The only things missing eight years ago today, Sept. 16, 2015, at what was then known as Cleveland Browns Stadium were a few jump balls, some three-point shot attempts and several charging fouls .
What else can you say about an NFL game where the final score ends up being 51 for the Browns and 45 for the Cincinnati Bengals? That’s a high school basketball-like score, and the game was played at that kind of pace, with the teams racing up and down the field dazzling each other.
No one thought the game would transpire like that. Oh, sure, going in, it seemed entirely possible that the Bengals would score 45 points, because they were a talented bunch offensively, especially at quarterback with Carson Palmer. But no one dreamed the Browns would do six points better than that.
The Browns had dropped two one-sided decisions to the Bengals in 2006, 34-17 and 30-0. Then in the season opener the week before, they lost 34-7 to the Pittsburgh Steelers – at home, no less. Things got so bad so quickly – Pittsburgh bolted to a 17-0 first-quarter lead — that the Browns pulled quarterback Charlie Frye in the middle of the second quarter and replaced him with Derek Anderson. Two days later, Cleveland traded Frye to the Seattle Seahawks.
So the Browns were struggling and in a state of disarray offensively as the Bengals came to town. That’s why oddsmakers had Cincinnati as a heavy favorite.
Cincinnati got the game’s first points on Palmer’s 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Rudi Johnson, but the Browns closed the gap to 7-6 after one quarter on a pair of 39-yard field goals by Phil Dawson.
Then Anderson suddenly got red-hot, throwing three TD passes in the second quarter, 17- and nine-yarders to wide receiver Joe Jurevicius and a 25-yarder to tight end Kellen Winslow , to go provide a 27-21 advantage at halftime.
The Browns stayed on top 41-38 after three quarters as Anderson threw another TD pass, a 34-yarder to wide receiver Braylon Edwards, and Jamal Lewis, signed in free agency from the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason. scampered 66 yards for a score.
Anderson threw his fifth TD pass of the day, a 37-yarder to Edwards, in the fourth quarter and Dawson followed with an 18-yard field goal to make it 51-38.
Palmer threw his sixth TD of the game to narrow the bulge to 51-45, then the Bengals got the ball back with just over a minute left and drove to midfield before cornerback Leigh Bodden intercepted a pass to cement the victory.
Anderson had the game of his life to that point, completing 20 of 33 passes for 328 yards and the five TDs with one interception. Edwards caught eight passes for 146 yards, while Winslow added six receptions for 100 yards.
Lewis rushed 28 times for a whopping 216 yards, one of the biggest totals in team history.
Palmer threw for 401 yards and the six scores, while Johnson rushed for 118 yards.
But in the end, the Cleveland defense stole an inbounds pass to hang on for the close win.
