Shedeur Sanders solid in bad weather as Browns stay close to 49ers– Terry Pluto’s halftime scribbles

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook as San Francisco leads the Browns 10-8 at halftime:

1. With the game time temperature at 38 and wind chill at 18, this was not a great day to throw the ball. Not with the wind at 24 mph with gusts to 37 mph. Both coaches had conservative game plans on offense, sticking to running plays and short passes.

2. Then late in the second quarter, Shedeur Sanders made the best throw of the day for either QB. He dropped back to throw. He felt a pressure coming. He stepped up into the pocket and spotted a wide open Harold Fannin Jr. for a 34-yard TD. That ended a 10-play, 90-yard scoring drive.

3. Sanders did a nice job running the possession offense, connecting on short passes (until Fannin broke open) and staying away from turnovers and negative plays. Sanders was 8 for 11 passing for 96 yards. Very impressive given the weather conditions. He showed a lot of poise and a grasp of the game plan.

4. Quinshon Judkins had 14 carries for 53 yards. He also scored on a 2-point conversion for the Browns.

5. Dylan Sampson had some nice moments, carrying the ball four times for 23 yards.

6. The Browns defense held San Francisco to only 19 yards rushing on 10 carries.

7. Special teams! Special teams??? Why can’t the Browns do something basic such as prevent the opposition from huge return plays on special teams? The Browns’ first possession ended with a punt, and San Francisco’s Skyy Moore returned it 66 yards – to the Cleveland 15-yard line. That led to a 3-yard TD run by Christian McCaffrey.

8. That was the third punt return of at least 60 yards allowed by the Browns this season. The Jets (74 yards) and Lions (65 yards) ran punts back for TDs vs. the Browns this season. The Browns also allowed a 99-yard TD on a kickoff return to the Jets.

9. The Browns drove down to the San Francisco 20-yard line. It was a fourth-and-1 situation. San Francisco had all 11 defenders within about 3 yards of the line of scrimmage. They handed the ball to Judkins, who was stuffed for a 1-yard loss.

10. It’s always easy to second-guess, but when I saw the San Francisco defense near the line, I thought, “If they fake a handoff to Judkins and throw a pass to a tight end, he should be open.” Oh, well … They could have messed that up, too.

11. Center Ethan Pocic left the game in the second quarter with a leg injury. It was the first snap the veteran center has missed this season. He played 96% of the snaps last season. Ohio State product Luke Wypler took over at center.

12. Shedeur Sanders’ first sack of the day came on a failure of the offensive line. Right tackle Jack Conklin missed a block on an outside rush. Guard Joel Bitonio missed a block on pressure up the middle. There seemed to be some confusion on the Bitonio situation. Not sure exactly what happened. Then again, the Browns didn’t appear to be certain, either.

13. Conklin left the game with a concussion late in the second quarter.

14. San Francisco’s Matt Gay kicked a 25-yard field goal to end the first half. The kick bounced off the upright and barely over the crossbar.