Editor’s note: The following, about the contest against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 3 at Cleveland Stadium, is the ninth 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 1980 Browns passed the ball a lot. It was their preferred mode of moving down the field, scoring touchdowns and, most importantly, winning games.
 
But they also could run the ball quite effectively, especially with fullback Mike Pruitt, who rushed for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns that year.
 
And 35 years ago today, on Nov. 3, 1980, Pruitt proved his value to the Chicago Bears, a national TV audience watching on Monday Night Football and 83,819 fans at Cleveland Stadium, the Browns’ largest home crowd in eight years.
 
Pruitt rushed 27 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns, including a season-best 56-yarder with 3½ minutes left to all but seal the deal, as the Browns won 27-21.
 
It was their fourth consecutive win, improving their record to 6-3 for the second straight season.
 
The Browns led 13-0 in the third quarter on two Don Cockroft field goals of 23 and 42 yards and Brian Sipe’s four-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Rucker.
 
It seemed at that point that they were headed to an easy win. But these were the Kardiac Kids, for whom nothing was ever easy.
 
The Bears got back into the game with two touchdowns, sandwiched around a one-yard scoring run by Mike Pruitt, to trail 20-14 in the fourth quarter. One of Chicago’s TDs came on a 17-yard reception by wide receiver Brian Baschnagel, an Ohio State product.
 
That set the stage for the clincher on Mike Pruitt’s long run into the end zone at the Dawg Pound end of the field.
 
Sipe completed 23 of 39 passes for 298 yards and the TD with two interceptions. Tight end Ozzie Newsome had five receptions for 97 yards, while running backs Calvin Hill and Greg Pruitt each made four catches.
 
As with most Browns wins in 1980, there were a lot of contributors, but on this night, no one did as much as Mike Pruitt.
  
Next: Buckle your seatbelt in Baltimore.