Big wins for Belichick

Not surprised by BelichickCLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 7: Head coach Bill Belichick of the Cleveland Browns looks on from the sideline during a game against the Denver Broncos at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on November 7, 1993 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Broncos defeated the Browns 29-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Posted By: County Sports Network August 15, 2020

Big wins for Belichick

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 14th in a series of stories about the Mount Rushmore-worthy people, places and things in Browns history. Today we look at regular-season games from 1990-95.

By STEVE KING

Unfortunately there weren’t many big wins for Belichick in Cleveland. Too bad the 1991-95 Browns did not get the version of the current Bill Belichick.

The Browns from that long-ago era got a guy who was making all the predictable mistakes of a young, first-time head coach. But he learned from all that and changed on his way to becoming one of the game’s all-time greatest coaches with the New England Patriots.

Nonetheless, there were still some great Belichick moments during the last five seasons of the original Browns franchise’s half-century tenure in Cleveland, providing glimpses of what he could – and did turn out to — be. There just weren’t enough of those times.

Here are the top four of those moments, which make up the Mount Rushmore of Browns regular-season games from 1990-95:

BROWNS 14, CINCINNATI BENGALS 13 – SEPT. 15, 1991 – AT CLEVELAND – This wasn’t Bill Belichick’s first win in Cleveland, but it was his first big one, as the Browns scratched and clawed and, without scoring a touchdown, came from behind and won on Matt Stover’s fourth – and longest — field goal of the day, a 45-yarder late in the fourth quarter. It ended a four-game losing streak to Cincinnati dating back to 1989 and gave the Browns, who had finished the previous season 3-13, a surprising 2-1 record. The Bengals, who had won the AFC Central title in 1990, could do little against coordinator Nick Saban’s defense, getting just one touchdown and three field goals. The Browns led by the odd score of 5-3 at halftime on Stover’s 30-yard field goal and a safety when defensive tackle James Jones tackled running back James Brooks in the end zone. Two more Stover field goals of 42 and 38 yards in the third quarter made it 11-3, but the Bengals opened the fourth quarter with 10 unanswered points to get their lone lead of the day, 13-11, setting the stage for Stover’s game-winner. Wide receiver Webster Slaughter had a big day for the Browns, catching eight passes for 107 yards. When the final gun sounded. Belichick threw off his headset, ran to the Dawg Pound and saluted the fans there for all the noise they made to make it difficult for Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason to call signals and audibles when the offense was operating at that end of the field. The fans roared their approval. Belichick could have run for Cleveland mayor that afternoon and won in a landslide.

BROWNS 24, HOUSTON OILERS 14 — NOV. 8, 1992 – AT HOUSTON – Once again, Nick Saban was brilliant with what he did with the defense. Though the Browns were off to a 4-4 start and had won three of their previous four games, they were all banged up in the secondary and had to sign players off the street the week of the game to fill in the holes. That seemed like a death knell for the Browns, because injuries in the defensive backfield was the last thing anyone needed against the defending AFC Central champion Oilers, who had one of the best passing attacks in the NFL. It’s why the 5-3 Oilers were 11-point favorites. And it didn’t help, either, that starting quarterback Bernie Kosar was still out with an ankle injury, forcing the Browns to go with ex-Ohio Stater Mike Tomczak. The Browns shocked everyone by dominating the Oilers, building a 17-0 lead through three quarters on Matt Stover’s 44-yard field goal and two touchdowns on Tomczak’s 46-yard pass to running back Leroy Hoard and a 73-yard fumble return by safety Stevon Moore. Tomczak threw a 17-yard TD pass to tight end Mark Bavaro in the fourth quarter to make it 24-7, quelling any thought Houston had of rallying for a win. Tomczak was very good, completing 17-of-26 passes for 219 yards and the two TDs with no interceptions. But again, the story was the defense, which limited Warren Moon and Cody Carlson to a combined total of just 181 yards passing. The win – and the way the Browns got it – were beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.     

BROWNS 28, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 23 – OCT. 24, 1993 – AT CLEVELAND – Eric Metcalf had any number of great games for the Browns, and he turned in his most memorable performance in this game, returning two punts for touchdowns covering 75 and 91 yards to allow Cleveland to come from behind for the win to improve to an AFC Central-leading 5-3 at the halfway point of the season. The Browns bolted to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on Vinny Testaverde’s 62-yard TD pass to wide receiver Michael Jackson and the longer of Metcalf’s returns. Pittsburgh rallied to tie it 14-14 at halftime. Testaverde had another scoring pass, this one a four-yarder to fullback Ron Wolfley, but the Steelers still forged a 23-21 advantage before Metcalf won the game by going 75 yards down the right sideline.

BROWNS 19, DALLAS COWBOYS 14 – DEC. 10, 1994 – AT DALLAS – The Browns started 6-1 and then 8-2 before their season turned into an up-and-down roller-coaster ride. They were 9-4 as they visited Texas Stadium for a nationally-televised Saturday afternoon game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys. This was a great opportunity for the Browns, who hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1989, to get a huge win over an 11-2 team and prove their legitimacy. The Browns rallied from a touchdown deficit to go ahead 10-7 at halftime on Vinny Testaverde’s two-yard TD pass to wide receiver Michael Jackson and Matt Stover’s 34-yard field goal. Two more Stover field goals of 32 and 43 yards to start the fourth quarter pushed that lead to 16-7, but the Cowboys answered with a TD to cut the deficit to 16-14 and had the ball again on the final possession of the game. They drove the length of the field but, on the last play, Browns safety Eric Turner tackled Jay Novacek inches short of the goal line and preserved the win after the tight end caught a pass from Troy Aikman. Jackson caught six passes for 74 yards, and Hoard rushed for 99 yards. The win did much to enable Cleveland to go 11-5 and make the postseason as a wild card.

NEXT: Regular-season games from 1999-2009.

Related: Kardiac Kids 1980 Season

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