As good as advertised.

That’s what the Browns appeared to be when, 20 years ago today, on Sept. 24, 1995, they won their third straight game and pushed their record to 3-1 by overwhelming a good Kansas City Chiefs team 35-17 at Cleveland Stadium.

That they so thoroughly beat up the Chiefs, who came into the day undefeated, was a validation of Sports Illustrated’s prediction, in its NFL preview issue, that the Browns would make it to the Super Bowl for the first time and lose 31-13 to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Browns were coming off a season in which they had finished 11-5 to make the playoffs – as a wild card – for the first time in five years and set a club record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season.

The defense was also good against the Chiefs, holding them to just there points before a wild fourth quarter in which the teams combined to score 35 points.

Earnest Byner’s seven-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, along with Vinny Testaverde’s four-yard pass to free-agent acquisition Andre Rison in the third quarter, provided a 14-3 lead.

Then the Browns put the game away with three fourth-quarter TDs on Testaverde’s three-yard pass to Byner and two interception returns within 19 seconds by linebackers Gerald Dixon (18 yards) and Mike Caldwell (24) to push the lead to 35-10.

The Chiefs got a late touchdown on a two-yard pass to none other than Webster Slaughter, who had been acquired by none other head coach Marty Schottenheimer, his coach when they were together in Cleveland during the last half of the 1980s.

Testaverde threw for 204 yards and the two scores with no interceptions. His favorite targets were wide receiver Keenan McCardell, who had six catches for 85 yards, and Byner, who added seven receptions for 59 yards.

The Browns were rolling. Who could stop them?

The owner.

But that’s another story for another time.