Editor’s note: The following, about the contest against the New York Jets on Dec. 7 at Cleveland Stadium, is the 14th 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.

 

There was a lot of sameness for the Kardiac Kids in that almost all of their games came down to the final seconds.

 

There was also another kind of sameness, and the last part of it took place 35 years ago today, Pearl Harbor Day, on Dec. 7, 1980.

 

Brian Sipe threw a five-yard touchdown pass to running back Greg Pruitt with 9:27 left and it stood up in a 17-14 win over the New York Jets before 78,454 fans at Cleveland Stadium.

 

It was the third straight triumph for the Browns, improving their record to 10-4 and keeping them a game ahead of the Houston Oilers (9-5) in the AFC Central title race with two weeks left.

 

It was also the second straight game that the Browns had won by the score of 17-14 after having edged the Oilers a week earlier. It marked the third time in the regular season that the Browns had won two games in a row by the identical score. It also happened in back-to-back seasons more than two decades earlier, 1958 and ’59. It hasn’t happened since 1980.

 

That type of thing – though with two big differences — did occur in 1986 when, in the postseason, the Browns beat the Jets 23-20 in double overtime in the divisional round but then lost 23-20 in overtime to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

 

The Browns led 3-0 at halftime on Don Cockroft’s 34-yard field goal and improved that to 10-0 on Mike Pruitt’s nine-yard TD run in the third quarter.

 

Then the Jets went ahead 14-10 with a TD in both the third and fourth quarters, setting the stage for a comeback by the Kardiac Kids, which was their specialty.

 

Sipe completed 30 of 41 passes for 340 yards and the TD with one interception. Wide receiver Reggie Rucker had five receptions for 108 yards, while wideout Dave Logan added six catches for 87 yards, Greg Pruitt 10 for 75 yards and Mike Pruitt six for 42 yards.

 

Mike Pruitt led the way rushing-wise with 52 yards in 16 carries.

The Cleveland defense intercepted Richard Todd twice.

 

And with all that, then, the Browns had put themselves into position to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in eight years by defeating the Minnesota Vikings the following Sunday.

 

Next: All hail a missed opportunity.