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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Zeglinski

NFL Week 6 Awards: 49ers’ lethargic loss to P.J. Walker’s Browns shows they aren’t perfect team

49ers Browns (Organization) NFL Alvin Kamara Brock Purdy Cameron Goode Desmond Ridder DK Metcalf Lamar Jackson Trent Williams

They were likely never going to go 17-0, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who thought the San Francisco 49ers would lose to the Cleveland Browns Sunday. If there was even a singular person who actually believed in Cleveland’s chances, they seemed delusional about it once it was clear that a horrible backup like P.J. Walker would start against the 49ers’ ferocious defense.

And yet, there the Browns were, upsetting the 49ers 19-17 in easily the most shocking individual result of this still-young NFL season. What happened? Why did the 49ers drop the ball after looking like an absolutely perfect buzzsaw en route to a 5-0 start?

As always, it’s never so simple to blame just one person.

For one, Brock Purdy had one of his worst games as the 49ers’ starting quarterback, completing just 12-of-27 passes for 125 yards while throwing one touchdown and his first interception of the season. The Browns’ defense deserves a ton of credit for rattling Purdy. But there were more than a few throws Purdy left on the field, potentially reigniting the questions about whether he is actually good enough to elevate the 49ers’ stacked offense against equally good defenses.

Injuries played a part, too.

San Francisco’s do-it-all offensive Swiss Army Knife Deebo Samuel would leave the game with a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, after suffering an ankle injury, left tackle Trent Williams tried to battle, even though it was clear he wasn’t 100 percent. None of this absolves the defense, either. The 49ers should’ve feasted on a woefully mismatched quarterback like Walker. It’s inexcusable that they let his one genuine safety valve — receiver Amari Cooper — carry the Browns’ offense.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t highlight Jake Moody, San Francisco’s highly-drafted rookie kicker, for missing the game-winning chip-shot attempt in the final moments:

The 49ers are probably going to be fine. By no means does one loss define what remains one of the NFL’s true Super Bowl contenders. But we thought this team was an unmitigated juggernaut headed toward a historic season.

As it turns out, they’re a bit more fallible and flawed than we believe. Even the “best” team in the league can still fall short on any Sunday. That’s something evergreen to keep in mind later this winter.

Alas, the rest of Week 6’s NFL Awards here at For The Win is a doozy. We’ve got backup running backs creating touchdowns with monster blocks. We’ve got an announcer intentionally avoiding an announcer jinx. We’ve got a superstar receiver ready on a moment’s notice for a creative touchdown celebration.

Heck, who am I kidding? We’ve got everything. Let’s dive in.

Best defense of your teammates: Trent Williams, while jumping into this pregame scrum against the Browns

Even though Sunday showed us the 49ers aren’t perfect by any means, they’re clearly still a tightly-knit team. If All-Pro tackle Trent Williams is willing to get into “it” for his teammates, that sort of mentality trickles down:

Best self-awareness in the announcing booth: Rich Eisen, after avoiding an announcer jinx of Nick Folk

Folks, superstitions in football are real. If an announcer says a kicker has been perfect, remarkable, on a hot streak, etc., before a field goal, then that kicker is about to shank the attempt. It’s science. Shout out to Rich Eisen for waiting until after the play to highlight Nick Folk’s ridiculous streak with chip-shot kicks.

I’m certain the Titans appreciated it:

Best instigation of an unnecessary penalty by just doing your job: Cam Taylor-Britt, after locking DK Metcalf down

In their tough loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Metcalf had one just catch for 12 yards and only four receptions for 69 yards by the end of the game. This was a credit to Cincinnati’s Cam Taylor-Britt, who did an awesome job shutting Metcalf down — who lost his cool with a defender who did nothing but play between the lines:

Best TD celebration with an actual prop: Tyreek Hill, after taking a fan's phone

Tyreek Hill is used to flashy plays and humiliating defenders for the Miami Dolphins. After scoring a 41-yard touchdown against the Carolina Panthers Sunday, Hill literally took someone’s phone to record himself doing a back flip in the end zone. Gold and worth every penalty yard:

Best passionate statement about winning: Lamar Jackson, while decrying fantasy players and bettors

The Baltimore Ravens improved to 4-2 and solidified their first-place standing in the AFC North by beating the Tennessee Titans in London. It wasn’t the flashiest win, and it wasn’t necessarily the best performance from Lamar Jackson. In a seeming reaction to upset fantasy players and bettors who didn’t get the exact numbers they wanted from him, Jackson made a fitting statement.

Good for him:

Best correction of a mistaken penalty: This ref fixing a facemask call during 49ers-Browns

Early in San Francisco and Cleveland’s matchup, referee John Hussey made a mistake announcing a facemask on the Browns even though the 49ers clearly committed the infraction. After much on-air debate between Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, he hilariously fixed his error about a minute later:

Best dramatic flop: Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode after taking a "headbutt"

Goode and Panthers punter Johnny Hekker got rather heated in a sideline exchange. So much so that Hekker attempted to headbutt Goode, who dropped an egregious flop that even announcer Kevin Harlan couldn’t but make fun of:

Best job of pretending he cares about what his teammate's saying: Alvin Kamara with Jameis Winston on the sideline

The New Orleans Saints suffered a disappointing loss to the Houston Texans, where their offense never really got into gear. In the closing moments, Winston was caught on camera ranting about something to Kamara. Based on Kamara’s reaction, he couldn’t have cared less about what New Orleans’ backup quarterback had to say:

Best job of showing frustration with your QB: Arthur Smith on this dramatic surrender cobra about Desmond Ridder

After the best game of his young NFL career, Ridder followed that performance up by throwing three interceptions against the Washington Commanders, including two in the final moments of the fourth quarter. When Ridder threw one in the end zone, Smith couldn’t help but unleash a theatrical surrender cobra:

Best block by a backup: Detroit's Craig Reynolds after destroying the Buccaneers' Carlton Davis

There’s no need to mince our words: The Detroit Lions are a legitimate championship contender. Why? Because everyone — from their starting lineup to their backups — does the little things.

Like, say, backup running back Craig Reynolds on this HUGE block springing Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown Sunday:

Best announcer call that confused everyone: Mark Sanchez, while comparing Jalen Hurts to salmon covered in Vaseline

I’ve heard a lot of great analogies and comparisons about Jalen Hurts in the last year and a half. I can’t say I’ve ever his escapability compared to a salmon covered in Vaseline. Thank you, Mark Sanchez.

Thank you:

Best tablet spike after another terrible loss: Bill Belichick, after losing to the Raiders

It’s been a tough season for the 1-5 New England Patriots. You will simply not find a better summation of their ongoing struggles than Bill Belichick passionately spiking his tablet on the sideline once the Las Vegas Raiders beat his team:

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