By Morris Phillips

On a day that 49ers Coach Jim Tomsula and quarterback Blaine Gabbert wanted everyone to know that they were accountable, the victory on the field in Cleveland went to Johnny Manziel, a guy who hasn’t been accountable at all.

So much for accountability. And with it, so much for the 49ers beating a beatable opponent.

“You have to give credit to the Browns,” Gabbert said after the 49ers lost to Cleveland, 24-10 and were whipped in all phases. “They came ready to play today, and we didn’t. And you can’t put your finger on one certain thing. We have to watch the film to process what happened, and get back to the drawing board.”

That Gabbert could even process his thoughts was a victory in itself. The backup-turned-starter threw for a non-impactful 194 yards and didn’t throw (or score) a touchdown until less than two minutes remained in the game, and the 49ers trailed by three touchdowns. That final hurrah came after Gabbert was sacked nine times, a number so high and unfathomable you have to question whether the signal caller and his way-too-accommodating offensive line are even NFL-level performers.

Either that, or the 49ers’ offense came to Cleveland without spending the week preparing for battle. If so, that falls on the head coach and his staff.

Tomsula felt his team generally failed to execute, saying, “It starts up front. We didn’t block. Our line didn’t play well. We didn’t play well up front. We didn’t tackle well on defense; missed tackles, not wrapping up. The concepts in our routes were off. We played a poor football game.”

Without a doubt, the 49ers had plenty to play for. First off, a two-game win streak could have been realized, a powerful force even for a team out of the playoff picture concerned about selling tickets to its two remaining home games. Also, the momentum gained last week in Chicago meant that certain players were establishing that they could be in the team’s plans for 2016. But after losing to a team that hadn’t won since early October in such a decisive manner, all of that is called into question.

How bad was this loss? Much worse than the eye-popping nine sacks, or losing to an immature, second-year pro quarterback that was 1-9 in his 10 appearances coming in.

Defensively, the 49ers were run over by a Browns’ run game that ranked last in the NFL and hadn’t had a 100-yard rusher in the last season-and-a-half. Isiah Crowell turned Jim Brown, rushing for 145 yards on 20 carries with two scores. Crowell had runs of 50 and 54 yards, gashing a defense that was without speed-rusher Aaron Lynch and inside linebacker Michael Wilhoite. While the 49ers offense didn’t do its defense any favors by holding the ball for only 22 of 60 minutes, and converting just twice in 13 third-down situations, this was hardly the performance expected of a defense that had been effective more often than not coming in.

“You must be prepared. You must be ready,” defensive leader NaVorro Bowman said.   “You know the games are coming every single week. It’s an individual thing to bring your own energy.”

While the Browns ran all over the place, the Shaun Draughn-led 49er run game was stuck in the mud. Draughn finished with just 43 yards on the ground, and his 15-yard run was undoubtedly the only highlight. Overall, the 49ers mustered a paltry 221 yards in offense, an acceptable figure for a half, but not a whole football game.

Leading the Browns this Sunday was the aforementioned Johnny Football, who returned from a two-game benching due to his dishonesty about his activities during the Cleveland bye week. For a platform for his continued employment in Cleveland, on this Sunday, the 49ers provided shiny pamphlets trumpeting Manziel and spotlights illuminating the Heisman Trophy winner turned bad.

Manziel threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, and saw the forgiving Browns Stadium crowd chant his name in the second half. The 49ers did their part, by not fully taking advantage of Manziel’s one big mistake, an interception thrown just before halftime. The 49ers’ offense followed the interception by going three-and-out, preserving the Browns 10-3 halftime lead.

“I’ve only gotten to play six or seven games,” Manziel said afterwards.  “I know the number is starting to climb, but for me, these mean a lot to me.  I still have a lot to prove.  I feel like I’m just getting started.  I’m going to continue to play, continue to fight.”

The 49ers return to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday to take on the Cincinnati Bengals, who will likely be without injured quarterback Andy Dalton.