The San Francisco 49ers have been utterly dominant through the first five weeks of the season, but the first half against the Cleveland Browns was more of a grind.

San Francisco led Cleveland 10-7 at the half of a Week 6 game that was defined largely by injuries, penalties and some tediously bad officiating.

Despite their advantage, the 49ers will hope for a cleaner showing in the second half.

CMC gets 49ers off to a hot start again

In terms of defenses, the challenge posed by the Browns is the toughest one the 49ers have faced so far this season.

But San Francisco made light of it on their opening drive, going 84 yards on five plays as Christian McCaffrey found the endzone on a 13-yard catch and run.

It marked McCaffrey's 15th successive touchdown for the 49ers across the regular season and means the 49ers continue their streak of scoring points on each of their opening drives this season. They have scored five touchdowns and a field goal on those possessions.

Missed opportunities prevent Niners from taking commanding lead

The Niners may have the advantage going into the second half, but it could have been a lot better had they taken some clear chances for points.

San Francisco had the ball on Cleveland's 36 after Fred Warner's interception of P.J. Walker but lost yardage on the ensuing offensive series and Jake Moody sent the subsequent 54-yard field goal wide left.

On the next San Francisco drive, Brandon Aiyuk dropped what likely would have been a touchdown on a deep shot on third and 13.

The 49ers then had a drive that got down to Cleveland's seven-yard line but were once again forced to settle for a field goal.

A severely underwhelming first half from the offense was capped off by Purdy missing a wide open McCaffrey down the right sideline for what would have been a walk-in touchdown, a delay of game penalty and a third-down fumble then pushing the Niners out of field goal range.

The 49ers will be expected to close the game out in the second half despite a spirited Cleveland showing, but they could have made that task a lot easier on themselves with some better execution, with a shoulder injury to Deebo Samuel seeming to throw much of the operation off-kilter.

Misdirection causes defensive problems

With Deshaun Watson out and P.J. Walker getting the start at quarterback for the Browns, some misdirection to slow down the 49ers' defense was always likely to be a big part of the Cleveland gameplan.

So it proved, and the 49ers had plenty of problems stopping such plays, with the Browns finding inventive ways to get to the edge.

Former 49er Marquise Goodwin had a 20-yard gain on one such play, with Talanoa Hufanga producing a touchdown-saving tackle.

And San Francisco was caught completely off guard on the Browns' biggest play of the first half, Kareem Hunt darting in for a 16-yard rushing touchdown after it had initially looked like tight end Harrison Bryant was going to run a QB sneak. Bryant pitched the ball to Hunt for a touchdown that made halftime score much closer for comfort than the 49ers would like.

49ers and Browns set tone for Week 6 clash with pre-game scuffle

Tempers boiled over.