The San Francisco 49ers literally did ‘the Dougie’ on the Cleveland Browns in a lopsided 26-8 win, the Niners’ third straight victory that gave them a stronger grip on a playoff spot, and put them within a hair of the NFC West lead.

As relentlessly inept as the Cleveland Browns football franchise has been since its return in 1999, your San Francisco 49ers had actually not won a game in Cleveland since 1984, the days of Joe Montana and Dwight Clark (back then, Jerry Rice was still just a senior at Mississippi Valley State). Granted, the Niners don’t play very often at a Cleveland Stadium that locals have taken to call “the Factory of Sadness” because of how frequently the Browns lose there. But the 49ers still notched their first victory in Cleveland in 41 years on Sunday, with a 26-8 win over the Cleveland Browns that put the Niners right back in the race for the NFC West division crown.

This game looked like it might be a one-sided affair pretty early on, as emerging 49ers kick returner Skyy Moore took an early first quarter punt return 66 yards, all the way down to the Cleveland 16-yard line. Christian McCaffrey would score on a one-yard touchdown run five plays later to give the 49ers a 7-0 lead.

But these Browns would fight back. Deion Sanders' kid Shadeur Sanders, starting his second game ever as an NFL quarterback, hit his tight end Harold Fannin for a 34-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. The Browns also scored a controversial two-point conversion where it did not appear their running back Quinshon Judkins actually made it into the end zone, but still put the Browns up by an odd score of 8-7.

Though armed with just 39 seconds left before halftime, the 49ers drove the length of the field in a drive highlighted by this bonkers George Kittle catch that made you wonder how on earth he caught that thing.

New 49ers kicker Matt Gay doinked the field goal attempt, but… it was a good doink that went in! The 49ers were up 10-8 at halftime, and this year they are now 8-0 when leading at halftime. So they’ve got that going for them.

Cleveland would fumble on a completely disorganized fourth-down attempt in the mid-third quarter, setting up another 49ers drive. Brock Purdy capped that off by faking a handoff and running it in for the touchdown himself, making it 17-8.

And can you believe these “Dougie” dance moves from Purdy after the touchdown! Certainly George Kittle could not.

The woeful Browns would just have more fumbles and failed fourth-down conversion attempts through the remainder of this game. A fourth quarter touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings TD made the score 23-8 (the two-point was not good), another Matt Gay 49ers field goal gave you the final score of 26-8.

But speaking of 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings, who was famously punched in the nuts during last week’s game, the sore-loser Browns had some choice words about Jennings after the game. "He's a hoe, and I want that known. Like, I see why he got punched in the nuts," Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris (who I have never heard of) told reporters after the game. “I see exactly why they punched him in the nuts. I’m surprised nobody’s punched him in the jaw yet.”  

It’s an entertaining clip and certainly deserves a listen.

Regardless, Sunday was a good day in the NFC West standings for he 49ers. The division-leading Rams lost to the not very good Carolina Panthers. That, plus the Niners’ win over the Browns, leaves the 49ers a mere half-game out of the division lead. And we’ve still got five weeks remaining in the regular season.

Meanwhile in the playoff race, the Niners solidified their hold on the NFC’s seventh and final playoff spot. Their closest competition for that seven-seed is the Detroit Lions, who at 7-5, are a full game-and-a-half back.

The 49ers remain on Easy Street for the next couple weeks. They have their bye week this Sunday, and then the following Sunday they play the league’s worst team, the Tennessee Titans. But on the Monday Night Football before Christmas their schedule gets much tougher with a game against the surprising Indianapolis Colts, followed by the suddenly good Chicago Bears the Sunday after Christmas, and a critical division match-up against the Seahawks on January 4, the final day of the regular season.  

Related: 49ers Demolish Cardinals 41-22 In Brock Purdy’s Glorious Return [SFist]

Image: CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 30: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown past Mohamoud Diabate #43 of the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at Huntington Bank Field on November 30, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)