The New Orleans Saints were the expansion-era Browns’ first victims, losing 21-16 in 1999 to Chris Palmer’s 0-8 club at the Superdome on Tim Couch’s Hail Mary touchdown pass to Kevin Johnson as time expired.
The Saints lost to the Browns 24-15, again at New Orleans, in 2002, providing Cleveland with one of its key wins on the way to the re-born franchise’s only playoff appearance.
In 2010, the new Browns came up with one of their most surprising wins – both in that it happened at all and also in the way it happened – when they beat the Saints, 12½-point favorites, by a resounding 30-17. It came on the strength of not one, but two, interception returns for touchdowns, covering 64 and 30 yards, off Drew Brees by a slow, aging inside linebacker named David Bowens. Cleveland was just 1-5 entering the game.
The momentum from that victory carried over to the Browns’ next game, as they gained an even more incredible victory, 34-14, over a perfectly healthy Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, who came in with a 6-1 mark.
Keep in mind the Saints-Pats connection for the Browns.
And finally in week 2 of 2014, the Browns got their first win of the season by defeating the Saints 26-24 on a 29-yard Billy Cundiff field goal with three seconds left.
Hmmm.
Cundiff is known for missing kicks in the final seconds, not making them.
So the Saints are the only team the expansion-era Browns have been able to lean on when they’ve needed something. And perhaps it will happen again.
It comes after the Patriots made a trade with the Saints on Saturday to get speedy and productive wide receiver Brandin Cooks, a player New England head coach Bill Belichick has had his eye on for a while. Belichick paid dearly to get Brady another target, giving New Orleans the Pats’ first-round pick, at No. 32 overall, in the 2017 NFL Draft, and a third-rounder (No. 103).
Belichick craves draft picks even more than the Browns do, and it’s killing him that he doesn’t have any in the first two rounds. As such, he is already looking to replenish those choices.
The Browns are draft-selections rich. They have five of the top 65 picks in this year’s draft and four more top 65 choices in 2018 after making the trade with the Houston Texans to get Brock Osweiler.
While Belichick is trying to acquire high draft picks, the Browns may be more than willing to part with some in an attempt to dislodge quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from New England in a trade.
The Saints have come marching in again for the Browns, and just at the right time. It’s the only history of the expansion era of which the Browns can be proud.
