The Cleveland Browns will close out the month of November when they host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season.
The series between the Browns and 49ers dates back to the days of the All-America Football Conference, with the first meeting coming on October 27, 1946. Cleveland holds a 20-10 advantage over San Francisco, which includes a title game victory in 1949.
Related: Browns 2025 Schedule Primer: Week 13, San Francisco 49ers
The Browns have also been competitive against the 49ers
since 1999, with Cleveland holding a 4-2 edge, including wins in two of the last three meetings.
Let’s take a run through five of the most memorable games between the Browns and 49ers.
December 11, 1949: Browns 21, 49ers 7
Cleveland closed out its four-year run of dominance in the All-America Football Conference by downing San Francisco and claiming their fourth consecutive league title.
The Browns were all business in building a 14-0 lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Edgar Jones and a 68-yard touchdown run by Marion Motley. San Francisco tried to answer back with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Frankie Albert to Paul Salata early in the fourth quarter, but the Browns held firm and scored their third rushing touchdown of the day with six minutes left when Dub Jones scored on a four-yard run.
Cleveland’s defense held the 49ers on their next possession, and the Browns ran out the clock with 11 consecutive runs. The game may have marked the end of the AAFC, but it was just the beginning of Cleveland’s dominant run through the NFL during the decade of the 1950s.
September 27, 1970: 49ers 34, Browns 31
The Browns and 49ers met up on a sunny day at Kezar Stadium in a game that was filled with plenty of offense.
San Francisco jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the second quarter, thanks in part to a 35-yard interception return by Mel Phillips. But the Browns fought back, and after Leroy Kelly’s second rushing touchdown of the game, took a 31-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.
That scoring drive was costly as quarterback Bill Nelsen left the game with a knee injury, and on Cleveland’s next offensive possession, Don Gault threw an interception. San Francisco took advantage of the turnover as John Brodie tossed his third touchdown pass of the day, this one a 61-yarder to Jimmy Thomas, to give the 49ers the win.
The Browns rolled up 448 yards of total offense, including 308 passing yards from Nelsen and 157 receiving yards from Fair Hooker, but were ultimately done in by four turnovers.
September 13, 1993: Browns 23, 49ers 13
Cleveland’s defense was on display during an early-season appearance on Monday Night Football, breaking a nine-game regular-season winning streak by San Francisco.
After a first quarter dominated by field goals, the Browns took off on offense with 17 points in the second quarter, with the highlight coming on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar to Michael Jackson just before halftime.
The defense took over and shut out the 49ers in the second half, while the Browns closed out the scoring on a 33-yard field goal from Matt Stover. Cleveland intercepted San Francisco’s Steve Young three times and forced four turnovers in the game to hold San Francisco to its lowest point total in almost two years.
September 21, 2003: Browns 13, 49ers 12
The Browns picked up their first win of the season but lost quarterback Kelly Holcomb to a “teeny, tiny” compound fracture of his fibula in the process.
San Francisco’s defense kept the Browns in check through the first three quarters of the game, and took what looked to be an insurmountable 12-0 lead in the fourth quarter after Owen Pochman’s fourth field goal.
Holcomb finally got Cleveland moving as he hit Andé Davis with a two-yard touchdown pass to finish off a 75-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to five points. Still trailing with a little more than six minutes remaining, Holcomb led the Browns on a 17-play, 91-yard drive that included five third-down conversions and culminated with an 11-yard touchdown catch from Davis with 29 seconds remaining to complete the comeback.
It was revealed after the game that Holcomb had suffered the injury in the first quarter, but refused to come out of the game. Two days later, head coach Butch Davis foolishly claimed that Holcomb might be able to practice that week, but he ultimately missed the next three games in a season that quickly spiraled out of control.
October 15, 2023: Browns 19, 49ers 17
If there were ever a day the Browns were going to mail it in, it would have been this fall Sunday against the 49ers.
San Francisco came into the game at 5-0, while the Browns were starting P.J. Walker at quarterback after promoting him that week from the practice squad. So, as everyone expected, Walker outplayed Brock Purdy as the Browns sweated out a last-minute win.
Cleveland trailed at halftime, 10-7, after a 16-yard touchdown run from Kareem Hunt, and took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter after a pair of field goals from Dustin Hopkins. The 49ers retook the lead early in the fourth after an eight-yard touchdown run by Jordan Mason, which set up a frantic finish.
Walker first led the Browns on a 14-play drive that ended with a 50-yard field goal by Hopkins to cut the deficit to just one point. Cleveland’s defense forced a three-and-out, and after a San Francisco punt, Walker took the 63 yards in nine plays, Hopkins converted a 29-yard field goal, and the Browns had a 19-17 lead with 1:40 left on the clock.
The 49ers put together one last drive, but Jake Moody’s 41-yard field goal sailed wide right, and the Browns celebrated the first of two consecutive victories with Walker running the offense.
What is your most memorable game between the Browns and 49ers? Have your say in the comments.
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