The Deshaun Watsonless Browns Hand The Almighty 49ers Their 1st Loss Of The Year
THAT'S WHY THE GAME ISN'T PLAYED ON PAPER, BOYS!!!!
Down QB1, down RB1, down OL1 and OL2, and with the already crowned Super Bowl Champions coming to town that haven't lost a regular season game since October 2022? The question was not if the 49ers were going to beat the Browns, but by how many? People teasing them down to 2.5 and calling it a safer investment than the S&P 500. Survivor Pools sitting at 85% 49ers picks. Adding San Francisco moneyline to every bet you made because it's a free addition to the parlay. Yada yada yada. But folks, that's the thing about sports: no matter what the analysts and writers and oddsmakers say, you still have to play the game. At some point the ball gets placed down and the whistle blows. And I fucking LOVE that leading up until that moment happened today, the 49ers were told over and over that this was an extra Bye Week for them, while the Browns were told we were already waving the white flag. To quote the great Lee Corso....NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND!
The Browns showed we were ready to fight from the very beginning:
I can tell you this: no one got onto the plane in San Francisco thinking they were going to have a pregame fight with the Browns, let alone a 4 quarter fight. They didn't know this was a big game until it was too late!!! Fast forward one of the most impressive defensive performances of the year by any team (perhaps aided by Christian McCaffery and Deebo Samuel leaving the game, perhaps not) and a team running possessed, and the 49ers all of a sudden were not ready for big moment.
Just a friendly reminder that Jake Moody went to Michigan
Anyways, I guess I'll now address the elephant in the room: the Browns pulled this all off without medically cleared to play Deshaun Watson. And it's not unfair to ask why we're paying someone $230,000,000 to sit out by his own choice, when our best win in 30 years was able to be done without him. I hear you. It sucks, and it's so fucking Cleveland. But before any of you wise guys get any funny ideas, no, we do not have a Quarterback Controversy in Cleveland. PJ Walker, whilst going home a winner today, was still 18 for 32, 192 yards, 0 TD, and 2 INT. I'm not letting any negativity into this blog or this locker room or this city for the next week. Deshaun should be coming back fully healthy and ready to led this 3-2 team to the playoffs, seeing as we're about to take off on the hands down easiest stretch of our schedule.
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Colts, Seahawks, Cardinals. I would be more shocked if we come out of this 5-3 or 4-4 than 6-2. We should absolutely go 3-0 with the QB, Defense, and heavy Talent advantage in each of the next three weeks. And we've still got the Broncos, Rams, Jets, Bears, and Texans still on the schedule, too. This can absolutely be a 12 win football team. No doubt in my mind. Get Deshaun back and healthy, keep the defense playing like it should, and don't let Stefanski think he needs to outsmart anyone, and this team is going to be hosting playoff football this year. You can take that to the bank.
Don't even fucking think about mentioning the refs helping the Browns down the stretch. We've been on the wrong end of that shit for 3 decades now, including early on in the game today, so it will not even be mentioned here. Officials are men of high integrity doing a very difficult job, and they should be respected, not reprimanded.
And to anyone that wants to make excuses like this….
…just remember the Browns are down their Pro Bowl QB, All Pro RB, and All Pro Guard. The one excuse you can't use against the Browns is injuries, you dummy. Besides, it's the NFL. There are no excuses.