Editor’s note: The following, about the contest against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 15 at Cleveland Stadium, is the third in a series of stories on the games that made up the Browns’ 1980 Kardiac Kids season. This is the 35th anniversary of that memorable year.
The 0-2 Browns were in desperate need of some offensive help.
And they got it, not from veteran stars such as Reggie Rucker, Dave Logan, Ozzie Newsome, Mike Pruitt, Calvin Hill and Greg Pruitt, but rather from a rookie and an obscure player.
Running back Charles White, the team’s first-round pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, scored two touchdowns and Keith Wright, known almost exclusively as a returner, added a score as the Browns rebounded from a poor start and edged past the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13 at Cleveland Stadium to get their first win of the year.
The victory might have saved the season for the Browns, for if they had lost again and fallen to 0-3, they might have just about put themselves out of realistic playoff contention.
The Chiefs went ahead 6-0 on two second-quarter field goals by Nick Lowery from 38 and 22 yards, but the Browns answered with White’s two-yard run to grab a 7-6 advantage at halftime.
Quarterback Brian Sipe threw two TD passes in the decisive third quarter, a 12-yarder to Wright and a 31-yarder to White, to stretch the lead to 20-13, then the defense held on for the all-important victory. The Chiefs got to midfield in the waning moments, but three incomplete passes into the end zone ended the threat.
The Browns, who had struggled mightily offensively in season-opening losses to the New England Patriots and Houston Oilers, racked up nearly 400 total yards.
Sipe threw for nearly 300 yards – 295, to be exact – and the two TDs with one interception. His favorite target was White, who had seven receptions overall for an even 100 yards. Newsome added six catches for 55 yards, but in comparison to White, the Pro Football Hall of Famer was a non-factor.
Defensively, the Browns recorded four sacks.
It was, by far, the Browns’ best overall performance of the year, and they hoped this would finally get them untracked.
NEXT: In the heat of the moment.
