Jerome Ford delivers in clutch as Browns’ rushing attack comes to life in win over 49ers

CLEVELAND — Jerome Ford didn’t start, but he finished.

Coming off a Week 5 bye, the Browns made a change by starting Kareem Hunt at running back Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers instead of Ford.

But the Browns also turned to Ford in crunch time, and he responded with a 22-yard run on second-and-6 at the San Francisco 36-yard line. The play advanced the Browns to the 14 and, four plays later, Dustin Hopkins made the game-winning 29-yard field goal with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter.

“It was a trap play,” Ford said. “I seen the down block, and I was like, ‘It’s a lot of space right here.’ So I ran to daylight, and I was trying to get in the end zone, but it didn’t work out too well.”

It actually worked out just fine because San Francisco’s Jake Moody missed a potential 41-yard game-winning field goal wide right with 6 seconds remaining, and the Browns prevailed 19-17 over the previously undefeated 49ers at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

“It’s about time we got a little luck,” Hunt said.

The Browns (3-2) also got good production from their rushing attack for the first time since Week 2, when they lost four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb to a devastating, season-ending knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As a team, the Browns had 160 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries (4.7 average) against the Niners. Entering the game, the 49ers had the NFL’s second-ranked rushing defense (64.2 yards allowed per game). Also, Browns All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio (recent arthroscopic knee surgery) was inactive and replaced by Michael Dunn.

Cleveland had 31 carries for 78 yards (2.5 average) and a TD in a Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans and 25 carries for 93 yards (3.7 average) in a Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

On Sunday, Ford compiled 17 carries for 84 yards (4.9 average) and two catches on two targets for 7 yards.

Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore told the Beacon Journal Ford’s clutch 22-yard run “changed the momentum of the entire game — having that moment was really big.”

Hunt had 12 carries for 47 yards (3.9 average) and a touchdown, plus three catches on three targets for 24 yards against the 49ers (5-1).

A graduate of Willoughby South High School, Hunt re-signed with the Browns in the aftermath of Chubb’s injury. And when Hunt rushed for a 16-yard touchdown with 5:38 left in the second quarter, the sun shone on Cleveland’s lakefront during an otherwise cloudy, rainy afternoon.

“I did notice it,” Ford said. “I’m like, ‘Dang, this man got the sun coming out? He’s got it like that?’”

Browns won with QB from practice squad: P.J. Walker ‘about bouncing back’ after bad interception to lead Cleveland

It turns out national anthem singer Norelle Simpson foreshadowed more involvement by Hunt by donning a No. 27 jersey — the number he wears. Hunt had just five carries in each of his first two games this season.

“We’ve talked about Kareem getting back into football shape, and he’s there or he’s getting there,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He hadn’t been tackled in a while, but we felt like we wanted to get him going early, so we started him in this game and got him a screen early.

“But I can’t say enough about Kareem and Jerome. Those guys are running hard, hitting it. It’s not always pretty, but I’m really proud of those guys.”

Browns column: Cleveland wins heavyweight bout, leaving Trent Williams to label Myles Garrett a Hall of Famer

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns’ Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt run well in win over 49ers