Sipe throws to Logan was updated 4-14-20

Editor’s note: The following, about the contest against the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 19 at Cleveland Stadium, is the seventh 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.

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It was the play that not only saved the 1980 season, but also jump-started it into something extraordinarily special.

Not surprising, it was a pass play.

Not surprising, it was conceived in impromptu fashion.

Not surprising, it culminated an improbable rally.

Not surprising, it came with just seconds left.

That was the way the Kardiac Kids rolled.

And it all happened 35 years ago today, on Oct. 19.

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The Browns blew a 13-point third-quarter lead over the mediocre Green Bay Packers, then somehow managed to fall behind by eight in the fourth quarter.

No problem. That just made things more interesting.

Saving their best for last, as they always seemed to do that year, the Browns roared back to capture a wildly exciting 26-21 victory on Brian Sipe’s 46-yard alley-oop touchdown pass to wide receiver Dave Logan with 16 seconds left in front of 75,548 deliriously happy fans at Cleveland Stadium.

The Browns had been up and down all year, underachieving their way to a less-than-inspiring 3-3 record. As such, they couldn’t afford to lose another one to fall below the .500 mark, especially to a Green Bay team that would finish 5-10-1 and tie for last place in the NFC Central.

But they were in serious jeopardy of doing so, trailing 21-20 as they took over at the Cleveland 13 with 1:53 remaining.

Things then got even worse when, following a holding penalty, the Browns faced a third down-and-20 situation at the Green Bay 46 with only 25 seconds left. They needed just a field goal to win – and Don Cockroft had already kicked two of them – but, with so little time remaining and so far to go, could they get into position to give him a decent shot to try one?

Scoring a touchdown? That seemed to be out of the question. There was no way the Packers were going to let any receiver get behind them.

So the Browns had no margin of error to get any kind of score.

Indeed, they needed a miracle, or something closely resembling it.

Sipe had already passed for 345 yards and a touchdown. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to make at least one more big throw – in fact a really big one, perhaps the biggest of the season – and he needed to find a way to do it now.

The Browns’ chances to have the kind of season they were hoping for, likely was riding on it.

The Browns came out of the huddle. Tight end Ozzie Newsome split far to the left, and Logan flanked wide to the right.

Logan was every bit of 6-foot-4 and had long arms, great ball skills and very good leaping ability. A tremendous all-around athlete as well, he was drafted in three sports, by baseball’s Cincinnati Reds, basketball’s Kansas City Kings (now the Sacramento Kings) and the Browns in the third round in 1976.

He was having a good season, but we only heard Sipe throws to Logan once on that day. Sipe had tried to go to him on first down from the 46 on a curl route, but the pass was low and a sliding Logan couldn’t come up with the ball.

Now on third down, Logan was lined up against left cornerback Estus Hood, who was listed at 5-11 but was probably only about 5-10. That meant he was giving up six inches to Logan. Add to that Logan’s physical attributes, and the difference was much more than that.

Sipe came up to the line of scrimmage and looked first toward Newsome, but only briefly. When he looked right toward Logan, he saw the huge mismatch and appeared shocked, but in a very subtle fashion. He was even more stunned to see that Estus had Logan one-on-one, with no help from the safeties, since the Packers were going to come after Sipe. They had nearly sacked him on the previous play, forcing him to scramble right and get rid of the ball into no-man’s land before being crunched.

Sipe looked back toward the middle of the field – again, only briefly – before looking again at Logan. Then, in staring at him for what seemed like a relative eternity, he nodded down the field, as if to say, “Take off and go long and I’ll throw the ball to you.”

Logan got the message.

Sipe then quickly took the snap and, just as quickly, retreated into the pocket and lobbed an alley-oop kind of a pass down the field in Logan’s direction.

Running down the numbers, Logan, looking like the big-time rebounder he had been while playing basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes, had no trouble leaping high and snatching the ball out of the air against the overmatched Hood at the 19. Hood offered no resistance. He never got off the ground.

And, just as easily, Logan shook off Hood after coming down and outraced him into the end zone with the winning touchdown.

Sipe throws to Logan to pull off the miracle.

The game started as if no miracle would be needed. The Browns led 10-0 at halftime on Cockroft’s 40-yard field goal and Mike Pruitt’s one-yard touchdown run, then another Cockroft field goal, this one from 42 yards, increased the margin to 13-0.

But three straight TDs by the Packers flipped the game in their favor to provide a 21-13 lead with just 7:23 left, which, in the days before the institution of the two-point conversion rule, meant it was a two-score game.

The Browns got to within 21-20 only 28 seconds later on Sipe’s 19-yard scoring pass to Newsome.

That set the stage for the fantastic finish.

Sipe threw for 391 yards, spreading but one of his 24 completions to five different receivers. Running back Calvin Hill had five catches for 94 yards, wide receiver Reggie Rucker five for 81 yards, Pruitt six for 61 yards, Newsome five for 60 yards and Logan two for 52 yards.

That last one – the 46-yarder to Logan – was the biggest, improving the Browns to 4-3.

And from that point on, the season was never the same.

Next: A rally rewind.

Sipe throws to Logan, and throws 1980 season into gear was written by Steve King

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