Editor’s note: The following, about the home opener against the Houston Oilers on Sept. 15, is the second in a series of stories on the games that made up the Browns’ 1980 Kardiac Kids season. This is the 35th anniversary of that memorable year.
The 1979 Browns earned the nickname of “Kardiac Kids” because of all their exciting comeback victories, almost all of which came courtesy of a prolific offense that kept them from ever feeling as if they were out of games.
But through two contests in 1980, there was no high-powered offense and as such no spellbinding rallies to gain wins.
The Browns were almost non-existent on offense in losing 16-7 to the Houston Oilers before a Cleveland Stadium crowd of 80,243 and a national TV audience on Monday Night Football.
This came after a lackluster performance in a 34-17 loss at New England eight days earlier in the season opener.
Indeed, these so-called Kardiac Kids, with just 24 points in two games, were giving their fans cardiac arrest. And keep in mind that 14 points against the Patriots came in mop-up time, long after the isse had been settled.
So, in essence, the Browns had scored only 10 points in two weeks in competitive situations. No wonder they were 0-2 and floundering.
And in a division as tough as the Central – the Pittsburgh Steelers were the two-time defending Super Bowl champions and their opponents in the AFC Championship Game both years were the Oilers – a start like the Browns were having can bury a team quickly.
It wasn’t panic time yet, but it was getting dangerously close.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Browns led 7-3 at halftime on Brian Sipe’s three-yard touchdown pass to running back Calvin Hill.
But that was the only real highlight of the night for Sipe and the rest of the offense. The Browns could sustain nothing offensively in the second half, which allowed the Oilers to begin to take control with a running game led by Earl Campbell, who had 106 yards in just 18 carries. They scored 13 unanswered points in the second half on a two-yard touchdown run and a pair of field goals.
All told, the Browns had the ball for just 42 of the game’s 60 minutes. Sipe was only 12 of 25 passing for but 106 yards and the TD pass with one interception. It was one of the most unproductive days he had had in several years.
To make matters worse, right cornerback Lawrence Johnson was lost for the season with a fractured shoulder.
Want a bright spot, though not much of one? Running back Mike Pruitt averaged nearly five yards per carry in getting 59 yards in 12 rushes. But he didn’t get into the end zone, so what good was any of that?
Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, whose biggest strength was being able to remain calm and positive in the darkest and most negative times, was not dismayed. When he talked afterward in the locker room about running the table the rest of the season, he caught the players’ attention. First, they may have thought he was crazy in even mentioning winning 14 games in a row, but when they thought more about it, they liked it. They began to buy into it.
And why not? What was the harm in doing so? It was the only hope they had to cling to at the time.
NEXT: Now that’s more like it.
