The first half of the 1979 season had all kinds of Kardiac Kids-like finishes — games decided by seven points or less — for the Browns.
And the second half of the year did as well. Let’s take a closer look at what happened in those games in weeks 9 through 16:
*Week 10 — Nov. 4 — at Philadelphia — Browns 24, Philadelphia Eagles 19 — After letting a 10-6 second-quarter lead dissipate and morph into a 19-10 deficit by the end of the third quarter, the Browns came roaring back to win by scoring two straight touchdowns on Brian Sipe’s five-yard pass to right end Ozzie Newsome and fullback Mike Pruitt’s 24-yard run.
*Week 11 — Nov. 11 — at Cleveland — Seattle Seahawks 29, Browns 24 — This game became one of streaks. The Seahawks roared ahead 16-0 in the second quarter, only to have the Browns gain a 17-16 edge through three quarters on Don Cockroft’s 28-yard field goal and two Mike Pruitt touchdown runs, a one-yarder and a 65-yarder. Then Seattle got two TDs of its own to go back on top 29-17, and the Browns could answer that with only one score on Sipe’s three-yard scramble.
*Week 12 — Nov. 18 — at Cleveland — Browns 30, Miami Dolphins 24 (OT) — The Browns built a 17-10 lead in the third quarter on a pair of touchdowns, a two-yard run by rookie halfback Pat Moriarty and Sipe’s 14-yard pass to Newsome, and Cockroft’s 43-yard field goal. However, Miami scored twice to gain a 24-17 fourth-quarter advantage. The Browns rallied to tie it at 24-24 and force overtime on another Sipe-to-Newsome TD pass, this one of 34 yards, and won it when Sipe hit wide receiver Reggie Rucker hit with a 39-yard scoring pass.
*Week 13 — Nov. 25 — at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh Steelers 33, Browns 30 (OT) — The Browns did everything but win this game. They got to leads of 20-6 in the second quarter, and 27-13 and 30-20 in the fourth quarter, on three Sipe TD passes to Newsome (21 yards), wide receiver Dave Logan (16) and running back Calvin Hall (three), and three Cockroft field goals of 20, 32 and 40 yards. The Steelers, though, rallied for the victory on the strength of four field goals by future Brown Matt Bahr, including a 21-yarder in the fourth to force overtime and then a 37-yarder to win it.
*Week 14 — Dec. 2 — at Cleveland — Browns 14, Houston Oilers 7 — All the scoring consisted of three TD runs, a 42-yarder by Mike Pruitt and an 11-yarder by Earl Campbell to produce a 7-7 stalemate in the opening quarter, and then another by Pruitt in the fourth quarter, of one yard, to gain the triumph.
*Week 15 — Dec. 9 — at Oakland — Oakland Raiders 19, Browns 14 — The Raiders blew out to a 13-0 halftime lead before Mike Pruitt’s 77-yard TD run cut it to 13-7 through three quarters. Pruitt’s one-yarder brought the Browns to within 16-14, but for the second time in three weeks, the Browns were victimized by an opponent booting four field goals. This time, it was Jim Breech, who, in his only season in Oakland before spending the next 16 years with the AFC Central rival Cincinnati Bengals, hit a 45-yarder to seal the deal.
*Week 16 — Dec. 16 — at Cincinnati — Cincinnati Bengals 16, Browns 12 — The Browns led 6-0 after one quarter on Sipe’s 33-yard TD pass to Logan, but the Bengals ran for a score in both the second and third quarters to go ahead 13-6. Mike Pruitt’s one-yard TD run in the fourth quarter made it 13-12, but once more, field goals played a huge part in the game, as Chris Bahr, the brother of Matt Bahr, booted a 43-yarder to secure the victory. The Browns failed to convert an extra point on either of their touchdowns, and the Bengals were able to convert on just one of theirs.
Steve King
