The San Francisco 49ers‘ undefeated start came to an end Sunday with a 19-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns, fueled by a missed field goal and some questionable penalty calls.
Let’s break down everything that went wrong in the final minutes for San Francisco after holding a late lead.
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Questionable Calls Cost San Francisco
The Browns got the ball trailing 17-16 with 3:05 left in regulation and a chance to take the lead.
Some questionable penalty calls extended Cleveland’s drive as it marched down to kick the go-ahead field goal with 1:40 left in the final quarter.
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First, the Browns converted on 3rd-and-10 from their own 26 thanks to an unnecessary roughness as officials deemed a hit to the head of a defenseless player, in this case, Elijah Moore, was made by San Francisco’s Tashaun Gipson.
This was called a personal foul, unnecessary roughness vs the 49ers to extend the Browns drive instead of punting or having to go for it on 4th dow . What a joke, nfl pic.twitter.com/HREoyyLfsN
— CFBBlueprint (@CFBBluePrint) October 15, 2023
Then, a defensive holding penalty on Charvarius Ward on a play where there was plenty of contact between Ward and Amari Cooper gave Cleveland five more free yards down to the 49ers’ 40-yard line.
The #NFL isn’t the #NFL anymore…that flag on #49ers safety Tashaun Gipson is pathetic and sooo bad…#Browns just got a gift from the refs and then another one on defensive holding…HATE it when the refs take over games… Just bad all around
— Artie Schweitzer (@ArtieSchweitzer) October 15, 2023
Five plays later, Dustin Hopkins nailed a 29-yard field goal to put the Browns up 19-17 with 1:40 to play, made possible in part by the pair of costly penalty calls.
Moody’s Missed FG Dooms 49ers
Still, San Francisco got its chance to answer with plenty of time left on the clock and one timeout remaining.
The 49ers benefited from a penalty call of their own on the drive as a pass interference penalty committed by Cleveland’s Martin Emerson helped them convert on 3rd-and-10 from their own 25.
A few completions from Brock Purdy later and San Francisco got in range for a potential go-ahead field goal with nine seconds remaining.
Jake Moody struck the 41-yard try well but missed the kick just outside the right upright to seal the final result.
#49ers K Jake Moody misses a potential game-winning 41-yard FG 🤯
The #Browns stun the Niners. WOW
pic.twitter.com/qphcd5Khfv— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 15, 2023
The missed field goal dropped San Francisco to 5-1 on the season with its first loss, leaving the Philadelphia Eagles as the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten team heading into its clash Sunday with the New York Jets.
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Moody’s miss resurrected dialogue as to why kickers at the NFL level are allowed to miss at all.
I’ll never understand how college and NFL football teams allow kickers that just… miss… kicks. I feel like there has to be pools of kickers in the USA that won’t miss simple kicks. Or snappers that won’t mess the snaps idk man it seems so SILLY. Would love opinions on this.
— K¥LÈ HÄMÌL†ÖÑ $ZŃ🌹 (@realravensfan2) October 15, 2023
At the end of the day, pulling off an undefeated season is a rare and difficult feat to accomplish in the NFL, and the 49ers are still well-positioned to achieve all of their goals.
Still, the controversial penalty calls and missed field goal are sure to stick with San Francisco fans and players alike throughout the upcoming week.
