The 1968 Baltimore Colts were 15-1 heading into their famous Super III matchup with the New York Jets.
 
That one loss? It was administered by the Browns.
 
It was 47 years ago today, on Oct. 20, 1968, that the Browns, behind Bill Nelsen’s three touchdown passes and a defense that came up with four interceptions, including three off the great John Unitas, built a 17-point fourth-quarter lead en route to topping the undefeated Colts 30-20 at Memorial Stadium.
 
The huge victory turned the season around for the Browns, who entered the day with a disappointing 2-3 record and three defeats in their previous four games. It started a string of eight consecutive wins, the first seven of which saw them score at least 30 points.
 
They finished the regular season at 10-4, winning the Century Division title for the second year in a row. They then defeated the Dallas Cowboys 31-20 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game and advanced to the NFL title contest and a rematch with Baltimore.
 
The Colts of head coach Don Shula, a Grand River, Ohio native who had played at John Carroll University and then as a defensive back for the Browns in 1951 and ’52, had hardly broken a sweat in rolling to a 5-0 record. The loss was just the second for the Colts dating back to the end of the 1966 season. The 30 points scored by the Browns were, by far, the most Baltimore surrendered all year in giving up an NFL-low 144 points.
 
The Browns led 21-7 in the third quarter on a pair of two-yard touchdown passes by Nelsen, to running back Leroy Kelly and wide receiver Eppie Barney, the cousin of Detroit Lions Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Lem Barney, and a six-yarder to wideout Paul Warfield.
 
The Colts’ score came on a 23-yard run by Tom Matte, a product of East Cleveland Shaw High School and Ohio State.
 
After Baltimore opened the third quarter with a pair of Lou Michaels field goals to cut the deficit to 20-13, the Browns put the game away in the fourth quarter with Kelly’s second TD of the day on a four-yard run and rookie Don Cockroft’s 11-yard field goal (the goal posts were still on the goal line at this time) to push the advantage to 30-13.
 
Nelsen, who was making his third consecutive start after taking over for Frank Ryan, completed 15 of 23 passes overall for the three TDs with no interceptions.
 
His favorite target was Warfield, who had five receptions for 46 yards. Tight end Milt Morin added three catches for 41 yards.
 
Kelly was a workhorse, rushing for 130 yards in 30 attempts. Even with his gimpy knees, Nelsen was able to scramble for 32 yards in just four tries.
 
Unitas came on in the second half in relief of Earl Morrall and was held to 1 of 11 passing for 12 yards and the three interceptions.
 
Cleveland forced five turnovers overall.