Cleveland Browns vs. San Francisco 49ers: 5 Bold predictions for Week 5
The Cleveland Browns hope to stay on the rise as they take on the undefeated San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. Bold predictions for this game.
If you’d have asked many people coming into the season which team between the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers would be undefeated entering their Monday Night Football matchup in Week 5, most would’ve said the former. Instead, the Browns have grinded their way to 2-2 while the Niners have cruised to 3-0 and are coming off of their bye week.
Jimmy Garoppolo and Baker Mayfield have not played up to preseason expectations through the start of the year. However, Nick Chubb stepped up last week in the Browns’ win against the Ravens while the 49ers rushing attack has been strong by committee. Meanwhile, both defenses have been playing at an extremely high level entering this Week 5 matchup at Levi’s Stadium.
This is a huge matchup for both teams on Monday Night Football. Cleveland is trying to gain some momentum to rebound after stumbling out of the gates. San Francisco, meanwhile, is looking to prove their legitimacy as a viable contender in the NFC.
Let’s make five bold predictions for the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers in this primetime Week 5 showdown.
5. Baker continues improvement with first interception-less outing
After a downright dreadful start to the Cleveland Browns’ 2019 season, Baker Mayfield finally got more on track last week against Baltimore. Freddie Kitchens made adjustments to help with a porous offensive line, employing more quick-passing concepts into the offense to get things rolling. Obviously, it worked — with the help of Nick Chubb in the run game.
Mayfield had his best day of the year, going 20-of-30 for 342 yards, one touchdown and one interception. And it’s worth noting that the turnover was not the quarterback’s fault as Jarvis Landry came up short on a route to avoid contact, thus leaving only defenders in the area where the throw was headed.
Even still, Mayfield has at least one interception thrown in each game this season, with six total on the year. As the Browns look to continue making progress offensively, though, the second-year quarterback will continue to be on the upswing, having his first turnover-free game of the young 2019 campaign and throwing for over 300 yards once again.