One of the first things Sam Rutigliano did when he was hired as head coach of the Browns shortly after the end of the 1977 season was to tell Brian Sipe that he was his starting quarterback.
Sipe had had an up-and-down career to that point and hadn’t really solidified himself as the guy, but after studying the situation, Rutigliano had seen enough to give him the job.
It worked out like a charm right out of the gate, with Sipe playing well as the Browns won their first three games.
Then came some hiccups. The Browns lost six of their next eight, and in each of those defeats, the offense sputtered, scoring an average of just over nine points per game. That was on Sipe. It’s the quarterback’s job to score points and win games.
The offense – and Sipe, as the two were obviously joined at the hip — really flattened out in a Nov. 12 home game against the Denver Broncos. He threw for just 152 yards and no touchdowns, with two interceptions, in an ugly-looking 19-7 loss.
Coming out of that game, Rutigliano was starting to quietly have some second thoughts about Sipe. He still believed in him, but the quarterback had to start producing – and soon. There was a limit to the coach’s patience, and Sipe had gotten dangerously close to it. He needed a breakout game to jump-start his career, and he got it the following week.
It was 37 years ago today, on Nov. 19, 1978, that Sipe passed for four touchdowns, including three to running back Calvin Hill, and went over 300 yards for the first time to lead the Browns to a resounding 45-24 win over the Baltimore Colts at Memorial Stadium. It was the most points Cleveland had scored since 1968, when Sipe was a freshman at San Diego State.
Sipe was efficient and explosive all at the same time in completing 15 of 22 passes for 309 yards with no interceptions.
His four scoring passes came in the final three quarters – 53-, 37- and 23-yarders to Hill and a 25-yarder to wide receiver Reggie Rucker.
Those three catches by Hill went for 113 yards. Rucker had six receptions for 123 yards.
Cleveland’s other TDs came on a one-yard run by Mike Pruitt and a 29-yard interception return by cornerback Oliver Davis.
It helped the Browns rally from a 7-0 deficit after one quarter to a 31-17 lead heading into the final quarter.
Greg Pruitt added 69 yards rushing.
The Browns had climbed back to even at 6-6, but more importantly, Sipe was off and running – or throwing, as it were – toward a career in which, when it was all said and done, would have him owning nearly every team passing record.
