1980 Browns at Bengals Game 16

the fortunes of the Cleveland Browns brightened considerably in 1980 the cardiac kids share the top spot what many consider to be pro football's toughest division the AFC Central for importantly Sam Rutigliano z' group are masters of their own fate on the last Sunday of the NFL's regular season a victory and the Browns win the division title eating the likes of Pittsburgh and Houston a loss while Cleveland fans didn't travel to Cincinnati to watch their Browns blow such a golden opportunity Cleveland's Brian's site remembers the outcome a year ago on the season's final Sunday in 1979 the Bengals denied Cleveland to playoff berth Cincinnati's quarterback in that game was Jack Thompson Thompson will leave the Bengals against Cleveland in 1980 hoping for a touch of deja vu Cincinnati is won its last three games much of the credit goes to Pete Johnson the mammoth fullback is rushed for over 100 yards in each of those three victories for the Bengals that intangible quality called pride is at stake or the Browns a division championship is on the line it's the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns in the NFL game of the week the Browns ability to stop the run has saved a defense that otherwise ranks near the bottom of the AFC Jack Thompson attacked Cleveland's defense with his one-man wrecking crew Pete Johnson number 46 Johnson carried seven times on Cincinnati's opening possession on the seventh try the Browns finally made a stand the Bengals were forced to throw free safety town garden relished the thought Darden's exuberance resulted in a roughness penalty but the consequences were far more severe for Cincinnati receiver Pat McAnally mcanally was removed from the field on a stretcher it appeared unlikely that he would return with Cincinnati's offense halted Jim breach culminated the 10-play Drive with a 42 yard field goal and the Bengals led three to nothing Cincinnati's hopes of beating the Browns rested with their defense talented but erratic in previous seasons the Bengals 1980 version became one of the best in the AFC the 3-4 has freed linebackers like number 57 Reggie Williams and Jim LeClair number 55 to play both the run and the pass effectively against the brown Cincinnati's linebackers met the early challenge of Brian's sight the league's top-rated quarterback beau Harris number 53 blitzed often forcing site to get rid of the ball well before he intended to in the first period an aggressive bangle defense had Cleveland confused you if it weren't for Dan Fouts in San Diego's one-dimensional offense the Browns would have the finest passing game in pro football if Brian Sipe time to throw the football and the result can be devastating to a defense with this sight to Dave Logan 65-yard catching carry snap Cincinnati's defensive momentum the Bengals bent but they did not break all they did was shatter Cleveland's first scoring threat when the smoke cleared Cincinnati had the ball Sam Rutigliano is big play offense was not generating any consistency a repeat of last year's loss to the Bengals in week 16 was dancing like sugar plums in Rutigliano 'he's head Charles Alexander number 40 made matters worse for the Browns Alexander's 32 yard burst was followed by Jack Thompson's 13 yard scramble and the Bengals build a ten-point lead 5 minutes into the second quarter in only his second season Thompson is a gutsy performer who knows what it takes to win his presence in Cincinnati's lineup brought a spark to an offense that had settled comfortably into lethargy trailing tendon upping midway through the second period the Browns offense needed to warm up but Cleveland's explosive attack was as frigid as the 15 degree weather the Bengals pass-rush didn't allow sight the time to find his receivers ciphered been sacked only 17 times in 15 games but Cincinnati trapped him four times in the first half alone if only psy had time to pick out his target he would seek him out and destroy the Bengal defense with past protection the Cleveland quarterback did just that the 42-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Rucker narrowed the Bengal lead to 10 to 7 Cincinnati have played strong defense but sipes firepower overcame the Bengals persistent effort as has been the case all season long Seitz theatrics pumped up Cleveland's defense Lyle Alzado and company pressured Thompson for the first time in the game shutting down Cincinnati's inconsistent attack sigh plent right back to work showcasing his mobility site found willis adams number 84 26 yards again the Bengals defense met Cleveland's challenge Ross browner number 79 sacked site with less than two minutes remaining in the half and the Browns were forced to punt but the punt turned to Cleveland's advantage when the ball accidentally touched a Bengal causing a fumble and Dino Hall 426 recovered for the Browns on the Cincinnati nine yard line with 18 seconds left on the first half clock Don khakhra kicked a 26-yard field goal tying the game at 10 at the intermission Brian Sipe had been tested by an aggressive hard-hitting bengal defense in the first half and absorbed his worst physical beating of the season but sight survived unscathed calmly ready to lead the Browns to their first division title in nine years psych was not about to let the Sun go down on Cleveland's championship dreams rule number one don't turn your backs on the comeback Cleveland Browns or so the saying goes this time the rule worked in Reverse in Forrest Greg's favor as the second half open brown quarterback Brian Sipe retreated into a familiar posture searching for friendly receivers when Cincinnati cornerback Ray Griffin returned the air in sight past 52 yards for a touchdown it put the Bengals up by seven this is precisely where the Browns like to be behind where there is nothing like other people's joy or a seven-point deficit to light a fire in the comeback contingent from Cleveland Cleveland's next possession found sight back in the pocket again five straight passes including one to tight end Ozzie Newsome carry the Browns 69 yards in two minutes while Newsom Rucker and Logan are the attention getters among brown receivers a fourth fought to share the billing Ricky feature number 83 the wide receiver from Mississippi Valley went up river on the bengals Lewis Breeden to tie the score at 17 apiece a view from the top confirms that features sideline fly pattern turned into a footrace won by a nose at the Cincinnati goal line the Browns are an opportunistic Bunch witness to this our bengal reggie williams and colleagues noted that opportunism from the sidelines indeed it was the Bengals who provided the opportunities Jack Thompson's first pass of the second half found its way into the hands of Cleveland cornerback Ron Bolton number 28 an uncomfortable forest greg urged his defense to stiffen up they did just that forcing the Browns to punt which look good on paper but not in practice five foot 7 inch Dino Hall used his height to his advantage getting to the ground and the ball first to set up another feature attraction this time the Browns number 83 picked on another Bengal cornerback Ken Riley Rickey features 2nd touchdown in less than 2 minutes put the Browns ahead by 7 the frigid cold affected fans and officials in different ways Cincinnati's performance was numbed also and it wasn't until the Browns regained the lead that the Bengals showed some second half life wide receivers became the prime topic on Jack Thompson's mind after locating Isaac Curtis number 85 for 14 yards Thompson hooked up with a friend he hadn't seen since early in the game number 87 Pat McAnally to put Mackin alleys performance in perspective it must be remembered that he suffered a blindside blow in the first period and left the field on a stretcher but like any feisty jet pilot after a crash landing McAnally climbed back in the cockpit and flew down the far sideline the 59-yard touchdown pass added new fuel to the Bengal air game and we tied the game at 24 still becoming accustomed to the subtle nuances of the three-four defense cincinnati limited the browns to just 57 yards rushing and threw Brian Sipe for 52 yards in losses with six sacks Cleveland's fourth-quarter frustration continued as they searched for a finishing kick another Ricci feature race into the secondary had a different ending Kenny Riley got even putting feature out of the race and giving the Bengals the football as the field temperature continued to hover in the teens there was one sideline hotfoot belonging to Bengal kicker Jim breech Wally wished for the chance to use it instead of keeping it gift-wrapped midway through the fourth period the bengals pre-clear an out of his shotgun jack thompson drew first in the draw play picked up 15 yards equally balancing the pass with the run Thompson went 39 yards to tight end Dan Ross who went another 10 on his own at McAnally caught just one pass in 1979 on this one afternoon in 1980 he picked up three 486 yards this one penetrating the Cleveland 25-yard line you what has hurt the Cincinnati Bengals most all season is losing steam inside the twenties and committing the crucial turnovers both hurt the Bengals this Sunday the crucial mistake on this day was a Tom Darden interception one that began the Browns final foray into Cincinnati territory a short summit meeting between Brian Sipe and Sam Rutigliano determined the Browns closing strategy after a short sideline pass to Calvin Hill the Browns uncharacteristically abandoned their passing game and ran an unheard-of seven consecutive running plays getting the most out of fullback Mike Pruitt number 43 Pruitt's contributions were valuable in the closing moments as he had his second-straight 1,000 yard rushing year brian's site totaled over 4,000 passing yards for the season and became only the third man ever to do so joining Dan Fouts and Joe Namath this play was not vintaged site site thoughts and misdirection would be more effective than the past he was wrong and he lected to stay safe going up the middle the stage was set for kicker Don Cochran and while he took center stage the Ringmaster's site joined the audience with 2:25 remaining ROVs kick was true putting the browns over the top with a three-point win a win that earned the Browns the AFC Central title though tied with Houston with an 11 and 5 record the Browns boast the better inner conference record hence the division championship Sam Rutigliano ride will continue after a week off as the Browns and five other division champions will watch as the wild cards attempt to deal each other out of the playoffs bond is on and the Browns are in the thick of it you

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Length: 20min 59sec (1259 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 16 2016