The 1986 Browns came out of the gate with a greatly disappointing 1-2 record, culminating with a 30-13 pounding administered by the Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Stadium on Thursday Night Football.
Three months later, the teams were getting ready to play the return match on Dec. 14 at Riverfront Stadium in the next-to-last regular-season game.
The Browns had turned it around, putting together three separate three-game winning streaks to raise their mark at 10-4. The Bengals were right on their tails, being just one game back at 9-5.
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The Browns could clinch their second straight AFC Central title with a victory, but the Bengals, by winning, would pull into a first-place tie and own the first tie-breaker, head-to-head meetings, by sweeping the season series.
So, then, no one had to tell either camp that this was a huge game.
On Monday before the game, Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, who never met a pass he didn’t like, went to head coach Marty Schottenheimer and asked him, “Can we throw the bomb on the first play?”
The coach stopped for a moment and replied, “I’ll think about it.”
Kosar found Schottenheimer on Tuesday and asked him again, “Can we throw the bomb on the first play?”
The answer was the same, “I’ll think about it.”
This identical exchange went on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Kosar approached Schottenheimer on Friday and asked him, “Can we throw the bomb on the first play?”
The coach looked Kosar right in the eye. With the game less than 48 hours away now and the gameplan all but finalized, Schottenheimer had to make a decision one way or another on the quarterback’s request.
“OK, yes, we can throw the bomb on the first play,” he said.
Kosar, chomping at the bit to go after what he felt were suspect cornerbacks on the Bengals, smiled broadly. He was thrilled.
The strategy changed slightly in the hours to follow. In an effort to try to soften up the Cincinnati corners and catch them off-guard, the Browns decided to run it into the middle on the line on first down and then hit them with the deep pass on the next play.
The Browns took the opening kickoff and started at their own 32. Kosar handed off to Kevin Mack and he burrowed his way for a yard. Then on second down, Kosar faked another handoff to Mack to freeze the defense, took a step back and heaved the ball in the direction of Reggie Langhorne as the second-year wide receiver ran past his defender down the right sideline. He caught the ball in full stride and was pushed out of bounds at the Cincinnati 1 for a 66-yard gain that totally stunned the Bengals and their fans. Two plays later, Mack ran in for a touchdown and, in a veritable blink of an eye, the Browns led 7-0. That was just the beginning of a big day as the Browns just kept dominating on offense, and defense as well, en route to a 34-3 rout that earned them the division crown.
That was 39 years ago. A lot has changed since then. The current Browns are nowhere near a division crown, struggling along with a 2-8 record, the same as the Las Vegas Raiders, who host them on Sunday. Schottenheimer passed away in 2021, and Kosar is battling serious health issues, having undergone a liver transplant last Monday.
This, then, is the Browns’ first game since the surgery. As a tribute to the iconic, ever-popular Kosar, who is the face of the franchise, I would love for the Browns to repeat history when they face the Raiders. Rookie Shedeur Sanders, a strong-armed, accurate quarterback, is making his first NFL start. The Browns have a capable wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy and, with rookies Quinshon Judkins, who has been sensational, and Dylan Sampson, they have their best set of running backs since the days of Mack and Earnest Byner in the last half of the 1980s.
On their opening series, the Browns could run Judkins into the middle of the line on first down to soften up the Raiders defense and then Sanders could attempt to connect with Jeudy on the bomb down the right sideline on the next play.
Just thinking about it makes me tingle. In a Browns season that has had few highlights, that would be so fun and exciting.
How about it, Browns head coach Kevin, Stefanski and offensive coordinator/playcaller Tommy Rees?
Steve King
For those watching at the rest of the season at home, now’s a good time to set up your space for the stretch run. A Browns fleece throw blanket makes those couch sessions better, and a team-logo pint glass set adds some game-day spirit.
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