The Browns were in the first Monday Night Football game, so that paved the way for them to have a lot of MNF firsts.
This one, though, wasn’t a good one.
Call it the Monday Night Football Hangover, and the Browns suffered it 45 years ago today, on Sept. 27, 1970.
Fresh off their big, emotional 31-21 home win over the New York Jets just six days earlier in front of a Browns-record crowd of 85,703 and a national audience watching that first MNF telecast, the Browns had to travel clear across the country and play the San Francisco 49ers. They ran out of gas – emotion and magic – down the stretch and lost 34-31 at Kezar Stadium.
The Browns trailed 21-17 at halftime, getting their points on Bo Scott’s three-yard touchdown run, Bill Nelsen’s eight-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Fair Hooker and Don Cockroft’s 20-yard field goal.
The shorter of Leroy Kelly’s two TD runs, an eight-yarder early in the fourth quarter (he had a 33-yarder in the third quarter), gave Cleveland a 31-27 lead. But Nelsen, who threw for 308 yards and the one TD with an interception, got hurt on that drive and was replaced by Don Gault, who was not very good at all. As a result, Gault threw an interception that set up the 49ers for their winning touchdown drive.
Both teams compiled over 400 yards of total offense.
Hooker caught four passes for 157 yards and the TD, and Gary Collins added four receptions for 68 yards.
Kelly rushed for 74 yards in 16 carries and the two TDs and caught two passes for 54 yards.
John Brodie threw three TD passes for San Francisco, while Ken Willard rushed for 105 yards.
The disappointed Browns went back home, being the first victims of the emotional roller-coaster that playing on Monday Night Football can, and usually does, provide.
This is a good lesson for the current Browns as they try to forget their emotional 28-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans last Sunday and get ready to host the Oakland Raiders, who, we might add, are coming off an emotional 37-33 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The winner today will be the one that isn’t still celebrating what happened last weekend.
