San Francisco (8-4) at Cleveland (3-8)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.
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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey runs for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers during the second half an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) forces Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) to fumble during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring against the Carolina Panthers during the second half an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after the Cleveland Browns defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
BetMGM NFL Odds: 49ers by 5.
Against the spread: 49ers 7-5; Browns 5-6.
Series record: Browns lead 13-8.
Last meeting: Browns beat 49ers 19-17 on Oct. 15, 2023, in Cleveland.
Last week: 49ers beat Panthers 20-9; Browns beat Raiders 24-10.
49ers offense: overall (10), rush (26), pass (3), scoring (15).
49ers defense: overall (22t), rush (10), pass (26), scoring (11).
Browns offense: overall (31), rush (28), pass (31), scoring (29).
Browns defense: overall (2), rush (12), pass (2), scoring (13).
Turnover differential: 49ers minus-6; Browns plus-2.
QB Brock Purdy struggled in his second start back from a toe injury, throwing three INTs in the first half last week against Carolina. Purdy completed only one pass beyond 10 yards and got most of his production on short throws. Purdy has struggled in bad weather in his career, including a 2023 loss in Cleveland when he went 12 for 27 for 125 yards.
DE Myles Garrett leads the league with 18 sacks and 26 tackles for loss. He has 14 sacks in his past five games, the most by a player in that span since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. With four sacks against the Ravens in Week 12 and three last week vs. the Raiders, he is trying to become the first player with at least three sacks in three straight games.
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey versus Browns defense. McCaffrey has a league-leading 1,581 scrimmage yards and is tied for third in scrimmage touchdowns with 12. The Browns have allowed a running back to have at least 100 scrimmage yards in three straight games.
49ers: DE Sam Okuayinonu hurt his ankle last week and his status this week is in question. ... LB Tatum Bethune (ankle) and K Eddy Pineiro (right hamstring) are also likely out again this week.
Browns: DT Adin Huntington (quad) and TE Brenden Bates (ankle) are expected to be out on Sunday.
The home team has won the past five meetings in the series. ... San Francisco has a four-game losing streak in Cleveland with its most recent win coming in 1984. ... The Browns are 8-2 in games in Cleveland.
The 49ers are looking for their first three-game winning streak since starting the season 3-0. ... San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey is the third player in NFL history with at least 750 yards rushing and receiving in the first 11 games. McCaffrey leads the NFL with 81 receptions and 90 first downs. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown had two INTs last week to become the first 49ers player with at least two in a game since Charvarius Ward did it in Week 15 of the 2023 season against Arizona. ... San Francisco has had two INTs in the past two games after having just one in the first 10. ... The Niners have scored three TDs and one FG on four game-opening drives this season with Purdy at QB. ... San Francisco leads the NFL with 25 drives that lasted at least 5:00. ... The Niners have converted 46.4% of third downs for the second-best mark in the NFL. ... San Francisco is last in the NFL with 13 sacks. ... Cleveland is looking to win consecutive games for the first time since 2023. ... The offense has gone with a one running back, two tight end formation on 44.2% of its plays, the highest rate in the league and third highest in the past decade. ... Shedeur Sanders became the first Browns rookie QB since Eric Zeier in 1995 to win his first start. ... RB Quinshon Judkins is one of three NFL rookies with at least two games with multiple touchdowns. ... TE Harold Fannin Jr. is tied for third among all NFL rookies with 48 receptions and fifth in receiving yards (462). ... The defense had 10 sacks last week, second most in a game in franchise history. ... LB Carson Schwesinger leads NFL rookies with 89 tackles.
49ers TE George Kittle led the team with 78 receiving yards last week. He has 21 receptions for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the past three games.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey runs for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers during the second half an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) forces Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) to fumble during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring against the Carolina Panthers during the second half an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after the Cleveland Browns defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was set to address the nation Wednesday night and offer an update on the war in Iran, his first prime-time speech since launching strikes alongside Israel more than a month ago.
The speech will offer Trump a wide audience to articulate clear objectives for the war that could attempt to reconcile weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.
It comes amid rising oil prices, volatile financial markets and polling showing many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran — even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks, and questions now remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through.
A White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the address and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will talk about U.S. progress on achieving his goals in Iran and will reiterate his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks.
The president, in comments during a Easter lunch on Wednesday afternoon, said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”
“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily. I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”
The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not return requests for comment from The Associated Press on the video and why it was taken down.
In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president has also said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it didn’t open the strait by April 6.
In the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated some of his complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up to reopen the waterway.
“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force -- let South Korea do it,” Trump said of efforts to reopen the strait. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”
In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn’t clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to U.S. citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the U.S. withdrew from that path. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.
Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.
Adding to the confusion is what role Israel — which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war that has been pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. And in a report last week by Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster, an anonymous official was quoted as saying Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, U.S. officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf won't be targeted, according to three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
A rainbow forms over the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
