by Brought to you by – https://keeonsports.com/sponsors/
After the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964, they returned to the playoffs 6 times in the next seasons, never again winning the championship. They lost to Green Bay in 1965, the Cowboys in 1967, the Colts in 1968 and 1971, the Vikings in 1969 and the Dolphins in 1972. After that however, things went south and the Browns would not return to the postseason until 1980.
That is where this story picks up. The Browns had showed great improvement in 1979, going 9-7 under Sam Rutigliano and just missing the playoffs. In two years under coach Sam, they had gone 17- 15 and appeared to be heading in the right direction.
Under center heading into 1980 was Brian Sipe who was in his 7th season with the Browns. Sipe became the full-time starting quarterback in 1976 and had always put up middle of the road numbers. Nobody with the exception of Sipe and Rutigliano could have imagined the 1980 season he was about to embark on. Sipe would finish with 30 touchdowns, 4,132 yards and 91.4 QBR. He went on to win the MVP that season and will forever be loved by Cleveland fans for that magical year.
And it was magical folks, after starting the year 0-2 with losses at New England 34-17 and at home to divisional rival Houston by a score of 16-7. They rebounded quickly however by winning their next two games to even their record at 2-2. The victories coming at home against Kansas City 20-13 and at Tampa Bay 34-27.
It wasn’t just that the Browns were winning games, it was how they were winning them. For instance, week 3 against KC, they trailed or were tied the bulk of the first three quarters until pulling ahead 20-13 on a Sipe to Charles White touchdown pass late into the third quarter. From there, they clung to the lead and held on to win the game.
The following week in Tampa Bay, they once again overcame a first half deficit to win. These were close games, but nothing compared to what was about to come that season.
A last second 19-16 loss to the Denver Broncos at home would set them back to 2-3 on the season. Perhaps the close loss was all Cleveland needed to spark something in them, because after that crushing defeat at the hands of the Bronco’s, they rattled off 5 straight wins, and then compiled 3 more after a loss to win 8 of 9 in the heart of the season.
The winning streak began week six with a 27-3 blowout win at Seattle. The next four straight wins would not be laughers however, but absolute white knuckle down to the wire nailbiters. The first of the stretch coming week seven at home versus Green Bay. Down by two scores, 21-13, in the fourth quarter, the magic began with a 19-yard Sipe to Ozzie Newsome touchdown pass to cut it 21-20. From there, the Browns needed the ball back one more time to try and win it, and did just that with a glorious and stunning 46-yard Sipe to Dave Logan touchdown pass to win the game.
They may not have been called the Cardiac Kids yet, but it was brewing. The next week at home against bitter rival Pittsburgh, they pulled off enough thrilling 1 point win 27-26. Yet again, they trailed by two scores in the fourth quarter, 26-14 before the magic began.
This time it was a Sipe to Greg Pruitt touchdown pass from 7 yards out to get it going. Then, as the game winded down, it was winning time as Sipe connected with Ozzie Newsome to win the game at 27-26 in front of 82,000 crazed fans at Municipal Stadium.
The third and final game of the three game homestand, and the fourth game of the win streak came against the visiting Chicago Bears. It was another one score win for the Browns, but came in a little bit different fashion. The Browns led 13-7 to start the final 15 minutes and it looked for a moment that they would pull away on a Mike Pruitt 1 yard rumble into the endzone, extending the lead to 20-7. The Bears were far from down however and pushed across two scores of their own wrapped around another Pruitt touchdown for Cleveland, as the Browns hung on in the final moments to win 27-21.
The close wins weren’t done yet however, winners of four straight, and now 6-3 on the season, Cleveland ventured to Baltimore for a Week 10 slugfest. Just like the prior week against the Bears, the Browns built a comfortable fourth quarter lead at 28-13 before it began to slip away. You must remember, this was long before the days of two pointers being allowed, so a 15-point game was a three possession game.
The Colts began scoring at a wicked pace to close the gap with touchdowns from the arm of Bert Jones to Reese McCall and Don McCauley. Luckily for the Browns, the Colts would run out of time on a third score attempt, as Cleveland hung on for the 28-27 victory. This pushed the Browns record to 7-3 and put the NFL on notice.
The next week however it was the Browns getting snake bit from a last minute fourth quarter comeback to fall to the hated Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Browns saw a slim 13-7 fourth quarter lead disappear after getting a safety against them, and then a Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann touchdown pass in the closing seconds to win it for Pittsburgh. The heartbreaking loss dropped the Browns to 7-4, but they were still very much in playoff contention.
The Browns bounced back from the tight loss to destroy divisional rival Cincinnati 31-7 at home. From there, it was back-to-back 3-point wins of 17-14 against both Houston and the Jets. Against Houston they stave off a fourth quarter comeback attempt from Kenny Stabler and crew. Against the Jets, it was a 5-yard touchdown pass from Sipe to Greg Pruitt to win it late! Time and time again, games were going down to the wire and the Browns were coming out ahead.
The Pruitt touchdown in New York improved their record to 10-4 and clinched a playoff berth. One more win, and they would be hosting a playoff game. After failing to secure it week 15 against the Vikings, they would have one more chance to close it out on the road, week 16 against the Bengals.
The Vikings game left Browns fans feeling snakebit. Cleveland was cruising, up 23-9 after a Cleo Miller touchdown run to start the fourth quarter. Minnesota’s offense had done nothing all game and the 14 point lead looked like it was going to hold up. The Vikings had a different idea however, as Tommy Kramer touchdown pass to Ted Brown cut into the lead. Placekicker Rick Danmeier missed the extra point and the score stayed at 23-15.
An 8 point lead with time dwindling off the clock, it looked the Browns had it in the bag.
The Vikings were persistent and would not got away without a fight. They got the ball back and scored again, this time on a Kramer to Ahmad Rashad touchdown pass of 12 yards. The Browns were still up 23-22 with little time remaining. Sadly, for Cleveland fans, the Vikings had enough time left to get the ball for one last heave to the endzone.
The Viking drive started with 14 seconds to go on their own 20-yard line, with no timeouts remaining. Someone forgot to tell Tommy Kramer and the Vikings the game was over. Frozen fans in Minnesota watched as the first play of the drive was a 10-yard slant caught by Grant who flea flickered it to Brown, who then took it all the way down to the Cleveland 46-yard line with only 5 seconds remaining. Marty Schottenheimer, who was the Browns defensive coordinator at the time, lived and died by the prevent defense, he was about to get scorched by it.
NBC showed a young and worried Art Model in the visiting owners box, and for good reason as the next play saw Ahmad Rashad catch a deflected Hail Mary pass at the 5 yard line, and then walk it in for the win! Long before Rashad was the host of NBA on NBC, he was breaking Browns fans hearts!
The Browns, now 10-5, found themselves in a must win situation to host a home playoff game as they traveled to Cincinnati. The lowly Bengals were just 6-9 at the time and had little to play for. Someone forgot to tell them that however and relished the chance to play the role of spoiler. Yet again, the game was in doubt late and it wasn’t until Browns placekicker Don Cockroft nailed a 22-yard field goal to win it and send the Browns to the postseason.
Let’s talk about Don Cockroft for a moment as he is about to become a key member of this little story. Cockroft played his entire career in Cleveland after arriving there in 1968. This would be his 13th and finals season in the NFL. 3 times in his career, he was a league leader in Field Goal percentage. In 1968 he connected on 75% of attempts, in 1972 he connected on 81% and in 1974, he connected on 87.5% of his attempts.
Those sure thing days were long gone however, as in 1980, he only made 16 of 26 attempts for a paltry 61% heading into the playoffs. He also missed 6 extra points that season. This was 30 plus years before they moved back the distance, this is back when extra points were automatic. The Browns stuck with him and it was about to bite them.
Heading into the Divisional Playoff game on January 4th, 1981, everything should have favored Cleveland as they hosted the warm weather Oakland Raiders at 12:30 on a blistery Sunday afternoon. How cold was it exactly? With the windchill, it was negative 21 degrees. It is one of the coldest games in the history of all sports at any level, not just the NFL. I don’t care how many layers you wear or how drunk you think you get, you’re not staying warm outside in that kind of weather.
With the early start time, and the West Coast to East Coast trip, again, everything should have favored the Browns that day. After no one could do much of anything in the first quarter, the Browns drew first blood in the second when Ron Bolton picked off a Jim Plunkett pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. That’s when the problems with Cockroft began as he missed another extra point.
The Raiders would take a 7-6 lead into the half before Cockroft began to kick the Browns back into in the third. He managed to make two 30-yard field goals to give the Browns the 12-7 lead as the third quarter ended.
It wasn’t exactly a ticker tape parade for the grizzled placekicker however, as even with those two makes, he also missed two field goals to go along with that missed extra point.
Those three missed kicks were fresh in Sam Rutigliano’s mind as Brian Sipe took the ball in the closing minutes of the game with the Browns now trailing 14-12. As scary as that thought was, they still had the league MVP at quarterback and had been winning games in the last seconds all season long, how would this be any different?
Sipe began to drive the Browns down the field with ease, knowing full well they would only need three points to win. Despite already throwing 2 interceptions, they had confidence in their passing game and continued to let Sipe air it out on the drive.
With 49 seconds to go, they had the ball at the Raider 13-yard line, which would have made it a 30-yard field goal. Despite his massive troubles, Cockroft had made two from that exact distance earlier in the game, but facing the other end of the field with the 21 MPH winds at his back.
Sam and the Browns opted against the field goal even with the ball being exactly in the middle of the field for the kick.
The very next play, tragedy happened as Sipe dropped back, looked over the defense and threw to the endzone for Ozzie Newsome. Michael Davis read the pattern perfectly and picked it off for a Raiders win. Cleveland had an incredible chance at the Superbowl, or atleast hosting the AFC Championship game the following week against San Diego, but saw it all slip away.
Making matters even worse, and what could only go down as, “only in Cleveland lore”, Sipe called the wrong play in the huddle. Coach Sam called a pass play, “Red Slot Right, Halfback Stay, 88,” and instructed Sipe to “throw it into Lake Erie” if the play was anything less than wide open. It was only second down and an incomplete pass would have kept the game alive. Sipe called the wrong play in the huddle, “Red Right 88”, and the rest is history.
The Browns would stumble in 1981, going 5-11 and falling apart. They managed to “rebound” in strike shortened season, making the playoffs at just 4-5. They would fall to the Raiders again in the playoffs, this time 27-10 on the road in LA. Yes, that’s right, David pulled them from Oakland after winning Super Bowl XV.
From there, it was all downhill for the Browns as the missed the playoffs in 83 and 84, before Schottenheimer took over in 1985 and got them to the playoffs with a hometown rookie quarterback named Bernie. More on that later.
As for Brian Sipe, he will go down as one of the most beloved Cleveland Browns figures. After being drafted by the Browns in the 13th round of the 1972 Draft, he went on to play 10 years for the Browns before departing for the USFL’s Washington Generals. Sipe finished his Browns career with 154 touchdowns and 23,713 yards. Many fans, including myself, consider him the second-best quarterback behind Otto Graham in franchise history. The San Diego “California Kid” won the hearts of Cleveland during his stay.
Sipe didn’t do it by himself that season, in fact, he had plenty of help. His top receiving threats were Reggie Rucker with 52 catches for 768 yards and 4 touchdowns. Dave Logan caught 51 balls for 822 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was Calvin Hill, the father of Duke sensation Grant Hill, with 27 catches, but a nose for the endzone with 6 touchdowns.
Perhaps what really separated the Browns offense that year was their reliance on running backs in the passing game. Both Gregg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt played major roles in that aspect as Mike had 63 catches for 471 yards to go along with his 1,034 rushing yards that year as well. Greg caught 50 balls for 444 yards. Extra special for Greg was a few a years later when he was traded to the Raider, in time to be on another Super Bowl winning team with them, along with Lyle Alzado who was another former Brown to win a Super Bowl with the Raiders in 83 against Washington.
The” Wizard” Ozzie Newsome, may have not caught the pass that mattered the most, but he did finish with 594 yards on 51 receptions with 3 touchdowns. Newsome would go on to become the greatest tight end in Cleveland Browns history. Also, one Hell of a GM when he got to Baltimore.
If the weather is even somewhat normal, are the Browns playing in the AFC Championship game that year? One may never know……
