost beat the New York Giants and they beat the Chicago Bears outright. The only other "bad" team they faced on the road was the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers offense was a mess at that point, and Todd Gurley was in the midst of a crazy four-game run in which he was averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
The 49ers will have their normal Wednesday, Thursday, Friday media schedule. On Wednesday, Jim Tomsula meets with the media at 10:30 a.m., and that will be followed by quarterback Blaine Gabbert and special teams coach Thomas McGaughey at 11:35. Browns head coach Mike Pettine will speak with Bay Area media at 11:45, and Donte Whitner will chat with Bay Area media at 12:15. The locker room will be open from 12 to 12:45, and the team will practice at 2 p.m.
On Thursday, Eric Mangini and Geep Chryst will meet with the media at 11:45 a.m. That will be followed by locker room availability from 12:00 to 12:45, and then practice at 2:00 p.m. On Friday, Jim Tomsula will speak at 10:30 a.m., practice will get going at 11:20 a.m., and locker room availability will be after practice. The team will likely depart for Cleveland soon after.
Matchups: 18
Series Record: Browns lead series 11-7
49ers Away Record vs. Browns: Browns lead series 6-2
First Meeting: 11/12/50, Browns win 34-14, at Cle.
Last Meeting: 10/30/11, 49ers win 20-10, at SF
Current Streak: Win 1
Longest 49ers Win Streak: 3 (11/11/84 - 10/28/90)
Longest Browns Win Streak: 3 - 2 times (Last 9/13/93 - 12/30/07)
Most 49ers Points: 41 (11/11/84): 49ers win 41-7, at Cle.
Most Browns Points: 38 (10/2/55): Browns win 38-3, at SF
49ers Shutouts: None
Browns Shutouts: 1 (12/1/74): Browns win 7-0, at Cle.
WR Anquan Boldin
- As a member of the Baltimore Ravens, he registered season highs of 9 receptions for 131 yards vs. Cle. (9/27/11).
- Had 8 receptions for a season-high 142 yards and tied a career best with 3 TDs vs. Cle. (9/26/10) with the Ravens.
LB NaVorro Bowman
- Registered 10 tackles and 1 PD in his only career game vs. Cle. (10/30/11).
LB Ahmad Brooks
- Recorded 3 tackles and season-high 2.0 sacks vs. Cle. (10/30/11).
WR Torrey Smith
- In 8 career games vs. Cle., has registered 31 receptions for 484 yards and 3 TDs.
- In his final regular season game as a member of the Baltimore Ravens, registered 4 receptions for 83 yards and 1 TD vs. Cle. (12/28/14).
- With the Ravens, tied a career-high with 7 receptions for 85 yards vs. Cle. (9/15/13).
- Notched 4 receptions for 48 yards and 1 TD at Cle. (11/4/12) with Baltimore.
- As a member of the Ravens, recorded 6 receptions for 97 yards and 1 TD vs. Cle. (9/27/12).
2015 Statistics
| 49ERS (rank) | Browns (rank) | |
| 4-8 (t-3rd NFCW) | Record | 2-10 (4th AFCN) |
| 14.8 (32nd) | Points per game | 18.0 (30th) |
| 295.1 (32nd) | Total Offense | 330.8 (26th) |
| 99.1 (20th) | Rushing Offense | 73.9 (32nd) |
| 196.0 (30th) | Passing Offense | 256.8 (13th) |
| 26:32 (31st) | Possession Avg | 29:55 (22nd) |
| 24.3 (t-19th) | Points allowed/gm | 28.9 (31st) |
| 395.1 (28th) | Total Defense | 398.8 (29th) |
| 125.2 (28th) | Rushing Defense | 136.3 (31st) |
| 269.9 (27th) | Passing Defense | 262.5 (25th) |
| 20 (27th) | Sacks | 17 (30th) |
| 44.7 (18th) | Punting Avg (Gross) | 47.3 (6th) |
| -2 (t-19th) | Turnover Differential | -5 (t-25th) |