EDITOR’S NOTE: Back in the day, there was a term called, “Kodak moment,” which meant that a scene was so great that it just had to be captured on camera, and the most popular brand at the time was Kodak. In lieu of former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar disclosing recently that he is facing several challenging health issues, we have come up with some Kosar moments to tell the story of his iconic 8 1/2 year-career with the Browns from 1985 to midway through the 1993 season. This is the third part of that series.

By STEVE KING

Sometimes the path to unbridled success first goes right through unmitigated disaster.

And that’s exactly the way it was with one of the biggest moments in the career of Bernie Kosar, and as such also one of the biggest and moments in Browns history.

It came about as the result of the Browns’ heartbreaking 24-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl in the 1985 AFC Divisonal Playoffs on Jan. 4, 1986.

After going just 8-8 to win their first Central Division championship in five years, the Browns were decided underdogs to a Dolphins team that had gone to the Super Bowl in 1984 and was playing before 80,000 raucous fans in one of the biggest home-field advantages in the NFL.

But it was the Browns who dominated the game into tge second half, building a whopping 21–3 lead midway through the third quarter with three unanswered touchdowns, including two on runs by Earnest Byner, one of which was 66 yards.

Indeed, the Dolphins didn’t seem to have any answers for the Cleveland offense or defense. But then things change, abruptly so and completely so, as the Dolphins put up three straight touchdowns of their own to go ahead 24–21 in the fourth quarter.

The Browns had opportunities at the end of the game to put on a drive to kick the tying field goal or to score of the go-ahead touchdown, but the Browns struggled so badly with their passing attack that they were unable to do anything. The Dolphins had been shredded by the Cleveland runs, but after stacking the box, they were able to halt the Browns running game. The answer for the Browns was to throw over the top of that alignment into the wide-open areas that existed, but they just didn’t have the ability to do it. 

Kosar was furious in the locker room afterward and in the days and weeks immediately following. He was 10-of-19 passing for but 66 yards against the Dolphins. That was embarrassing and unacceptable, especially for a guy who had operated a pass-first offense at the University of Miami en route to winning OK a national championship. The Browns took him with the first overall pick in the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft to elevate their passing offense to a championship level. But the Browns had such a tremendous running game in 1985 — Byner and Kevin Mack both rushed for 1,000 yards, marking just the third time in NFL history that two backs from the same team had done that — that the development of the passing attack lagged in both capable personnel and scheme.

Kosar demanded both.

And he got his wish.

The results were clearly evident and immediate.

NEXT: A Kosar moment that was a Kodak moment.

Steve King