Yes, there used to be a time when a late-season home game against the Cincinnati Bengals carried huge implications for the Browns.
 
It was 44 years ago today, on Dec. 5, 1971 before 82,705 at Cleveland Stadium, that Leroy Kelly ran for two touchdowns and Bill Nelsen passed for two more as the Browns rallied from a 13-point second-quarter deficit to edge the Bengals 31-27 and, coupled with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Houston Oilers, clinched their first AFC Central title.
 
The Browns, who won their third straight to improve to 7-5, scored first on Kelly’s one-yard run in the opening moments of the game, then head coach Paul Brown’s team got rolling, gaining a 20-7 lead in the second quarter.
 
Then it was the Browns’ turn to get going. It began when Nelsen threw a 39-yard TD pass to Fair Hooker to cut the deficit to 20-14 at halftime, and continued in the third quarter when Nelsen found wideout Frank Pitts for a 53-yard score to give Cleveland the lead again, 21-20.
 
The Bengals went back on top 27-21 in the fourth quarter, but the Browns rallied with 10 straight points on Don Cockroft’s 12-yard field goal and Kelly’s four-yard run to gain the victory and sweep the season series with Cincinnati.
 
Kelly rushed for 127 yards in all in 23 carries, while ex-Ohio Stater Bo Scott added 61 yards in 12 tries as the two combined to average over five yards per attempt.
 
Nelsen completed exactly half of his passes, going 14 of 28 for 228 yards with two interceptions.
 
Pitts caught five passes for 103 yards, and Pitts chipped in with five receptions for 80 yards.
 
Bengals tight end Bob Trumpy, who went on to serve as the color analyst on Browns preseason telecasts for several years, led his team with 43 yards receiving on three catches.
 
But that was then and this is now, and tomorrow it will be the Bengals – not the last-place Browns — trying to close in on an AFC North championship.