Would the Kardiac Kids have beaten the Chargers in 1980?
By STEVE KING
It was about 20 years ago, shortly after the debut of the “new” franchise, and Sam Rutigliano was among those former Browns from the original franchise visiting training camp on a bright, sunny warm afternoon in Berea.
The head coach of the Kardiac kids got most of the attention when the men were made available to media members for a question-and-answer session. I waited for a break in the chatter to ask Rutigliano a question I had always wanted to ask him, but never had a chance.
“How would you guys have done in 1980 against the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game if you had beaten the Oakland Raiders in the divisional round?” I posed to him.
Rutigliano chuckled when he heard the mention of the Raiders game, the so-called Ice Bowl — the Red Right 88 game — that the Browns lost 14-12 when Brian Sipe’s pass was intercepted by Mike Davis in end zone in the final minute to bring to a shocking end one of arguably the most entertaining and magical season in club history. Rutigliano had decided to eschew a field-goal try by Don Cockroft and instead go for a touchdown.
Good question. No one has ever asked me that,” he said.
I thought so.
Rutigliano answered quickly, and without hesitation.
“That would have been a real tough matchup for us, real tough,” he said.
I asked him if the Browns would have won, or if they could have won, and, again, he all but said no.
“It would have been a real tough matchup,” he repeated, his voice trailing off this time,
It was not a question he really wanted to answer. He went to say that the Chargers were the equal of the Browns on offense and better than Cleveland on defense.
He has always said the Browns should have beaten Oakland. As such, he believes, then, that the Chargers, who have since moved to Los Angeles and host the Browns late Sunday afternoon, had a better team than the Raiders, who, after winning in Cleveland, went to San Diego and beat the Chargers 34-27 to advance to the Super Bowl, where they crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.
Yes, I know, the Browns and Chargers opened the 1981 season in Cleveland on Monday Night Football and roared to a 44-14 win, but it really didn’t matter by then. By that time, both teams had changed, the Chargers continuing to improve and the Browns, all of a sudden, cumulatively getting old in the offseason. So, then, the real matchup would have been in the 1980 AFC title game, but Rutigliano doesn’t have confidence the Browns would have won that one, either.
It’s 41 years later, and the Browns and Chargers are once again both serious contenders for the Super Bowl. Perhaps Coach Sam will watch the game on TV at his home in Waite Hill in the eastern Cleveland suburbs and wonder about what might have been.
Browns make roster moves
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have activated LB Anthony Walker Jr. from injured reserve. The team also signed DE Joe Jackson to the practice squad and elevated him to the active roster. The club also elevated S Jovante Moffatt to the active roster.
Walker joined the Browns as an unrestricted free agent this offseason and led the team with nine tackles in the season opener. He was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on Sept. 17 and was designated for return on Oct. 6.
Jackson is 6-4, 278 pounds and in his third NFL season out of Miami (Fla.). Initially a fifth-round selection by Dallas in 2019, Jackson first joined the Browns via waivers in 2020. He has appeared in all four games this season and recorded two tackles with one sack. He will wear No. 91.
Moffatt is 5-11, 213 pounds and in his second NFL season out of Middle Tennessee State. He joined the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and appeared in nine games as a rookie. He has spent the 2021 season the Browns’ practice squad. A native of Union City, Tenn., Moffatt will wear No. 35.
A club can carry up to 55 players on its roster during a given week by elevating one or two players from its practice squad prior to the transaction deadline that precedes the game. The rule allows teams a larger pool from which to select their 47 or 48 game-day active players. Any player elevated from the practice squad for this purpose will immediately revert to his team’s practice squad the day following the game.
Jed Wills is out with an ankle injury.
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