1986 Week 12 - Pittsburgh at Cleveland

is standing room only in cleveland ohio 80 000 jam cleveland stadium has been sold out for weeks always is when the steelers renew this most heated rivalry it's tight at the top in the afc central division right now cleveland and cincinnati are in a tie both at seven and four good afternoon everyone don crickey with bob trump be on kind of an ugly day in cleveland it's cold it's been raining all day more rain is forecast but in truth that's just like they like it for this toe to toe slugging out football rematch between the browns and the steelers trump do you think the wet field favors either team uh yeah don you gotta pick the team that runs the ball the best last year cleveland an excellent running team a real power running team with viner and mack this year averaging just 88 yards rushing per game for pittsburgh since they got ernest jackson eight weeks ago they've averaged 150 yards rushing per game so the straight ahead offense of pittsburgh you gotta feel that pittsburgh feels good besides when you're four and seven anything like that weather slippery footing snow as an underdog you feel better about your chances well the wet weather could lead to turnovers and they've been a big series in fact in the last 11 meetings between the browns and the steelers the team with the fewest turnovers has won the game the home crowd will be a big factor for the browns but the absence of frank minifield or the possible absence of this fine cornerback could be a factor too last week minifield's trained a cap now they got mark harper a rookie starting in his spot and that's a big spot because louis lips and john stalwart in 1985 combined for 17 touchdown receptions to this so far this year just one but there are two big flight players for the pittsburgh steelers that we might see a lot of today well we're ready to go and it's always a good one this series that has a history of upsets the browns deployed to kick off to our right in their all-white uniforms in an earlier meeting the browns came from behind and beat the steelers at pittsburgh chuck noll the pittsburgh coast felt that the officials had a lot to do with that the steelers were penalized nine times for over a hundred yards and noel publicly brought that out this week he criticized the official last meeting matt barr kicks it off a short kickoff is going to be feeling at the 12-yard line coming up with the ball is loopy sanchez and he is out to the 24-yard line swept under by a wave of cleveland tacklers as mark malone leads the pittsburgh offense out he has been excellent of late after a poor start this season malone's really come on and so is the running game of the steelers heat around abercrombie and ernest jackson a free agent acquisition who's been outstanding john starr with now the veteran receiver in there with louis lips to start out of the flanks as the rain has started up again it rained harder earlier and now it's coming down again at cleveland stadium first in 10 for pittsburgh as lips goes in motion through the run the ball is hammered out to about the 29 yard line and a first down carry walter abercrombie who leads the steelers in rushing and receiving was the man who carried the football looking at the browns defensively golic he's the defensive line linebackers the strength of the cleveland defense eddie johnson's the leading tackler but hampered by flu he's been very sick but he's in uniform and ready to go steelers now have it second down and six and this jackson takes down some cleveland browns and gets very little got only a yard trump out to the 30-yard line on first big play of the game by chip banks number 56 he's seen that underneath handoff weak side sweep by pittsburgh for so many years he was right there to take on the guard and he really disrupted the way that watch chip banks on the right hand side of the screen he recognizes it he's right there to take on wolfely jumps inside and jackson's got to change his route a little bit there for the tackle little very little gain passing down for malone and the steelers malone with only one interception in his last 127 throws he's been highly accurate a very poor first four game first throw of the game a long lead and ever crown beheaded for a steeler first down up to the 44-yard line 13-yard gain on the play for pittsburgh chip banks had him out of the backfield ray ellis finally knocked him out of bounds excellent play call by pittsburgh watch you'll see chip acts as a guy just behind walter abercrombie there's ellis to free safety over to knock him out first down pittsburgh in the first four games this year malone had two td throws and nine interceptions set out two games then when bristow was in the last five games he's thrown for nine touchdowns has been intercepted just twice abercrombie on the run takes santa tackler up to the 46-yard line he got two tough yards and once again chip banks and that time also ray ellis really destroyed the timing of that run as you look at the defensive backfield of the browns celina scrimmage again stripped the interference and the running back had basically no place to go dealers after a one and six start have won three of their last four games if they lose today they are mathematically out of the playoff race malone on second and seven going for the distance lewis lips going for the ball and willa flip takes it down to the eight-yard line come along with another perfectly timed throw in the lowest flips hampered by injuries this season back in good health illustrating that on the last play as it's a 44-yard game and that's his longest catch of the 1986 season and they picked on harper the rookie strange last week doki williams comes back for the football against harper and catches a touchdown pass this is a great adjustment by lips ball underthrown by by malone and lips goes up and gets louis lip scored 25 touchdowns two years in the league has only one touchdown this season hampered by a hamstring pull and an ankle injury now louis lipton star was both on the left flank it's first and goal steelers in this scoreless game belong to ernest jackson workley leads the blocking as ernest jackson gets down inside the five to about the three yard line eddie johnson the leading tackler for the browns number 51 made the stop the steelers giving the browns a little different look here running lots of motion preston gothard number 86 the tight end standing up like he was going to go out for a pass but the steelers prefer to run the football down here now trump they've sent a big target in from alone ouija thompson comes in he has five touchdown scores this season mazzuli and clancy are in to help rush the passer second and goal from just inside the cleveland four people even early keep running to play oh there's a missed opportunity for pittsburgh they had a free play [Applause] it was carl hairston who jumped off sides and by free play of course you mean because the browns were obviously offside pittsburgh had a free shot at it they're going to get the play over if they didn't succeed at hagerty the referee makes the signal against the brown so the cleveland browns who came in favored by a touchdown now in trouble at their own end on pittsburgh's first possession two key throws by malone has only put the ball up twice a 13-yard gainer to abercrombie a 44-yard gainer to lewis lips and the steelers are challenging inside the five offside defense number 78 big daddy hairston called for the offside steelers don't let you get at their quarterback often they've allowed only four quarterback sacks all season second and goal from the two [Applause] jackson down close but not in they spot him down inside the one-yard line of the browns jackson is not a very big kid that time ran almost straight up into the line of scrimmage look i'm kind of surprised normally a fullback like that jackson's only about 5 10 if he puts his head down i think he's got a better chance this is four down area for pittsburgh i believe i really do four and seven if they lose today they're eliminated you gotta take the six points here nothing less that's where they're going now in third down and one the eighth player of this steeler drive coming up [Applause] abercrombie he goes in in pittsburgh the underdog takes a six to nothing lead with 1033 to play in the first quarter crown be scoring his fourth touchdown of the season simple sweep leg good lead blocking up in front of him and this was all set up by good passing by malone you can see terry long 74 with a good pull excellent job and a quick six points for pittsburgh now gary anderson who misses an extra point about once every career he's got over 130 straight i need to try to point after and he's automatic so an eight-play drive 75 yards and the pittsburgh steelers take a seven to nothing lead with abercrombie on the payoff in donna down here on the goal line as a blocker you don't really try to blow people off the line of scrimmage you try to change their direction watch ernest jackson come into the picture 43 hit chip banks 56 he gets him on the ground and abercrombie goes right behind him that's an excellent job of blocking by the steelers offensive line who last eight games have done a great job of running the football [Music] anderson with 139 straight extra points ready to kick it off now ernest jackson's been doing some stuff for the steelers another buddy ryan's rejected philadelphia here is anderson into the ball gerald mcneil the ice cube is back deep he ran one back a hundred yards against the steelers in the first meeting for a score not here though as the steelers come a hitting at the 18 yard line down to make the play was preston gathered a 17-yard return and here comes bernie kosar youngest starting quarterback in the nfl curtis dickey and kevin mack his runners langhorne a good receiver slaughter a rookie with a lot of speed and newsome who's caught more balls than any tight end in nfl history offensive line big veteran group other than larry williams a first year player from notre dame a 300 pound tackle rounds in a hole to start their first drive they're down 7-0 cold and rainy in cleveland osar gets time penalty markers down as ozzie newsome takes it ahead for what will be a first down if the play goes i think that's going against pittsburgh harvey clayton 33 i believe was holding a wide receiver it was herman fonteno's a guy he grabbed he's talking to bernie so this is going to go against pittsburgh it'll be an automatic first down polling defense number 33 declined first down and that's harvey clayton who this entire season has been really having problems covering it cornerback the steelers have actually gone with a walk away that is a linebacker underneath him to help and that time there was no walk away and clayton had comes underneath coverage to help play from first in 10 for the clayson browns they trail seven to nothing co-star was the sale by the raider defense a week ago when cleveland was beaten at the coliseum two games ago though got time and he just took miami apart as a marker goes down and so does curtis dickey for a loss edmund nelson the right defensive end making the stop for pittsburgh chuck a native clevelander in his 18th year now as head coach of the steelers in his 34th year in professional football he played for the browns number 74 offense declined second let's down out the rest of that steeler defense now great speed among the linebackers particularly on the outside and merriweather and hinkle little and coal a couple of blasters inside cornerback suspect swain and clayton shell and all pro safety five times eric williams a quick and good [Applause] he's playing very deep as eric williams on second and twelve [Applause] last time we saw webster in action against miami he was dropping balls from san diego stadium not used to this weather cold and rainy that was right on the money though bernie threw that one perfectly bengals the other co-leader in the afc central with the browns up on the minnesota vikings seven to nothing new england with a safety on the buffalo bills leading two nothing indianapolis yet to get off the schneider 111 leading at houston three nothing and that's exactly the situation the browns faced last week a lot of long yardage situations this is third and [Applause] twelve we play for the cleveland browns and here goes bernie costa firing on the run to sure handed brian's in and it's it'll be a first down it's appeared that keith willis the left-hand was way offside we'll see if he was drawn off last week for cleveland six of their first nine drives ended up in three plays and out the brown's got to get started on the right foot today keep that pass rush off bernie kosar 10 of 15 possessions trump against the raiders the browns goes out in three days number 93 the play goes it's an 18-yard gain oops no illegal forward pass over the line [Music] trouble both ways so they'll replay it and the 18-yard play comes back goshar over the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball he doesn't like to run and doesn't do it well he's completing 61 of his passes though an 85 quarterback rating he's been sacked 32 times raiders got him six times and they hit him on virtually every passing play he must have dreamt about 53 all week because martin coming on a blitz but pop and co-star the raider philosophy hit the quarterback even if you don't get him before he releases it throwing a clock harry drears [Music] dropped now by jerry greer after webster's slaughter drop one and so the cleveland browns have to punt it and you can see the zone coverage by pittsburgh and ryan hickle was the closest man in coverage two catchable balls won by slaughter one by grier dropped jeff gassett averaging over 43 yards to punt ready to kick it down field there's rick woods well hit ball gossip drills it was it is 16. excellent special team by the cleveland browns a 55-yard punt and only a one-yard return edie hoggard was down to make the tackle steelers coach chuck noll he played on two championship teams with the cleveland browns and of course is the only coach to coach four super bowl winners spent a lot of time in this stadium didn't he he has spent a lot of time in this league 34 years in pro football he was a 21st draft choice for the cleveland browns at least he was a pick his counterpart marty schottenheimer born in canonsburg pennsylvania not too far from pittsburgh was an all-american linebacker for the pitt panthers a rising sound on the nfl coaches abercrombie doesn't get much as those browns come striking up the middle anthony griggs linebacker and eddie johnson on the stop [Music] carl hairston was also on the play denver on a field goal by carlos has taken a three-nothing lead at giant stadium right now in the first quarter we have 8 40 to play in it steelers drove down the field 75 yards their first possession and went in for the touchdown and they leave the game seven to nothing has taken his time has been very sharp his shot again as gastow with coming out the flank comes over the middle and gets the ball to the 34-yard line for a 14-yard gain and so far malone has been perfect trump dixon was the man in coverage and don i don't see the bump and run that cleveland generally uses normally minifield who is out and hanford dixon right up in the face of those receivers malone has time really put some steam on it that's an excellent stalwart lipson stallworth on already a factor in this game alone three for three throwing the ball for 71 yards big one the 44 yarder downfield ellipse subsequently the browns gave up the first touchdown of this game to pittsburgh and now running hard is jackson a nine 205 pound back from texas a m one of the things i think this helped the pittsburgh steeler offense is the return of mike webster missed the first part of the season with a dislocated elbow that match-up webster and goalie a dandy all day long off golic able to get over there and assist on the tackle number 79 but webster an absolute iron man and still one of the best centers in the game about golic who made the pro bowl roster for the cleveland browns and nose tackle said webster had a lot to do with it playing against him twice here makes you a better player malone good play fake looking to screen it now he's in the trouble and gets out of bounds bailing out with the help of the 12th man on the sideline and that that screen pass was set up for ernest jackson he got caught up in the wash the offensive line was out there in front of him both wolfley and penny watch the left to watch 43. watch what happens he gets nailed by harrison 78 43's on the ground malone's got nobody to throw it to so a big play defensively even though by accident still a big play officially ruling at a sack for no lost yardage only the 15th sack of the steeler quarterback this season now the sure-handed back rich ehrenberg is in the game for pittsburgh it's third down and five from the 40. seven nothing steelers the underdog leading in the first quarter aaron berg swinging out looking over the middle here's a throw but it's incomplete and so pittsburgh will have to punt the ball never cramming as well as you see keen in low this game of critical importance for the browns it would put a big hole big blow to their playoff chances should they lose to pittsburgh harry newsom is in the punt the ball now for pittsburgh now a two-step punter trying to get the ball off quicker you can see why chuck noah wants him to get that ball away from his foot a lot faster they're coming after him the ice cube mcneal backpedaling for a fair catch good coverage downfield by the steelers running down the forced affair catch was chuck sanders so a 47-yard punt cleveland gets its second possession and will be back with the steelers in the lead week 12 beginning this sunday actually thursday night with that raider victory over the san diego chargers if the playoffs start in the american conference today is how it would look yep bengals broncos and the wild cards the patriots and raiders long way to go and cleveland very much in the chase right now tied for divisional league with a much easier schedule the rest of the way than cincinnati bengals did beat the browns earlier coaster with a swing to knack and another drop ball that's three by the browns on their home field that's what i think would have been a tough catch though that's a very difficult uh pass to to throw and catch and that time there was just enough pressure on kosair that he couldn't get his shoulders squared to look like daryl sims number 99 was uh in the area of bernie kosar max speed he said if you can touch it you should catch it you buy that i'll bet max said that after he retired right we all do rosa's numbers not much today one for four 12 yards but he had three drops [Applause] [Music] yard reggie langhorne going for the ball missing the over the shoulder catch but no 28 langhorne 88 this is that double rotation zone don that pittsburgh so famous for corners up safety's out and kosar almost gets it in there 31 donnie shell the closest man in coverage a lot of things that bernie can't do one of the things that i think he does better than anybody in the game is throw the ball accurately deep he is just sensational 25 or 30 yards down the field every one of his passes has been touched by a receiver but he's only hit one third and 10 has to make this one go a given time sidearm throw for a first down to clarence weathers he's out to the 28-yard line mike mira weather in coverage swaying there also a 14-yard gain and don the thing about bernie closer offense that you gotta like is that coming in at today's game seven receivers had 20 catches or more he spreads it all over the field watch this sidearm delivery he gets hit just a little bit by keith gary but that's a tight spiral right at weathers for a first down ernie kosar from nearby boardman ohio on the pennsylvania line half the fans there like the steelers half like the browns brown's still very fortunate bernie coser grew up a cleveland fan and wanted to play here kevin matt breaks the big one for the browns a trap block and then two broken tackles and kevin mack who's not had the season yet a year ago breaks a big one for 14 yards and another brown first down on that time the steelers came with their five defensive linebackers set and what cleveland would like to do is run away from the linebackers who stand shoulder to shoulder it was a weak side run excellent blocking up front and now the cleveland browns the other thing about bernie down seven to nothing he's still in control here that's one of one of the coolest kids you'll ever find at quarterback unflappable as george schattenhamer calls him i set now brown's trailing the steelers seven to nothing with five minutes to go in the first quarter blitz open then brian branham and a penalty knocker down is down this chapter 30. rounds plagued by drop today they have two receptions and brennan has been the guy a 28-yard gainer there john swain was the man caught holding but the browns will take the 28-yard gain they beat the blitz pittsburgh came with it coaster stood right in there you can feel that pressure on here's merrell weather from the outside their best blitzer picked up well by kevin mack gosar stands in their single coverage and brennan makes the reception for 28 yards [Applause] brown's starting to challenge now first and ten give us to dickie he's come out since coming in as a free agent acquisition keith willis the leading stacker for the steelers made the stop giants tie the game up on an allegra field goal chicago back to green bay runner in the end zone for a two-point safety mangles up on the vikings 14-3 that's good news for the brown stands new england up nine nothing on buffalo extra tight end in the game now harry holt comes in [Applause] watch the reverse here hulk and run done second down the browns need eight dickey [Applause] down to the 26 yard line [Music] a reminder to our viewers that we'll be selecting the budweiser most valuable player for today's game at the conclusion of the game curtis hickey with three runs today but only two yards given up to him by the pittsburgh defense green 19 to go first quarter rain is stopped temperature dropping no only game all season the steelers will play in the natural grass field as today's blitz brennan again brian brennan heading for the end zone cut down he's down [Applause] following his 28-yard catch loopy sanchez saved a touchdown if but for the moment and i think cleveland will run pittsburgh out of that blitz that's twice they've run the blitz and twice kosar has hit brennan to break the blitz this is a well-executed pattern there you see 28 luffy sanchez way off and brandon brennan is just an absolute whisker away from going all of it getting all of it there's merrill weather on the outside picked up well bernie reads it stands in here and takes the hit makes the completion [Applause] then hit a big day against the raiders only brown that did really dealer defense tough against the run only one rushing touchdown allowed in the last five games dave fazzulli is in as an up back a defensive lineman to lead the blocking and off goes and mack dives over as fazuli isn't done yet let's see what the penalty marker did come in no flags no indication officials they got to say something holding against the cleveland browns the steelers say and so does pat hagerty well that gets him out he gets the officials out of a fine nobody signal touchdown nobody signaled down holding number 63 offense still first down cody ryzen offensive right tackle actually this puts the browns in a better position don in my estimation they're at the 19 yard excuse me the 14 yard line they can throw it now when you're inside the 10 you almost have to run the option pass run or just run it i personally rather be first and goal at the four we'll see what bernie cosar does now he does have more downfield area to send his receiver he's pulling out the blitzer pointing out the blitzer there coming with it against on first and goal for the yard line browns trail seven nothing newsom intercepted by brian henkel he's not done i think they're gonna they've blown it dead no that the official walked away from the spot where the internet better make a decision because right they haven't yet six they haven't yet the officials are back on the side we're going to go the touchdown back at the 35-yard line the officials are standing there and nobody is marked with that inter that interception took place 87-yard play if it goes and i think trump we're going to be a pause in the day's occupation here for a bit of a review well now they're saying pittsburgh gets the ball but no official over there marked at that he was down the official lost the spot nico did the smart thing he got up and ran watch what happens watch what happens when the interception is made by hinkle he's got all the way 57 merriweather on the blitz hinkle does a great job here he gets up now watch the official right on should be right there now hinkle is saying what's he motioning he stops motioning though there i guess he is down pittsburgh has the football dealers might have broken it open early we'll be back after this next sunday the nfl plays here when the steelers battle the bears before your team takes the field our team hits the air nfl 86 don quickie without trumpy back at cold cleveland stadium rain is holding up now it's been intermittent and more as expected the steelers with the ball and the seven of nothing laid very nearly a 14 nothing lead after brian hickles return of the interception but replays show that he was out of bounds abercrombie runs the ball up to the 15-yard line let's watch the big play by brian hinkle again from the end zone it appears that brian hinkle's shoulder pads hit the out of bounds marker a tremendous effort for brian hinkle now watch what happens see it looks like he's out of bounds the official right there in front waves his hands but upfield for some strange reason i don't know why but nevertheless pittsburgh is happy they got the ball so the browns best drive of this game is stopped at only the seventh interception coasters thrown this season malone here's a tip fall and very nearly intercepted back by the browns [Applause] now while we have a moment with the steelers in the lead seven nothing let's go to another shot all right don in new england the patriots craig james takes the hand off and goes four yards for the score new england leads buffalo in the first quarter the bills have lost 21 straight games on the road i haven't won since the mod was it buffalo on the road now it is third down and seven coming up for the steelers lying conditions worsening this is a very wet field torrents of rain fell while the teams were warming up no turf was on and now i'm alone out pattern look at the players can't hold him for 31. perfectly thrown ball in the new normally short-handed lewis lips two times a pro bowler in his two previous seasons in the league drops it donnie has gloves on this is an excellent pattern run he fakes the in and goes to the out but with those gloves when they get wet they are worthless absolutely worthless and there have been about to go no they just anytime it's damp they're no good whatsoever here's the snap ready to punt the ball now is newsom downfield punt could be tough to handle and gerald mcneil thinks better of it lets it roll rounds will start with very good field position at their 47-yard line 38-yard punt rounds had a big chance though and a big play by brian hinkle who tipped the ball and intercepted it falling down stopped it now the steelers failed to move after that long drive the first time they had the ball to take it in for the only score of the game it's seven nothing pittsburgh on cleveland's only problem just catch the football i mean they're getting people open and bernie's got time to throw it now just catch it hello gosar with ten touchdown throws this season now seven interceptions raiders intercepted him twice first time all season he gave up two in one game kevin matt lies over the top and he's ahead for a gain of five defended by cornerback harvey clayton of the steelers that's a good first down call that little stream pass out in the flat the steelers are coming with their five linebackers set this almost looks like a college defense they have a two deep zone and five linebackers underneath one of the cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage that screen will work a lot first quarter ticking down and out is down to 15 seconds and running rounds have won four straight at home and six of their last seven at cleveland stadium they're down right now to the underdog steelers seven nothing cosa with a problem good throw by bernie kosar heard a stick he's going to be very close to a first down in the second and five plays and that'll be the last play of the first quarter gun sounds brown's moving it but the steelers hold the lead it's 7-0 pittsburgh will be back to cole's cleveland stadium after this [Music] back at cleveland stadium at the seven nothing game the pittsburgh steelers in the lead as we pointed out at the outset the team in the last 11 meetings between these duke clubs with the fewest turnovers has won the game and there's gonna be more turnovers i think in this weather trump yeah hinkle got the first one it was a heck of a play by hinkle and you can't really blame it on the receiver newsome or the quarterback cozar because there's some kind of fumbled a little bit stumbled it's kind of slick out there but uh i think cleveland is now figuring out what that five linebacker set is doing to them they're gonna try to throw the ball out the flat a little bit get the ball to the running backs as best they possibly can turn them loose if we can get a shot and we will of the manner in which pittsburgh is deploying their defense is rather interesting it looks like an awful lot of college football defenses but tony dungy figuring that he has so much talented linebacker tries to get them all in there at the same time and the real plus is it gives you an assist in pass coverage after an early drops in this game brown z offense now starting to move cleveland had over 400 yards passing two games to go against miami only 188 yards total offense against the raiders first down kevin mack gets some blocking from paul theron and larry williams and bust into the right side of the steeler defense mack is a six foot two hundred and ten pound back from clemson was projected as a first or second round draft choice coming out but he elected to go to the u.s football league rushed for over 1100 yards last season his first as a cleveland brown and he averaged five yards to carry but with his other runner deck ernest diner out this season the down running game has slumped badly rounds right now are 27th and running in the nfl averaging only 88 yards a game looks like the blitz again don you can see the pittsburgh steelers faking it max terry he's averaging kenneth papp this time he gets about three second and four he's close to a first down as the nose tackle for pittsburgh gary dunn stopped him last year they averaged in combination mac and byner about 145 yards rushing per game this year just 88. finer will be ready for the playoffs if the browns are in them and they've only played those two guys mac and vine are seven quarters together in this 1986 season and you could parallel that to the steeler wide receivers a year ago lewis lips and john stalworth combined four 25 touchdowns 133 catches and this year the numbers are way down again i'm out on the field with the steelers still leading seven to nothing thank you today's game is brought to you by ford and your ford dealer have you driven a ford lately by brawn electric shavers prawns designed to perform better and by magnavox developing new technologies for your entertainment nobody puts it together like magnavox 80 000 at cleveland stadium on the north shore as they caught it on the shores of lake erie don quickie without trumpy the browns in white favored by a touchdown but down by seven trailing the steelers seven and nothing steelers scored in their opening drive abercrombie in a one-yard run coaster looking at newsome ball long ball to hope harry hold is open he's to that 10-yard line 23-yard gain on the play excellent play call by lindy and funny they had a double tight end set on third and short and it's a good play action osar big gangly bernie cosar he doesn't play fake very well but you can see that hulk beats 57 mike merriweather and once again gosar when he throws the ball 15 or 20 yards down the field he is spectacular absolutely spectacular always on the money and that's the first ball at old harry's car this year there we hope big one now the browns go first and go from the 10-yard line of pittsburgh blitz again don indeed it is picked up whoa is there a foul there is it's first in goal freedom langhorne counting off the right flank was chopped by quarterback john swain his second foul today on that's three times now pittsburgh has come with a blitz kosar has audibled and caught him defensive pass number 26 first down eventually pittsburgh's got to stop that blitz too far flemo's done a great job against it before the ball is there there is contact no question about interference there first and goal pittsburgh first and goal cleveland excuse me our formation now as the browns go with ozzie newsome and harry holt now hang on to the football is what cleveland has to do nations together can do that if they throw it he has him covered in over 400 chances and he's caught more passes on his tight end in history he's aligned to the left hits back toe news and blocks running with the ball with curtis dickey and he's in well he's being run by the big back with world-class speed from texas a m and the browns are ready to tie the game if they hit the extra point excellent block out front baron the offensive last tackle who last week had a tough day against sean jones of the los angeles raiders there was nikki's fourth rushing touchdown that was a nice drive started at their own 48. very well orchestrated sixth play 53-yard drive and 319 on the clock matt barr troubled by a sprained toe nonetheless booms the extra point up and through and we have a tie game 7-7 at cleveland stadium john this sweep is exactly the way the coaches draw it up watch 74 baron he pulls out he doesn't alter his course goes through brian hinkle and then dickey cuts right inside excellent scoring run by dickey big seven points by cleveland they answer that drive by pittsburgh now tied up 7-7 good one going just like they usually do in the browns and hook up cleveland was a 27-24 winner at three rivers they're now one in 16 of that stadium in pittsburgh dan reader and up back will run it back big dance from delaware takes it to the 31-yard line and that's where malone and pittsburgh goes on offense while we have a moment though back to nfl 86 ahmad all right john in houston the oilers score on this four-yard pass from warren moon to allen pinkett the former notre dame running back they lead the hapless coach 10-3 in the second quarter and the colts haven't won since beating houston last year [Music] they are going to be a big winner though if any tesla verdes in the hoosier dome [Applause] they certainly have the odds on choice to get him right he wasn't in 7-7 malone on first down [Applause] nick intercepted taking the ball off of the cleveland browns [Applause] mark harper the much maligned cornerback ball should not have been thrown don very poor choice by malone he tried to make a big play out of it cleveland got a lot of pass rush on him that was a wounded duck he knows he shouldn't have thrown that this thing was quacking when it came down absolutely mark harper had is starting from innerfield he doesn't have a real chance to set up watch that ball get out around and there's nobody even close you can see that lewis lips is the closest one i think he was trying to throw it out of bounds just to avoid the sack but 73 finally gets him out of valley probably saved a touchdown now the browns who trailed seven nothing and come back to tie the game seven seven are challenging to go ahead kevin mack taking on people doesn't get much gary's done with schattenhamer race is one of the fine nose tackles in the league everybody else does too when he's healthy he made the stop stanley wilson has scored two touchdowns today running the ball for the cincinnati bengals as they've extended their lead over the vikings now to 21 to 10 in the second quarter new england easing in front of buffalo down 12 nothing with another field goal [Applause] watch the picks here don brennan is set to the right so is newsom mack gets the ball he's running hard down to the two yard line an excellent blocking up front mike's bad the center for the cleveland browns [Applause] find the thing that picked that cleveland did is they spread the defense off the field they had three wide receivers and ozzie newsome was spread out about five yards from the tackle and i really spread that pittsburgh defense all i needed was a couple of blocks up front and mack popped through now big dave fazuli a 260 pound defensive tackle is innocent up back right behind kosar to lead the blocking knack the eye back they like to go right behind bazooli mac getting the ball as they go to the run that gets it and nothing there as the steelers shut it down well it looked like defeated followed for zulie to walk in you never question what a running back sees when he's behind the line of scrimmage but but fazzulli pulled through there and there's a nice little alleyway for kevin mac to get up through the line of scrimmage watch excellent job once again look at there there's space and suddenly matt cuts back inside he should have given it the position he'd love it big pizza from pittsburgh and mourinho's best friend gets when the dolphins come in here like they did a couple of weeks ago [Applause] blitz co-star they say he can't run but he does however the play is broken up by linebacker david little this crowd here is just phenomenal 80 000 like the roman coliseum the constant roar kills the crescendos at every big play good play action fake here by kosar not nimble but he can move and once again he throws it right on the money but david little with excellent coverage on harry holt incomplete pass now third down and about two for the touchdown used to play this game as all the steeler and brown fans know on saturday nights some of the people have too much of the adult efforts though start hitting each other third down kosar has to get rid of it he does a chip fall in the end zone he's getting stepping the other way john swain has the ball penalty markers are down though inside the five yard line we got pittsburgh offside that's for sure and then there's another late flag it might be against pittsburgh cleveland's going to get the ball back a 32-yard return but it looked like they had keith gary on the inside and he jumped off [Applause] [Music] cleveland gets it back [Applause] that was either willis or keith gary 93 keith willis just that much and he's offsides news from the intended receiver defensive holding they'll set that defensive holding an automatic first down too so the browns now have a point-blank range ball at the one yard line 9 44 to play in the first half what a game of spin keith willis has been the key in the defensive pass rush of the steelers give it to pazzulli he hasn't carried it yet give it to him dave fazouli a 260 pound defensive nose tackle in the block maybe [Applause] [Music] it's against pittsburgh it's a touchdown the official who threw the flag also signaled touchdowns so it must be good for cleveland so the browns down seven nothing to the underdog steelers after the first quarter come back with a vengeance in the second two touchdowns in a 13-7 cleveland league it sometimes it comes down to a play willis offsides watch pazzulli once again he gets his head right in there and really buries mike merriweather 57 and back into the end zone and that bar knocks it up and through and now it's 9 41 to go in the first half hits 14 to 7 browns [Applause] thanksgiving day the nfl plays here when the seahawks battle the cowboys before your team takes the field our team hits the air nfl 86 a thanksgiving day special nbc sports beginning with nfl 86 at 3 30 you'll see a feature on a courageous young man mark fona county the son of the former off-road linebacker nick bonakani making a comeback after a crippling injury playing for the citadel mad rashad will talk with the most popular cowboy of all time roger staubach and his thanksgiving memories paul mcguire will have an inside look at the nfl that's preceding seattle at dallas thanksgiving day here on nbc now the kickoff down the field hits hit hard into the end zone and the steelers luffy sanchez says no he'll not bring it out with 9 34 left to go in the first half it's 14-7 brown's in the lead there's a marker down from where they kicked off as keith willis had a problem and the rounds capitalized that offside see a holding game of first down kickers number 59. they'll make him pick it again that's for sure that bar with his bad toe kicked it about six or seven yards deep in the end zone having a shootout trump at cincinnati where wade wilson the quarterback for the vikings has just run for a touchdown now it's 21-17 the bengals in the lead they're fighting to hold at least a share of the top in the afc central with cleveland 9 34 to go in the first half and we've had a lot of dropped passes and a lot of balls bouncing off shoulder pads the turnovers are even an interception for each team and as you documented to start the game turnovers are a big key the steelers are 4-0 when they commit fewer turnovers than the opponents and they're 0-7 when they make as many or more turnovers as their opponents loopy sanchez now moves up five yards bill cower the special teams coach for the cleveland browns a former linebacker marty schatzhammer said one thing i will guarantee our fans we will have the best special teams play in the nfl rounds over 60 points have been attributed directly to their special teams this season 60 offensive points set up a lot of scores but now sanchez is a former all-american at ucla who came from the u.s football league runs it back and that far the kicker got him after a 24-yard return below now some making up to do his last pass a pass that should not have been thrown ended up in seven points for cleveland one turnover each way as we've pointed out in the last 11 meetings saving a game in 85 when neither team turned it over the team with the most turnovers between steelers and browns in the last 11 games has lost [Applause] jackson first down terry for not very clay matthews an outside linebacker sliced in to get him i think one of the reasons why the steelers have been so successful last four games winning three of those four they've gone to an ultra-conservative offense they don't want to turn the ball over and they haven't 22 turnovers in their first seven games and four turnovers in their last four games coming in due today along yori never started out the game completing three of three for 71 yards missed his last four including an interception in those four throwing a catch this time the star worth who does it on guile he's lost his deep speed in his 13th year in the league john stallworth with the turnout makes his 18th reception of the year he's been out with an injury much of the season this guy knows how to run patterns he's got hanford dixon in coverage and i see the the browns going with a great deal more zone and playing off the receivers and i've seen in a long time and that may be because frank is out and therefore they don't trust mark harper up there and bump and run yeah it's tailed off dude combined for 134 yards 134 receptions and 20 touchdowns a season ago only one touchdown catch between lyft and star wars this year that's by lewis left abercrombie has another one bounce off him brings up second down and 10. that's an interesting story abercrombie was not considered a very good receiver for pittsburgh ehrenberg in the early part of the season on obvious passing downs would replace abercrombie as you can see they found a receiver now abercrombie too when he catches the ball threat to break a tackle and turn a small game into a big game malone ready to put it up on second down and 10. he's got an open man and preston gathered his tight end knockdown is made at the 39-yard line big tight end from alabama makes his 16th catch that's one thing trump the steelers have done more of this year gone to the tight end the past few years that tight end hasn't seen the ball in their offense if the bubby brister has one legacy to this 86 pittsburgh steeler football team it may be getting the ball of the tight end as he started those two games bobby threw the ball to the tight end from a very rural part of alabama they say he's out there from where the buses don't run look at him go abercrombie heading for the end zone one man with a play on an average romby it's cut down just short of the goal line touchdown yep the hands go up now late but they're up it's a 37-yard touchdown run now by definition that orange clone you see in the of the end zone on the goal line are inbounds and in the end zone any contact with them and you are considered in the end zone pittsburgh does a great job here of spreading the defense just as cleveland did in their big run abercrombie that acceleration now watch that cone in the corner of the end zone 24 ray ellis makes the contact and that's abercrombie's longest run of the season he catches the cone it is a touchdown five plays 61 yards and that 38-yard run by abercrombie a dandy so with 7 44 left to go anderson looks to tie the game and he does 7 44 to go in the first half it is the steelers 14 and the browns 14 as ever crumby the last two seasons is showing the promise the steelers thought he would have when he came out as baylor as their number one draft choice in 1982 leading the team in rushing and receiving his biggest play of this season a 38-yard touchdown run once and this is the way the coaches draw him up he cuts inside 56 chip banks 52 mike webster out there trying to make a block and watch again ellis with the contact and that well it's a touchdown i mean you can argue that point all day long as to whether or not he's in the end zone but the hands go up and it's gonna be at that time that's a tough call for anybody with a thousand replays that's the longest run by a steeler runner this season a previous 33-yard run by everett crombie was the longest and that one's good for six and then the seventh point by anderson now one of the things that happens on long runs like this is that it's very difficult for the officials to be in a proper position to make the call you can see an official that's just about two yards away he's looking from out of bounds i thought he was out of bounds and the ball is in his outside hand and they call it a touchdown and it's going to stand the replay official will not overrule that excellent second look our producer today for nbc sports is david neal our direct rosenberg as anderson now kicks off in this tie game and here comes gerald mcneil you remember he broke one for 100 yards against the steelers in the first game with three rivers but they chopped him twice inside the 20. that return was good for only nine yards and luffy sanchez made the play gerald gets up limping after every single run he only weighs 142 pounds some of those guys hit him he goes down like a tree in the forest are talking about the small people here very small and that's uh with a wet uniform on yeah everything he has there right as you've seen he weighs 146. now after the cleveland browns took a 14-7 lead and the steelers come back to tie it to brown's try again with kosar on first down open man slaughter webster slaughter running free and down defense gets the ball to the 49-yard line a 31-yard gain and again a superb throw by bernie kosar he flings it kind of sidearm but this thing is absolutely on the money and this is a double rotation zone the spot you gotta hits the middle of it the safeties rotate out so you can see hinkle 53 is probably the linebacker in coverage 31 shell has to make the tackle that kid is so accurate downfield it's scary 61 completion through the first 11 weeks of blaze [Applause] again the long count by cosar on first down timing cannon and then again mrs langhorne up to the 45-yard line a gain of about four and a half donnie shell got him for the steelers dosar looks like he's going the line of scrimmage down and he's got an either or situation out of the huddle they go the line it's simply a check with me it's either one thing or another you can see him calling the play and audibilizing and people moving all over the place that's one thing that cleveland has done very well this year confused their opponents just by motion and formation torrents of rain fell before while the players were warming up then a light rain has fallen off and out it's a wet feel temperature dropping as the browns move towards the open end of cleveland stadium winds are swirling throwing a catch langhorne a tough rangy receiver gets the ball down to the 35-yard line of pittsburgh a nine-yard gain and a first down for the browns right in tampa bay at halftime already with the lions in the lead five minutes in 28 seconds so in the first half bernie cos completed 10 of 16 for 155 yards one interception his counterpart mark malone has also been intercepted once curtis dickey down to the 33-yard line of the steelers where dennis dirk winston got him dickies really come alive i don't know what they've talked to about here in cleveland but they've motivated him a former number one draft choice of the colts he was waved out right by that team picked up by cleveland he's given him some very big gains 228 pounds and he's one of the fastest players in the nfl he is hard to motivate too co-star trump with his ten completions according to our nbc statistician ross schneiderman has grown in nine different ones for completion very typical of cleveland [Applause] coming off the far flank going for the ball harvey clayton was defending on the play and there's a penalty marker down in the pittsburgh secondary it's interference but who is it on offense or defense i think it's against the offense against clayton that kid has had trouble all season long tony dungy the defensive coordinator pittsburgh has tried all kinds of things to give him assist underneath and every time he's out there in single coverage either beat him or he holds somebody illegal contact number 33 defense first down you can see at the top of the screen here's the combination you're only allowed to chuck inside five yards and clayton just stands there 10 yards deep and puts his hand up i don't know how he can figure he won't get caught beneficiaries and get a first down at the 29-yard line of pittsburgh pittsburgh blitz don you're showing it people uptight ready to come with bernie kosar here comes merriweather but the hands off uh heather mack is down at us 20-yard line so far cleveland's done an excellent job every time pittsburgh has shown that blitz they've run several different plays to break it up willis has a bad arm we're not sure he'll return but being attended to by the trainer on the sideline their best pass rusher he leads the steelers with nine and a half sacks free agent from northeastern up the block he comes in low he's barely over six feet tall but he weighs 260 but he's going like a tank looks like the blitz again down cleveland's beating this every time rounds need one it's second down game is time 14-14 look at this [Applause] eventually run teams out of coverages and so far that glitch has not worked they've not gotten the cosar and they left a lot of receivers wide open that was a great read by gosar those are the toughest catches to make too when you're down there the tuba player covering you there's some guy in his stance covering you or he's a scroll down the beach for ozzie newsome now 20 yards nobody laid a glove on him and so now the browns have the lead again looking to extend it to seven points which they do on the extra point by bar six plays 80 yards co-star newsome on the payoff end from 20 yards out and it's 21 pittsburgh 14. i certainly never thought we'd have 35 points scored in the first half by these two teams and watch the blitz watch what you see newsom right in front of you and hinkle and merriweather both they rush the quarterback when newsome delays no coverage easy touchdown now watch both of them right the bottom of the screen when newsom sets up hinkle comes you got all three of them going there gosar says oh easy pickets catch it ozzy that's good coaching everybody was picked up and ozzie newsome was running free as you see hinkle come into the hot area the open area left by the blitzer and kosar goes right to it touchdown cleveland the big plays that cleveland has had in his first half on have generally come against the blitz by the pittsburgh steelers steelers came into the game with 33 passes they were in the upper third of the nfl in that area san diego through 11 games had the most 45 followed by the giants and the san diego charger with 44 and 43 and they're coincidentally playing today where field goals have been the difference raul allegra kicking another one [Applause] the most points scored against the pittsburgh steelers 21 in a single quarter this year sanchez running it back for the steelers great block and look at sanchez ripping across midfield they get the angle on them hell gross finally drives them out of bounds inside the 45-yard line at the 40. no where is them is there a marker down trump across the way i don't think so that a piece of paper it's a 58-yard return and i think all that is is a piece of paper a yellow one it stands the return stands i'm telling you 35 points scored by these two a quarter and a half or quarter and three quarters when he gets to the outside here someone's got contained there it is an excellent block out front by number 91 of the steelers greg carr what a game steelers looking to come back now failing 21-14 and here's abercrombie last time he had his hands on it he took it in for 38 yards and a touchdown this time he gains nine before free safety chris rockins gets him for cleveland rain holding off but the field still very wet from the heavy rains earlier swirling winds the flags are going every which way here at top cleveland stadium abercrombie is taken down on the play by reggie camp the left end the steeler offense a good trapping offense anytime they can try the trap they will with webster long willfully that time reggie camp had an inside predetermined move and he was there almost to take the handoff rich carlos hit a second field goal for the denver broncos if they're up on the giant 6-3 bears holding to a nine-nothing advantage over green bay a safety and a touchdown first down pittsburgh abercrombie's gained 63 yards and eight carries new england with another field goal extending its lead over buffalo we have two minutes and 23 seconds to play in the first half here at cleveland the clock is running rounds are in the lead 21-14 but the steelers are driving they have the ball first down at the cleveland 30-yard line [Applause] abercrombie making the move upfield is knocked out of bounds by the strong safety ray ellis we're down to two minutes to play in the first half we'll be back to cleveland stadium after this [Music] [Applause] nfl 86 at halftime the scores and the highlights and also an interesting report on napoleon mccallum running well for the raiders while another naval academy running back eddie myers has not been allowed to play yet in the nfl [Applause] former coach at buffalo hank will as we look at chuck noll once referred to napoleon mccallum as a bonaparte kid from naval academy thanks maleficent sideline for the time being i'm sure will be back as a defensive coordinator as looking to throw his mark malone home run ball john stalworth is inside the five yard line no kick they rule him out chris ross can help bang them when he cross the ball john thought he caught it he's trying to concentrate on the football know where the defense is and the sideline this is a tough throw for malone he beats the coverage let's see yes sir second foot was out of bounds second foot was out of bounds and the nfl mo both feet must be in watch his right foot on the line it's strange that the steelers run almost three to one to the right side of their offense they're running at reggie camp [Applause] starts out stealing down by seven there's a blip in open man ball tipped and lost by star wars inside the 20. something like a freight train was hanford dixon he wasn't scheduled to play he exchanged his words with mark malone very timely glitch called by schottenheimer like they like it in this series now i'm surprised it's taken them this long stallworth almost makes that catch but hanford dixon from the cornerback spot is there to put pressure you can see what happens here the man in coverage is felix right he goes up with stallworth in completion anderson on the kick he's made seven of his last eight he's only missed from 56 shots what a shot he puts into the ball no but it's no good gary anderson is wide and so the steeler drive down field they come away with nothing 42 to play in the first half and the score remains the browns 21 the steelers 14. on anderson was a good bet to make that that's just his second miss in 10 tries nfl's all-time leading kickers-wise but maybe because the steelers are playing their first game on grass for the entire season of pre-season had a slight effect on the kick so now let's see what the browns can do they were down was cleveland at the end of the first quarter seven and nothing and then they came back with 21 second quarter points the seven for pittsburgh it's a 21-14 lead cleveland draw that's going well as kevin matt breaks up the middle wisely with two arms on the ball matt takes on tacklers and he goes ahead for 17 cleveland yards now once again cleveland spread to defense the man the linebacker who was standing there assigned to kevin mac as dirk winston 55 and they ran a little just a little full block center and guard and got a good hit on winston nobody there to make the tackle now kosar goes to his two-minute offense spreading receivers all over the field with 110 to play running first half light rain falling kevin mack again fumble free ball might have it i think they got it don they took it looked like they took it right out of the hands of a of a cleveland an offensive lineman right my house number two bryson was the guy who made the humble recovery so a break in the action and back to cleveland after this watch the offensive right tackle 63 cody ryzen after he makes a block on keith gary when the ball pops loose looks like merriweather strips it isn't dying oh it's brian brennan and then cody ryzen who makes the recovery so now coaster on the brown second down and seven at their 48-yard line he's been well protected as bernie costa and brian's running with another sensational reception small but elusive from boston college brian then and weaves ahead for a cleveland first down a 10-yard gain that was loopy sanchez in coverage brennan took it right away from him eric williams finally with the catch back to the line of scrimmage for cleveland bounds with just one timeout remaining as you see the game clock winding down in the second quarter brennan again over the middle to brandon he's there with a 22. now they called timeout so coach i'll have time to throw it and then go for the field goal if they don't connect [Applause] we'll be back to cleveland stadium with his great ball game right after this hands off don wants brian brennan's release to the outside then he gets by loopy sanchez gosar finds him wide open down catch trump the browns have scored now in each of their last three possessions to take a 21-14 lead kosar 16 seconds left throws it away wisely 12 seconds left will he pass again or will they go for the field goal gary dunn put a big rush on bernie kosar and nailed him kosair took a beating last sunday against the raiders coaster looks hurt don looks like he got hit right on the hip he's coming off holding his side he's the franchise you can see the rib pads up underneath his arms but that doesn't protect your hip he does not like to talk to the doctor or the trainer but that was a heck of a hit by gary dunn 39-yard field goal by matt bauer he's been hot has hit 10 of his last 12. he only misses a 51 yard and one that was blocked we saw the usually hot gary anderson go wide in his last attempt for the steelers [Applause] he's no good at matt barr so both teams fail to get points on field goal prize in the closing stages of the first half with seven seconds left the steelers send out their offense friday matt barr went out and was practicing the onside kicks and jammed his big toe and they weren't sure if he was going to be able to kick at all the backup kicker is harry holt the tight end he's a straight ahead kicker but that didn't appear to bother matt barr at all [Applause] matt bauer the former steeler trying to put up points on him he's got a super bowl ring from pittsburgh i think he's got two of them didn't he there's the backup kicker harry holt [Music] dealers elect to down the ball run out the clock and both teams now head to the locker room a lot of action in the first half and a lot of points that cleveland browns holding to a 21-14 for pittsburgh bernie cosa getting some counsel from his coach marty shottenham you see kosar's first half numbers he could be on the way to a career day best so far was the 401 yards he put up against miami two games ago yeah that hard shot put him on by gary dunn affection i'll tell you though that's a touchdown passing through is the first he'd thrown in three weeks he had 401 yards passing against miami did not throw for a touchdown nfl halftime activities will continue a moment we'll be right back after these messages from your local station we welcome those of you watching the browns and steelers bob costas back in new york let's check what's going on elsewhere the broncos and the giants a pair of nine and two teams at the meadowlands and a 10-6 lead for new york a look at some of the highlights we expected a defensive struggle and that's what we've gotten thus far show you some examples first and ten at the new york 46 for the broncos here and sammy winder is cut down for a nine yard loss by the young linebacker carl banks that's in the first quarter also in the first quarter the giants shift out of punt formation on a fourth and six and jeff hostetler will hand the ball to lee rousson and the denver defense can't adjust in time he picks up nine yards and keeps the scoring drive alive but on that same drive they face third and five at the bronco ten and here's freddie gilbert cutting through to nail joe morris for a six yard loss they settle for a raul allegray field goal let's listen to dick enberg on this black player accepted by george martin he's going to go all the way can't get it 20. martin has a touchdown prior to that play late in the second quarter denver had led 6-3 on a pair of rich carlos field goals the giants after the martin interception return of 78 yards lead 10-6 at the half the bears at home against the packers have just gone to halftime with a nine-nothing lead a safety and a block punt recovered in the end zone and a big story charles martin defensive tackle for the packers picks jim mcmahon up and slams him to the ground well after a whistle martin is ejected from the game minnesota and cincinnati the bengals with a 21-20 lead at the half couple of touchdowns in that one for stanley wilson of cincy wade wilson is a quarterback for the injured tommy kramer today for minnesota in the game you're watching cleveland tied with cincinnati at seven and four atop the afc central beginning the day leading chuck knows steelers 21-14 they haven't swept the steelers in a season goals first year 1969 here with the browns leading 14-7 it's walter abercrombie with his second rushing touchdown of the day it covers 38 yards and ties it up at 14 in the second quarter but the margin as of right now provided by this play steelers blitz kozara just flip over the middle to the wide open ozzy newsome 21 yards later cleveland has the advantage at 21-14 new england has the lead at buffalo halftime there 15-3 they sacked jim kelly five times but it's been expensive defensive end for new england steve moore fractured his left ankle and the outstanding receiver irving fryer sprained his left shoulder they're already without the injured andre tippett so it's been a rough first half for the patriots although they have the lead houston now goes to the third quarter at home leading indianapolis to 3. here are the clubs that could have had elway could have had everett maybe now they're playing for the rights to draft testaverdi it looks like indianapolis is in front of that race detroit at tampa bay just uh now tampa bay has added a touchdown in that game so early in the third quarter and lead is trimmed to 14-10 let's go back to the ballpark in cleveland we'll see you later in the day crowds feel that they have the inside track to the playoffs because the opponents they play for the remainder of the season don't have the same kind of winning percentage that the cleveland browns nearest opponent cincinnati bengals have so today cincinnati leads to minnesota 21-20 at halftime and cleveland up on pittsburgh today 21-14 at halftime and that's who the browns have to play not a great alignment other than that december match-up december 7th at cincinnati was december 14th when they go to cincinnati bengals have a much more difficult schedule they have to go to denver the 30th then they go to new england they play cleveland at home new york jets at home man and 68 wins right there and cincinnati leaves leaves minnesota 21-20 at halftime so i i tend to agree with the cleveland browns they have the easiest road to the playoffs but at times don that can be the toughest road to run and some of these teams are basically have nothing at stake so they can break tendencies and do anything they want pittsburgh of course if they lose today they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs pittsburgh's made the playoffs 11 in the last 14 years so chuck noll and his team after a miserable start rebounded to play some pretty good football in the second half of the season one and six start one of their worst since the early years but on those bad early seasons of chuck noll was built the foundation of truly great teams made the greatest run of teams ever in the 70s when they won four super bowls a lot of people think the dealers are on a down steelers are on a downswing but really just two years ago they came within one of going to the super bowl right now the steelers trailing 21-14 ready to kick it off anderson a long-range hitter hops the ball spins it way downfield it'll carry down to the three gerald mcneil are 146 pounds heads up and a marker goes in and probably going to be an illegal block called on pittsburgh isn't it always looked like terry greer number 80 had a hold of a pittsburgh defender so that'll cost him half the distance to the goal this has been a series rife with penalties because it's so hotly contested this is the biggest game on the schedule these two games for the steelers in the browns every year on the return first down they got mike johnson on the hole here's the numbers turnovers even the passing for bernie star as opposed to malone and cleveland beating the blitz has been the story of the first half long yes 71 of those 92 you remember on his first three throws of the game to 44 yard of the lewis lips set up the first touchdown kevin mack he's been running hard for cleveland another marker goes down kevin mack is cut at the 16 yard line looks like robin cole made the tackle face mask against pittsburgh and kevin mack slow and getting up they don't have many healthy running backs and they certainly need kevin mack in their every down they can get thanks bass number 56. now they get herman fat no other than curtis dickey someone named major everett robin cole was the gentleman who grabbed the face mask it's inadvertent just five yards coaster in the first half 13-20 205 yards his first touchdown pass in three weeks and an interception is 13 completions to nine different receivers kevin mack in his second year from clemson after some standout play for the now defunct los angeles express of the usfl major everett comes in from mississippi college at 215 pound back last year kevin mack having the kind of a day he had a season ago and he rushed for 100 yards and averaged five yards a carry this season the browns numbers are way down on the run averaging only 3.4 yards of rush they're 27th in the nfl entering this game running the ball the loss of ernest banner and he'll be out until the playoffs has been a big factor in the decline of the cleveland runners [Applause] slippery footing where the browns are going from here kosair first down throw to brian lennon who makes a rare drop 14 21 to go in the third quarter cleveland by seven no gloves on brian brennan you notice yeah i know you never wore them right i didn't like them still don't like them 78-yard touchdown return of interception by george martin of the giants the biggest player this day so far houston looking to send the colts down to their 12th consecutive loss of the season now coaster in the brown sets to go second down and 10. let's see if pittsburgh blitzes they're blitzing here comes hinkle they pick him up another throw the ball is crop it only out to the 25-yard line it'll bring up third and five i don't think pittsburgh considers that a blitz if one linebacker comes they had a three-man rush and i think hinkle was the fourth they didn't i don't think they blitzed there they ran total zone coverage and one thing about football is it's a game of adjustments and if they beat you with a blitz in the first half i think you're crazy to go back to it in the second half cole makes the tackle brings up about third down and five i'd say third and five it is [Applause] swirling wind that's at costar's back right now normally comes in off the lake they're moving towards the open end of cleveland stadium 80 000 are here again and hold it again this time would have been a sure first down out to the 35 and so on their opening drive of the third quarter the browns offense goes three downs and out and has to punt the ball to pittsburgh first long yardage situation for pittsburgh in the second half no blitz gary dunn 67 puts the pressure on this one should have been caught that's two drops by brennan to begin the second half rick woods is back now for the pittsburgh steelers gossip who hit his first and only punt 57 yards good pursuit downfield by cleveland woods takes it and he gets an open channel one man to beat gossip he's obliterated now coming d.d hoggard runs him down from behind at the 10-yard line and there are markers down back at the 45-yard line of pittsburgh i think it was a senseless block too absolutely a senseless block a 37-yard punt a 52-yard return and if the player does not make the block the cleveland brown player does not make the tackle it looked like larry station number 90 hit somebody in the back absolutely senseless illegal use of the hands pushing it back number 90 on the return biggest life if he doesn't touch that guy that guy does not is not a factor in return now we'll see if we can pick up number nine exactly what happens it'll happen to the left i don't think that guy makes the tackle if station doesn't hit him i mean he woods ran right by it that was clearly an illegal block say that dd hogger's got some gas in his engine he's the one who came from he comes back and now the steelers go for their first series in the third quarter from their 37-yard line gathered in motion here comes jackson hard running ernest jackson led the american conference in rushing when he's with san diego they drafted him led the national conference so among the leaders with over a thousand yards of philadelphia but he was cut last summer by buddy ryan who did some cutting among the people he cut was the starting free safety for the browns who's been outstanding ray ellis there's larry station the man on the block rick woods the returner they killed pittsburgh's field position to begin the second half and i noticed eddie johnson's coming off here he's got something wrong with his shoulder he made the tackle there he already with the flu today and he's being attended to on the sideline temperature drop winds picking up at cleveland ohio 80 000 lookouts dealers with the ball and down by seven and jackson breaks into open field he has a first down to the cleveland 45-yard line free safety chris rockins the last line of defense got him but it was a 13-yard run nice trap play right up the middle by pittsburgh there is plenty of room jackson now seven carries 33 yards watch what happens actually it's not a trap straight ahead blocking which is rather surprising jackson busted up through there for a quick 13 yards 21-14 brown's in the lead steelers driving along with a good play fake buys time and screens it to earnest jacksonville matthews is right there to get him [Applause] that didn't fool anybody abercrombie the running back of release down the field wide open they chose to cover jackson and let abercrombie go smart choice by cleveland he's saying there's nobody there come back and fake that screen abercrombie's open down the middle giants have extended their lead over denver to 13-6 in an allegra field goal to open the third quarter [Applause] cincinnati with a one-point lead on minnesota at the moment as malone stands and fires and has an open man gathered the big tight end from alabama head down bulls for another two into the 28-yard line it is a 19-yard steeler game and for dixon the man in coverage and the thing that made that go was lots of time for malone to look around he seems to have an eternity back there there's nobody really with much pressure on him he's got a clear lane to look down the field and eventually receivers are going to get open zone coverage by cleveland and gotham hanford dixon on the tackle first down pittsburgh andrew jackson and mark harper at the corners minifia with the calf injury reggie camp reading run all the way knocks down jackson for no gain it'll be second down and ten and sometimes there is a predetermined move by the defensive line watch can't go inside absolutely inside gothard 86 is the tight end supposed to keep him out of there but with that predetermined move he's right there to almost take the handoff camp is big a third round brass choice had a cal at berkeley joe cap ending his coaching career there was an upset victory over stanford yesterday [Applause] the game clock you see is in the water gets it down inside the 25-yard line it'll be short of a first down it'll be third in about four clay matthews on the tackle a lot of people here in cleveland think that clay matthews is having a subpar season but actually i think he's asked to do some different things this year he is the guy who checks the running back out of the backfield they've called him a to blitz a great deal and done you can start a lot of football franchises with clay matthews chip banks brian hinkle and mike merriweather as your linebacker you feel pretty good about your defensive football team with those four they're very much in sync and very quick right now it's the cleveland linebackers who have to make the plays as rich ehrenberg is in the game from colgate swinging out well in the catch and down inside the 10-yard line is lewis lip remember that long ball to him in the first quarter 44-yard pass reception from malone set up the first touchdown of the game that's for good for 11. felix wright was the man in coverage pittsburgh flooded the area they ran erenberg over there to the far side you see matthews goes in coverage we're in a nice little pick here looked like they were going aaron burr got in the flat he finds lips open big completion and in a 16-yard game where they spot it down to the seven yard line dealers challenging down by seven skips up the left pad of doc johnston marker comes in it'll be against cleveland they call him for dixon first and goal pittsburgh this is a tough call because john stalwart falls that corner of the field don is the slipperiest part of the stadium everything's secret number 29 first down stallworth bell and dixon in an effort to get to the football this is a tough call very i don't blame him for dixon for being upset now watch what happens it is very slippery out there you see they got double coverage rockin's deep hanford dixon up close see how they well that that's close ball nevertheless first and goal first 10 goal it hits for the steelers as dixon comes out the browns might have the two best covers at cornerback in the league and dixon and minifield is out of an injury today first-year player mark harper is in for minifield [Applause] eight play of the drive for the steelers going to tie the game if they get in and kick the extra point [Applause] abercrombie to the goal line no touchdown signal yet except from the steelers that didn't count they ran gothard 86 signaling the running back is lying on the goal line but it's not going to go in they had got their 86 in motion and ran a nose tackle crap abercrombie has two touchdowns already today for the steelers 8 40 to go a third quarter is getting very cold now in cleveland rain holding off and there's a touchdown signal the steelers are in it malone calling his own number takes it straight ahead behind the pro bowler mike webster greg wolfely also blast blocking straight ahead hitting white and knocking it back and malone goes in for the touchdown and the steelers with an extra point can tie this game at 21-0 42 points by these two football teams in two quarters plus about five minutes surprising very surprising hey there's been some game now absolutely some of the greatest games you'll ever see in this league in the browns i don't care who's favorite who's having a good year and who's not steelers go 63 yards in nine plays malone on the payoff end it's tied up at 21. game is brought to you by chrysler plymouth we're working together to be the best by the stanley works stanley helps you do things right and by midas for mufflers brakes and shocks brought the midas touch kevin mack with a bruised knee report from the bench he will not return his replacement major everett has one carry in 1986 and no catches [Applause] so now the kickoff downfield in this tie game and here comes mcneal gerald mcneil the ice cube and the steelers very cautious about covering him after that 100 yards kickoff he ran back not a good sign icing down they've already had their share of injuries with ernest byner on the injured reserve list now kevin mack with that the injury probably scares everybody in cleveland to death and notice as opposed to major ever looks like they have hermann pontino in the ball game excellent receiver out of the backfield no it is major ever 14 completions and 23 throws 209 yards only five in the second half one touchdown one interception he's looking swing pass goes out to harry hold a tight end and hold us out across to the 27-yard line gain of about four on the play mike merriweather was in the stop for the steelers cleveland lucky to gain any yardage merriweather was right out there with harry holt holt does a great job to pick up three four yards gary down the nose tackle for the steelers keith gary and edmund nelson are the pass rushers now merriweather little cole and hinkle back the line [Music] [Applause] to langhorne and he's down to the 49-yard line but there's a marker down as keith gary got a big rush on coaster who was hit hard again and what appears to be an ailing right hip cody rison i believe on the hold it's going to come back that was a 23-yard completion number 63. it was [Applause] kind of looks like bernie cos are struggling a little bit he gets hit just slightly in the back here and that's two keith gary in there rising on the hole and you can see that's where bernie got hit in the first half that's right at the spot where you fall a hip pointer very painful so the big play for the browns comes back and now they go from their 16 yard line again oh sidearm throw to langhorne it's good trip first down well when pittsburgh blitzes they're not stopping them and now in zone they're not even coming close to covering them now let's go to nfl 86 here's the mad rashad am i [Applause] all right don in houston ray wallace the rookie from purdue takes this perfectly set up screen pass 35 yards for the score houston leads 24-3 in the third quarter by the way ray wallace's hometown is indianapolis [Music] thank you ahmad and right now we see kevin mack who was troubled by the knee bruise right back in the lineup for the cleveland browns a quick healer takes the ball rounds have it on the first down play they ended up with a two-yard gain and sometimes athletes professional athletes are the worst patients to have kevin mack realizing the importance of this football game does not want to go out he looked very very legged there you see the handoff and the ball just pops loose after the hit by edmond nelson and again cody ryzen with the recovery his second fumble recovery of the afternoon second down and almost nine as mack again gets some tough yards and not very many maybe one or two straight ahead david little inside becker was on the staff along with mike merriweather 57. max lost a little of his gusto though he doesn't have that first step he had before he banged up the knee it can do that to you you don't know how extensively it might be damaged i said marty's saying look are you all right tell me the truth are you all right if not get out of there we'll get somebody else in the game steeler defense steps up deep in the secondary for zone coverage on a third down eight play for cosa on the browns now they bring nine men up here's an all-out flip kosal gets it away reggie langhorne comes down with the ball and again kosava beats it all out blitz with a 21-yard gain on third and eighth they all writes there's no way cleveland can pick up all those pittsburgh defenders blitzing the quarterback but they got just enough of them gosar puts the ball up and langhorne runs up underneath it you can see woods 22 donnie shell 31 right up at the line of scrimmage 28 front now does a great job he picks up one he did it great now watch the catch whoa that is a game-breaking catch right there probably the toughest player of this game the browns did it perfectly against an all-out blitz now they keep the drive alive end up goes to curtis dickey dealers get him after a gain of about three down to the 38 yard line cincinnati still holding to the one point lead over the minnesota vikings to bengals the other co-leader with the browns starting today in the afc central buffalo with a second field goal from scott norwood getting back in the game with foxboro against the patriots who've won six straight houston blowing away indianapolis the colts have run up the white flag 17 for 26 for 253 yards and a touchdown he's been intercepted at once [Applause] again quick patterns throwing the ball out to the nearest eye this time to langhorne who is down to the 35-yard line of pittsburgh john swain covering don you got to give a lot of credit to lindy and fonte he has really orchestrated an offensive game plan here to cover any possible thing that the pittsburgh defense would show and has shown today cleveland has not been mystified has not been stopped by anything that pittsburgh has done they've read the blitzes bernie's read the coverages watch to watch the trap right up the middle right here brian brennan in the slot at the top of your screen gosar takes a look he fires he goes to brian bennett it's a first down for cleveland coasters hurt they banged him again same spot rick woods and mike merriweather he's a long lanky kid he doesn't have a lot of meter on his hip but he's a tough kid he waits for brennan and when he's dragged down he kind of kind of lands on his hip that's really bothering him you can see that i have a hit point that's got to be a hit pointer but he stays in there there is a bruise on the bone the ilium at the top of the hip on the crest of the alien there's very little blood circulation in that area it takes a long time to heal normally and it's very very painful trumpy's had about 15 of them no fun bangs three balls are might have been coming forward there's no signal of that though fishes might give it now to the steelers wait a minute look at this again i think coast tarzan was coming forward i thought that ball was thrown and bounced off by pittsburgh steelers helmet or basement donnie shell comes up with the with the football let's see again it looks like he's looking down the field to throw as the arguing continues pittsburgh does a great job on the blitz here is his arm going forward absolutely no way that's a fumble tony vitteri from the nsl office is reviewing with pete abattani that's the crew upstairs and they'll look at this long and carefully and with reason with 208 to play in the third quarter it's pittsburgh 21 in cleveland 21. post nolan reflection people in the municipal stadium yelling replay watch again is his arm going forward most definitely yes no doubt about it and the officials see it that way too because the now is it now we see offensive and defensive players out there and that's it's going to go as a fumble wait a minute dealers are gonna get the ball they're gonna look to put it in play in a hurry and wisely hanford dixon has his helmet off and is disrupting play he doesn't want to get a play-off that would make it official now they're talking again there's no way in a world that can be a fumble that's exactly what the replay is for you're looking for indisputable evidence visual evidence and there was no doubt in anybody's mind even in pittsburgh that that ball was going forward his arm and he hits 96 right in the head with it anthony hinton that's a pass that's an incomplete right hand was directly forward of his body when he was hit now we see the official coming to the sideline they've got it now cleveland's got the ball coming out rounds off is coming back out now here's chuck know who felt the officials cost the steelers meeting this season with cleveland when chuck knows sees that replay he's got no argument he has no argument whatsoever here's another great look arm going forward from behind the quarterback most definitely absolutely a correct call by the upstairs officials the terry and abitady and so the browns drive stays alive and instead of a fumble and a pittsburgh recovery cleveland has the ball second down and can the 10th player coming up it is a tie game in the cold of cleveland stadium what a football game 208 to play in the third quarter the browns favored and looking to hold at least a share of first in the afc central the proud steelers who would be mathematically eliminated if they lose today [Applause] swing in a catch kevin mack hangs his way down to the 18-yard line of pittsburgh donnie shell on the tackle and done that's a gutty performance by kevin mack bruce knee at all i think he realizes that they're in a dog fight here with pittsburgh and the cleveland browns need every available player when mack releases through the line of scrimmage basically no one there at all to cover him and clayton and shell stopping but it's a nine-yard pickup give it give it to pazzulli [Applause] sold out for a week 80 000 are here and they're getting everything they paid for as the browns and the steelers go toe-to-toe slugging out straight ahead kevin mack dives on down to the 15-yard line of the steelers first down cleveland great block pizzuli he really crunches a pittsburgh steeler 72 leads up through there he hits dirk winston 55 kevin mack right behind him for the first down pickup mack was 75 yards now trump on 14 carries he's playing with a knee bruise bernie cosara gamer in there with a painful hip injury see this the 12th play of this drive into the end zone webster slaughter diving markers down it'll be first and goal for cleveland harvey clayton single coverage [Applause] if the defender has his head back looking for the football the flag will not be thrown past interference [Music] the fans in the open end of cleveland stadium that end zone there's something that's the dogs back there they bark [Applause] is there contact they fight well i'll tell you clayton's got his head turned around and looking back at the quarterback they come when called nevertheless though and kenneth for slaughter ends up being an 11-yard penalty first and goal cleveland defense there they are the dogs they pushed on bones they were dark they're stuffing it the end zone fans at cleveland stadium pitch back goes to curtis dickie he of the world class speed strides in without going down and the browns die and cleveland takes a 27-21 lead kevin mack with a big block to break him through curtis dicky with his fourth touchdown of the season listen to cleveland stadium in celebration saluting the browns [Applause] there's the dog pound right there that there's a dog fan they're barking bars swings his right leg neatly through and puts it up against his old teammates for another cleveland point and now after a 76-yard drive and 12 plays took seven and a half minutes here is the go ahead for the cleveland browns a pitch back to curtis dickie a lead block by 34 kevin mack he took out swain and dickey goes in standing up and it's at 28 the 21 game browns now the steelers ready to get it back [Applause] deep kick bars ate a big breakfast he knocks it down and here comes sanchez averaging over 30 yards of return today and he's got another big one for pittsburgh [Applause] he's out to the 30-yard line scott nicholas knocked him down 51 seconds to go in the third quarter we'll be back after this thanksgiving day the nfl place here when the seahawks battle the cowboys before your team takes the field our team hits the air nfl86 reminder there's a special edition of nfl 86 coming up thursday thanksgiving day here on nbc sports at 3 30 eastern time frank de ford will talk with mark bonakani that young linebacker from the citadel who went down with a crippling injury a year ago but is fighting his way back visit with roger staubach and much more prior to seattle at dallas coasts are on the sideline now after leading the browns to the go-ahead score and walter abercrombie's having a big day runs the ball for pittsburgh chip banks finally makes the tackle the steelers have run an awful lot to that right side they're running at reggie camp and that chip banks the linebacker sometimes this guy is shocking what he can do it looked like that time they got the corner sunk down double team block gothard and louis lips still out there to assist on the tackle 19 seconds to go in the third quarter 28-21 cleveland dealers have been rallying back all afternoon malone gets time takes a look got a man a beautifully executed pass play to the veteran john stalworth up to the 48-yard line for a 14-yard steeler game in front of hanford dixon too that cushion once again too much between defensive back and receiver good play action fake it holds to linebackers at the line of scrimmage and him alone guns it out there dixon almost there to make the knock away but a completion for stalwart a pretty good game today finally back in the offense contributing to what stahl likes to do one play to go in the third quarter it's been something a full quarter to go first and ten steelers jackson fighting his way he stopped after a two-yard game he gets ahead for seven in the third quarter ends with the browns in the lead 28-21 we'll be right back after these messages from your local station [Music] down crickey with bob trumpy back at cleveland stadium this one of the most heated rivalries in the nfl and this has been one of the best between the browns and the steelers an unusually well played game where they've been six different lead changes each team has been able to answer with a drive now pittsburgh has got to come back with an answering drive both have been able to use an awful lot of their offense different formations pittsburgh has stayed away from the blitz defensively kind of shut down cleveland a little bit but now it's up to malone again to get him down the field [Applause] mark malone the veteran from arizona state he waited five years on the bench behind bradshaw now abercrombie with that breakaway move he takes it inside the 40 and down to the 37-yard line deborah crowley really coming on he had a good season a year ago 857 yards rushing and he's on target to break that 10 minutes more possession time by the browns it doesn't seem that way yards passing certainly rounds seven points separate the two teams abercrombie with 79 yards and 12 carries and again the steelers like to run at reggie camp and chip banks gothard a good block that time on banks and abercrombie catches the corner knight is now setting in in northern ohio gotten colder wind kicking up off the lake malone overhand throw and starwood takes it in pays as hanford dixon rips him at the 29 dangerous throw dixon very near to an interception on that donnatay i think pittsburgh setting up the stop and go the hitch and go the cushion is still there you can see dixon a good five or six yards off when that ball was thrown he did a great job in recovering but stallworth is now ready for the hitch and go a pump on the shortland and in the end zone single coverage again far side malone sprained his thumb in the first hip cleveland game and missed the next two games and brister was in jackson running hard takes it down to the 18-yard line he's the powerhouse at five nine two hundred and five pounds moroccans the free safety got him for cleveland but it's 11 yards downfield it's the first down for the steelers that was a sprint draw i'm telling you both of these teams have pulled out all of their offenses today they faked or abercrombie goes in motion and malone rolls a little bit spread out the defense and jackson just popped right through there star wars and lips are on the left flank webster down over the ball of center ready to snap it back to the lower time again receiver again abercrombie but he can't elude ray ellis the strong safety of cleveland and the tackle is made of the 17-yard line excellent tackle too by ray ellis didn't buy that first fake stewardess ground right there cincinnati now lead to four points over the vikings in a tough one now in the fourth quarter at riverfront stadium with engel's the other co-leader in the afc central with cleveland the steelers after a 1-6 start looking to win their fourth game in the last five they have to win to stay mathematically alive in the playoff chase kosar is warming up on the nearest headline troubled by a hip bruise staying loose rather than sitting down letting it tighten up second and eight incomplete to lewis lips at the 10-yard line harper had the coverage [Applause] grouse came with a blitz harper did a great job there rips a very very nifty receiver fake the end and then stopped right didn't his tracks let's see if we can pick it up this is nice coverage by harper should come right back into the picture both looking back at the football incidental contact malone now 12 of 20 150 yards and an interception ninth play of the drive coming out and here come the steelers down 28-21 fourth quarter 12 44 to play in it [Applause] listen to this crowd looks like flints here comes banks a roar from 80 000. now throwing a catch to lewis lips and a penalty marker down would have been a foul call against the brown said he not cut it but the play will go as lewis lips is down to the five-yard line beat harper they'll take the play not the penalty that was a nice little slant pass run by louis lips malone standing right there you can see hanford dixon harper is trying to lobby a little bit past interference cleveland declined that's first and goal pittsburgh oh they have answered each team has answered let's see if we can pick it up when lips breaks to the inside you allow contact in the first five yards and as the ball is thrown oh i don't know where the interference is they're both looking back for the football so you do allow contact but the catch is made anyway so now the steelers align first down and goal five yard line of cleveland power formation [Applause] jackson he's down to the one it'll be second and goal here's a marker and after the play might be a personal foul call against cleveland might be also a face mask it is a face mask and i guarantee you when you're down there just trying to make the tackle you'll grab anything that gets in your hands 56 if pittsburgh scores here 56 points scored between these two teams going into the fourth quarter shocking over and undertook a beating smash number 20 defense telling you for pittsburgh to answer these drives by cleveland with scoring drives this one started at their own 31 a spectacular performance by pittsburgh today regardless of record malone i don't know if he got there now another marker comes in he was going to keep getting three plays here first down until he get in now we have a signal for a touchdown linesman came in late it is a touchdown and again the steelers are an extra point away from tying the game colon scores at his second of the day on a quarterback dive baseball both of these football teams have been playing pretty good defense over the last several weeks very good defense that's the thrust really the steelers back they gave up so many points early destroyed the 30 to nothing in seattle the steelers in the last four games that scored their opponents 90 to 38 giving up 28 points today unbelievable anderson rips up another point an 11-play drive and it's tied at 28. today's game is brought to you by the heartbeat of america today chevrolet by budweiser beachwood age for that clean crisp taste this bud's for you and by gnac the financial services people from general motors this is don quickie with bob trump at cleveland stadium on a cold november day mark malone of the steelers has just buffed into the snake for a second touchdown and again we're tied had seven lead changes counting the ties when one has come from behind and now the return has uh steelers have done a very good job containing the dangerous gerald mcneil the man who beat him for look at this guy looks like he's out there for the past fun kick greg carr came down to get him and we'll be back after this the miami hurricanes currently rated number one in the country and headed for a showdown for the national championship on nbc sports in the january second fiesta bowl and how many million dollars were the quarterbacks to figure that is trump on one team that's about 20 with earl morrill the guy in the short says their coach jim kelly bernie kosair the browns quarterback and vinnie testaverdi who's going to go number one in the next draft game tied 28 all 11 55 to play kosar with a sidearm strike for a first down out to the 40-yard line as herman fontenot comes out of the backfield fountain oh played at lsu came to cleveland as a free agent his brother's one of the coaches with lsu marty schottenheimer's brother he recommended him it's been well worthwhile that's good for a 16-yard game i think with 29 receptions this year i think that's the 10th receiver now that's caught a pass from bernie kosar this afternoon spread it all over the place webster slaughter near side of the lower portion of your screen look past the brennan but too much out of the wide open brian brennan running behind the linebackers and underneath the safeties in that zone steeler coverage that's one of the few times we've seen bernie out throw the receiver very seldom he put enough air underneath that ball brennan almost makes the catch they got the right call they got the right defense you can see 57 merriweather trying to run with granite just slightly overthrown langhorne goes wide as you see the passing numbers jose with 290 for cleveland last time he played here he had 401 against miami loop throw and slaughter comes down with the ball and he's not done webster slaughter flies on down to the 27-yard line the rookie from san diego state clayton and shell finally got him but they did it 33 yards in the line of scrimmage on the main end coverage was brian hinkle it'll come to the left-hand side of the screen watch down at the bottom you can see that slaughter right over the outstretched arms of brian hinkle every time the steelers have come with linebacker coverage on these guys inside cleveland's been able to beat him the game of can you tap this each team driving down the field then the other team responding with a drive of their own it's tied right now 28 all with the cleveland browns driving in the fourth quarter [Applause] second down and ten coming up like keith willis might have had a piece of the ball or anthony hinton denver gets a third rich carlos field goal to come back within four of the giants in the fourth quarter chicago with mcmahon back still not getting much offense leading the packers vikings still trail the bengals at cincinnati by four bills get yet another field goal from scott norwood to come within six of the new england patriots tampa bay is about out of business also ball's going to be tough to handle it's really getting cold in cleveland now but the rains held off all out flips coaster throws is it short no it is not loose ball and complete at the 23-yard line coaster now 22 of 35 322 yards a touchdown and an interception and has not been sacked the steelers came with the blitz that time merriweather from one side you see 56 call from the other side [Applause] also hitting in his face almost a great catch raul allegray just kicked another field goal for the giants he's been their offense the last couple of weeks denver's going to lose twice in giant stadium in the same season once to the jets and once to the giants good chance they'll have to play the jets there in a playoff game too third and 10 for kosar and cleveland and bernie's down the run firing on the run into the end zone it's not near to a completion and it looked like he had room to run but he elected not to fourth down arises and now matt barr who must be doing weightlifting or something in the offseason because he's kicking his kickoffs a lot farther this year he's out to try a long field goal this ball is intended for herman fontenot bernie doesn't like to run the football at all he's much doing it reminder too as matt barr comes on for this 45-yard field goal he has that bad toe it hasn't really affected him so far today with his kickoffs but gotta hurt when that ball hits be a 45-yarder he missed in the 39. it's enough but it's wide it hooks left and so the brown sustain drive again without points and the steelers in this tie game take over the ball first and ten donnie kicker is much like a golfer leg is the club you get it in a groove and when you want to hit it a little extra hard sometimes you hook it that's exactly what matt barr did his second miss today hook both of them so the steelers take over and go to the round here comes abercrombie sliding quick change of course and everground he's out to the 34-yard line tough yards and he got about six for the rest of this football game you play on guts as a player both of these teams have really given their absolute all and for the fourth quarter it's a matter of conditioning here now abercrombie very good day rushing for the steelers this is why coaches run players in sprints after practice for the final nine minutes of a football game getting 9 25 and running fourth quarter 28-28 the steelers came in as a touchdown underdog they have to win to stay alive in the playoff chase jackson jackson might have gotten it back ernest jackson struck with a driving tackle pittsburgh still has it well you can see their dragon out there don watch what happens clay matthew seven strips up that's the hip though by and for dixon dixon and the ball bounces pittsburgh's way right to ernest jackson [Music] inside nine minutes to play see how the scoring went cleveland had a big second quarter is cuts down each quarter bottom line even 28-28 the 80 000 start up again making it difficult for malone to get his count heard ehrenberg runs interesting quality audible at the line of scrimmage strange car yeah they just run a trap up the middle comes up short third and sixth they go to the run and ehrenberg on his first carry gets nothing at all they've had so much success success with the quick hits the stalwart and lips trap there there's the ice cube gerald mcneil getting those gloves ready if he's ready to catch a porcupine loosen on those thick gloves this would be tough to handle as a porcupine he's going to let it roll down to the 28-yard line a 38-yard punt and the browns go on offense first in 10 when we come back to cleveland special guest next sunday on nbc sports nfl 86 vinnie testaverde the quarterback and i've done favor to win the 1986 heisman trophy will be in the studio as the guest with bob costas rashad frank de ford and paul mcguire and next sunday some more interesting matchups the steelers head into chicago to take down the world champion bears browns will be at home to play the houston oilers to new orleans a tough club san diego at indianapolis then the four o'clock and will be at trump the bengals and the broncos at mile high dangle filled into a slight lead over the vikings in the fourth quarter at cincinnati the browns the other co-leader along with cincinnati in the afc central high with 7 51 as you see to play 28-28 here at cleveland [Applause] blitz by cole they pick it up look at the catch out to the 41-yard line by herman fontenot tiger from lsu a diving catch for 13 yards in a cleveland first down pittsburgh has not blitzed in the second half they have not glitched in the second half and cleveland is still beating the zone kozar really put something on that 53 hinkle 33 clayton right between them this is what bernie does he wins but he's 59 yards in the pittsburgh end zone pitch back mack big league tackling by clayton the right side corner rising check on the big runner and the thing that the cleveland browns players are commenting about bernie kosar is in these situations 706 to go high score he is so darn cool nothing bothers him just follow me guys i'll get you to the end zone well that is his task right now final of the first final of the day is in detroit with a big easy win over tampa bay tremendous and intense crowd reaction here at cleveland stadium eighty thousand look out it's been sold out for weeks as coaster on second and nine hurries is throwing gets it off to webster slaughter hit very hard as he gets to the nine yard line two yards short of a cleveland for the pittsburgh first down cleveland first down eric williams demanding coverage and he's still on the ground looked like the heel of webster slaughter came up from the face of eric williams hey those steelers did some head hunting too a slaughter when he was going down i think he got kicked watch the steelers come in you can see 21 at the bottom of the screen he's expecting slutter to go all the way over ernie does a great job of getting that one off and then the tackle ankle makes a play on the ball and on slaughter but it's eric williams the free safety for the steelers who's down he may have also made a play on williams i don't think he got kicked i think he got four armed right in the head by his own teammate this telecast is presented by authority the national football league it's intended for the private use of her audience and he rebroadcast brother used to this telecast without the express written consent of the cleveland browns and the national football league is prohibited williams goes off under his own power he must leave for at least one play pazzulli comes in lead blocker once again cleveland has been very good on their third down conversions ryan brennan leads the browns in receiving five for eighty-seven slaughters cut four for 76. [Applause] langhorne has four for 54 as they go into power formation third and one matt full gainer over the top first down cleveland one thing cleveland has been able to do today is convert those third downs missouli 72 again on the lead one of the biggest centers you'll find in the nfl excellent job up front along with larry williams this is a giant cleveland offensive line and there's [Music] pazulu [Applause] and it's first down now for cleveland high game 28-28 550 to play excellent defensive play by john swain stepped in and slapped it down [Music] ball was intended for ozzie newsome tight end out in the flat that's what you need now you need your good players to make big plays for you both offensively and defensively and the coordinators try to put those great players in the best position to make those plays offensively and defensively right now tony dungy the defensive coordinator going mind to mind with lindy and fonnie the offensive coordinator the chess game as in the trenches there are popping second and ten comes up now for cosa [Applause] [Music] [Applause] down to the 40-yard line of the steelers and it looked like three guys had a chance to stop kevin mack and he kept right on going steelers down edmond nelson first misses him you see 64 kind of fall on the ground he had no chance but watch once again rick woods is down he's up there's 56 cole woods misses him finally i get him down but it's an eight-yard pickup rick woods a valuable all-purpose player for the steelers from boise state drops off as the ball is now down to the 40-yard line of the steelers with third down and two coming up you talk trump about that excellent conversion ratio of coast browns on third down eight of eleven seven of ten this will be their 11th time there they are eight of 11 if they make this one go right now though they're going back into a huddle or something a protester referee cat haggerty about john swain goes to the pittsburgh sideline with equipment problems and you can't do that stay in the game now rick woods comes back in and that's illegal there we go now swain comes back and his helmet is fixed game clock ticking on chuck nolan the steelers high game 28-28 brown's driving though in the fourth showing quarter here don and they go run and they got it they do have it down to the 37-yard line running hard for the browns was curtis dickey eight of 11 third downs converted to first downs brown's looking now trump to run a lot of clock off if they can and get in sure shot field goal range at least although you can look for cosa to go for the big one before long two that bar has missed two fields today goes to kevin mack and again wisely with both arms on the ball he takes the hits rick woods and coming up was gary dunn first though he made a driving shoulder tackle trying to free the ball it's been remarkably free of turnovers interception for each team as we've pointed out early in the game the last 11 meetings in between these two clubs the team with the most turnovers has lost the game neither even in turnovers even on the scoreboard 28 all brown stands up in shearing [Applause] the steeler defense made bernie so kosar hick up there a minute he called the audible and then pittsburgh backed onto the audible he's talking to harry holt that's one thing you got to like about bernie kosar right now with this new offense with lindy and bonnie he understands what the other 10 men on the field are doing he is a real maestro out there he'll direct him to the proper spot and you don't want to blow it here until you take the time out 3 23 to play in the fourth quarter we might be playing more than four quarters in this one i'd like to see that it's been super ninth play of this drive coming up rounds using up four and a half minutes on this drive to what might be a winning field goal attempt the steelers have responded time after time they jumped out to the lead in the first quarter opening drive they went right down the field scored and i'm never cropping a yard out and it was seven nothing then the brown scored 21 points in the second quarter was 21-14 at halftime matt barr a man thinking about he'd like to talk about the most important kick he said it's not your last one it's the next one it could be today bars longest ever 52 yards this year gary anderson's longest kick ever this year 45 yards bengals still holding to that four point lead over minnesota buffalo it would be a major upset if they hold on to beat the new england patriots bills have lost 21 in a row on the road second down and six for the cleveland browns in this tie game kosar against the blip swings it out overthrows kevin mack merriweather was in pursuit and i was flat on his back at midfield when the play ended keith willis all over his face that's one powerful guy keith willis say one thing though after as much as kosar was hit last week against the raiders oh no he's not timid at all he stands right in there also david little in there also caused some pressure that time the blitz worked they finally got to him lots of throws for bernie cos are number 41 of the day coming up right now third down and a long six dealers bring the blitzers up they're trying to get him to change the play don here they come quick throw in a completion it might go the distance webster's slaughter is down to the 12-yard line as kosar again beats the blitz what a football play and what a football player one yards on the catch that's twice there is no way that gosar should get the play off and twice cleveland has handled it perfectly and slaughter was sensational webster slaughter a number two draft choice he was the first player that the browns had in the draft issue they had no number one bernie almost fell down slaughter just runs a little slant everybody on the offense has got to recognize that the fletch is coming everyone does and even stumbling he makes the completion for a 23-yard pickup 2 26 to play game tied 28-28 brown's driving on their home field second back dicky as these cleveland backs have been now cancelled keep both arms on the ball the tough steelers hunting footballs all afternoon defense calls to timeout nine more seconds they wouldn't have to use one well but they can use that warning as an extra timeout so they're very smart your defense calls you timeouts because the defense can't stop the clock the offense can't stop the clock in complete passes ball's thrown out of bounds what a catch boy the steelers are going to look back at this game film and wonder if they're ever going to blitz again will they've eaten a lot more people up with him than they've lost to well kosar and cleveland right next to marty schottenheimer to brown hat with the headset on is lindy and fonte he's the offensive coordinator has done an excellent job you can see him right there talking to marty talking to the coaches upstairs there he is right there and it takes a lot of teaching to make your team comfortable facing a nine-man blitz and even though they've looked a little bit rushed today cleveland has handled that blitz on all but one occasion once again look at them they're all over the place they're both safeties up in everybody's block they let the outside go and slaughter runs the five-yard slant beats harvey clayton in the coverage and it's a 23-yard pickup now coaster now 25 of 41 366 yards cleveland was one of the nfl's biggest offensive lines averaging over 280 pounds a man size against the blitz is of little consequence it's recognition and they have recognized while the training went into this effort 12th play of the drive now for the browns looking to break a 28-28 tie in the fourth quarter kosar swing pass herman fontenot breaks the tackle and scott knows down to the seven yard line but well short of a first down we're now down to the two-minute warning ryan hinkle and edmund nelson were on the stop we'll be back to cleveland stadium after this a tense afternoon for art model the owner of the cleveland browns in what has been a tremendous football game the cleveland browns and the pittsburgh steelers tied 28 to 28 don quickie with bob trumpy as we're down now to two minutes to play the browns driving and if they do score points can the steelers respond they have all day both of these teams superbly prepared for their opponents i mean pittsburgh has done the job offensively defensively they've been picked apart by bernie kosar every time they've blitzed bernie's come up with a big play but this is one of the best games i've seen executed in 1986 both teams have played very very well both coaches got to be extremely pleased with the way their players have performed too that's what it's all about the browns and the steelers on a sunday afternoon playing it out for 60 full minutes with everything they've got and the last two minutes could be a long one a long period of time on the regular clock because there's going to be a lot of execution and strategy used down the final stretch of this game once again don pitch back goes to kevin matt and the steelers are there to knock him down for a loss and mack who is troubled by the brews right knee appears to have re-injured it it almost illustrates this game down in the mud and dirt and pain this game has been played it looks like somebody took a shot right at his leg as he was going out of bounds i'm not saying anything was illegal that's exactly the way you try to get him out on the ground hinton has the outside control and loses it and then it looks like donnie shaw that's donnie elder bends his right knee a little bit and i believe that was the one that was iced earlier in the game [Music] but wasn't it these steelers they kind of hit elder right there looks like he might have hyper extended it slightly so that brings up fourth down and with 155 to play matt barr who's not succeeded yet today he's missed some 39 and 45 yards on previous field goal attempts ready to try a 25 yarder john if you notice where gossip the holder is there is absolutely no spot on the field worse than the spot where he's going to place it he's concentrating look at that little rock down the way and it's right there so matt barr with what might be a gamer puts it up and good from 25 yards but the steelers are going to have a lot more to say before this is over with 150 to play and pittsburgh gets the ball next it's been something in the cold at cleveland ohio the steelers in the browns renewing their rivalry as heated as any in the nfl and the browns looking to sweep the steelers for the first time two games won in a single season since 1969 but the steelers still have time left in down by three kickoff will carry out about so far who just hit the field goal that put cleveland ahead 20 31 to 28 will now have to kick it over from his 30. watch when the placement is made barr's foot the plant foot and just terrible terrible position slips he's still able to get it through at this point the cleveland browns have won seven games five of the seven wins by three points if they keep pittsburgh out of the end zone it'll be six of eight denver on a touchdown run by sammy weiner has come back to tie the giants with 155 to play and the green bay packers have taken a 10-9 lead over the bears at chicago meanwhile cincinnati continues to lead by four buffalo took a lead over new england now the patriots have come back to take a three-point advantage early scores in the four o'clock games washington up on the dallas cowboys nothing else happening on the west coast that that kick that went out of bounds by matt barr a lot of teams now in the nfl try very hard to divide the team into three sections on kickoffs and they try to hem the returner to one side of the field sometimes the kicker's going to miss and kick it out of bounds but now sanchez who has had some big returns so far today has a great opportunity this field is now surrounded playing perimeter with security people just in case any jubilant browns fans want to make it out there 150 to go and the steelers get it back trailing 31-28 they led seven nothing they trailed 21 to 14 at halftime came back to tied up later at 28 all now taking it on the run of sanchez open gap and loopy sanchez a daring man takes it out to the 39-yard line matt barr again makes the tackle on sanchez and bar is down and it's his right leg you sanchez today has done one thing on these kickoff returns this again trump he has caught him going full speed great timing catching that ball you see barr top of the screen number nine the emergency tackler oh he kicked him he kicked him and that popped his knee out thank god that happened after that kick that field goal kick and not before when sanchez cuts back that's when barr realizes he's over committed looks like he hyper extended his knee here's the final score in now from cincinnati the bengals hold on to beat the vikings 24-20 so cincinnati goes to eight and four on the nfc central heading into denver next week vikings about out of business in the nfc central gary hold a tight end as the browns emergency kicker we know big hurry can kick it hard but we don't know how accurately matt barr goes down making the tackle on the kickoff of lupe sanchez our producer today for nbc sports david neal our director rosenberg the executive producer of nbc sports is michael weissman the coordinating producer foot four footballers ted nathanson has a very difficult development for the browns now heal us better with matt barr coming off the field carried off in pain his right leg injured as he made the tackle on the steeler return man lupe sanchez that looks serious when you got to carry him off very serious [Music] i'm sure marty shotheimer hopes that he doesn't need a field goal kicker yet today look at these numbers [Music] crowd starts up now 1 48 to play in the game steelers with the ball first and 10 down by three swing to abercrombie they rule them inbounds and the clock keeps ticking as the steelers quickly quickly go into alignment without a huddle that hurts steelers chances that's gonna cost him a lot of time steelers at the lab only three touchdowns in their previous 17 quarters before today's game that's over four games both teams scoring big here's a throw in a catch lewis lips dances out of bounds nicely as he's inside the 45-yard line harper the man in coverage excellent pass protection by pittsburgh a 13-yard gain what cleveland is doing now is dropping eight guys back in coverage now watch how much time that lips has a chance to get open stallworth inside falls down lips comes back for the football malone waits for him nice completion first down pittsburgh dealers can enter this game right 28th on the nf last in offense but they've driven with the ball today running and passing and now looking to get at least in the field goal range which could send this game to overtime open man normally a definite catch he drops the ball carryings off his shoulder pads [Applause] and so this is the play they wanted against the defense they wanted linebacker coverage clay matthews malone puts it on the numbers and the ball eats aronberg up catch it with your hands get rid of the gloves by the way in case you're interested your pittsburgh fans gary anderson's longest field goal ever 55 yards versus denver two years ago mark miller was 28 years old yesterday looking for a birthday present but he didn't get one from teammate aaron berg who's played such great football for the steelers but not in that play here's a throw and look at aaron berg this time he catches the ball inside the 35-yard line so ehrenberg misses the easy one and then makes a brilliant diving catch to bring up third two and the steelers want a timeout with 106 to play aaron berger tones this is a much tougher catch he misses the easy one he catches the tough one again it's clay matthews in coverage malone puts that ball right on the money thrown low to avoid any interception nuremberg makes the pickup it's third down in about two you gotta get the first down pittsburgh still has a timeout left who would have thought that rich airenberg this year's trump would have more touchdown catches than stalwarts and lips combined for the steelers aaron burke comes into the game with three touchdown receptions four overall as you look at gary anderson the field goal kicker for the steelers lips and star wars have just one blitz has that anderson the nfl's most accurate field goal kicker ever you got to get it closer than this though from where the ball is positioned right now the 34-yard line his best ever though is 55 yards born in the orange free state in south africa he played at syracuse eagles brought him over to five as the place kicker and syracuse song gave him a football scholarship i gotta go for the first down here don watch abercrombie on the threat third and two nope erlenberg makes a first down catch so you know what the steelers think of ehrenberg after he drops one that's right where they go when the game is on the line and aaron berg responds with two diving catches he's got a hand signal to his offense this is a set play whatever it is 45 seconds left draw play running with the ball is walter everett grabbing he would have gone a long way had he not been tripped up by dave pazzulli once again from the line of scrimmage noah wants him to get that offense going down to 24 seconds lead by three malone wisely keeping the ball low where the cleveland defenders can't make a play on it it's too low though for jon stalwart this is something this is something that every team practices once a week they usually spend almost a day on the two-minute offense pittsburgh has done an excellent job started at their own 40 gotten the ball down the field dixon here in single coverage great job of just getting in john stalwart's way now third down and eight 18 seconds left they got a timeout left pittsburgh does remember art rooney of the steelers one saying the team that's supposed to win this game often does not then rice would upset this series the underdog steelers now down by three with 18 seconds to play but they are in long field goal range third down coming up again to the draw and abercrombie takes it down to the 23-yard line and they'll run it down now looking to tie the game and send it to overtime they stop the clock with 11 seconds left i'm kind of surprised they stopped the clock with 11 seconds left is fourth down in three or four well they want to be sure if there's a snap in well it's fourth down though they don't have another chance that there's always a chance of a penalty or something would give them another play well it can't end on a penalty correct any penalty on the defense would give pittsburgh a first down one year the browns were rolling and the steelers came in here as a hopeless underdog john henry johnson of the steelers ripped it on one bleak saturday night for cleveland for over 200 yards rushing now anderson ready to try a 41-yard field goal and listen to this crowd the dog's in the end zone the pound is really active now remember he is the nfl's all-time leading field goal kicker on the way and right there gary anderson drills it with seven seconds to play and we're going to go to overtime at cleveland ohio barring a unbelievable return by mcneil of the browns who probably won't even get the ball he did have a big kickoff return against pittsburgh in pittsburgh chuck nola has got to be pleased the way his football team has fought back after a miserable start good yeah oh this is one i'd like to see go to about tuesday we welcome those of you who have just joined us don cricky with bob trumpy cleveland stadium sold out 80 000 are here the temperature has been dropping there was a lot of rain before the game intermittent rain during it it is a wet feel but the game has been excellently played by the arch rivals from the afc central division gary anderson of the pittsburgh steelers just rocketed through a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds to play to tie the game at 31 all the steelers would be mathematically eliminated if they lose this game and they fought back time and again to tie the browns and unless cleveland does something extraordinary on this kick return we're going to go to overtime gerald mcneil is back he returned to kick off a hundred yards against pittsburgh in the first meeting but he's not going to get it scott nicholas picked it up runs out of bounds with four seconds to play so costar and the cleveland offense will have a chance to let her fly here's the field goal that tied it up the nfl's most accurate field goal kicker gary anderson from 41 yards he's now 9-11 on the season and chuck knowles reaction it's good he likes it this has been a drive-answering drive answering drive football game now tied 31-31 cleveland's yet to play an overtime game in 86. pittsburgh is 1-0 in overtime in 86. steelers playing very well in a wet field as are the browns but this is the only grass game the steelers play on all season including the pre-season bernie kosa their young quarterback has put the ball up 42 times has completed 26 for 369 yards and a touchdown he's been intercepted once they're going for the overtime i tell you a very big factor now trump is that flip of the coin the biggest factor in overtime team that wins the cross so often wins the game with the first possession the other thing too is that pittsburgh has returned kickoff so well today lupe sanchez is averaging close to 40 yards of return and gerald mcneil for cleveland really has not very good job returning them and that starting field position in overtime very important the visiting team by the way calls always in the overtime just as they do when they come out to start the football game and i've never heard of a team refusing the football when they won the coin flip well it's happened in dallas texas edgar haynes did in a championship game in the old american football league did he ever call another one after his wisdom elected to kick off i repeat did he ever call another one still won did they really let's listen the lucky guy in that group of steelers will call whoever they think is the luckiest cleveland gets a big up now as we go to overtime the browns have won the toss picked the goal they'll defend so they want to defend the goal at the open end of the stadium where anderson just hit the field goal into the win it's been a swirling win we'll be back to cleveland stadium with overtime after this the courageous tour denver broncos now fall to nine and three chicago bears and a kevin butler field goal has come from behind late in the fourth quarter they lead the underdog packers 12 to 10. the vikings fall to the cincinnati bengals cincinnati now with an eight and four record browns have to win to time a late field goal by new england gave the patriots a victory over the buffalo bills right now anderson ready to kick it off he hits the ball hard down the middle of the field and here comes mcneal and nana ran one back 100 yards for a touchdown in the first meeting but the steelers have been on him all day and the 146-pound kick returner flies out to the 24-yard line george rogers with a touchdown run the redskins lead the cowboys 7-0 rams have gone in front of new orleans seven nothing and the 49ers up on atlanta seven nothing those four o'clock starts on coasters numbers today 26 of 42 369 yards one touchdown one interception thrown the ball to nine different receivers on the afternoon we're in overtime in one overtime game previously this season that went the distance the atlanta san francisco meeting the first time he played through 15 minutes with no score it ended in a tie and you know this overtime very tough on coaches you really don't know what to do i don't know if you keep the same game plan in overtime that you have during the normal football game back back in the lineup you certainly don't want to turn the ball over that's the worst thing that can possibly happen i tend to think most offensive coaches would be very very conservative defensive coaches on the other hand tell their players try to strip the ball carrier of the ball these defenses particularly the steelers have put on some rocket hits in this game cosas playing with a badly bruised right hip he was limping second half but he dropped against the rush lets her rip free ball and the nearest man two it was mike merriweather a pro bowl linebacker but it goes incomplete and third down and six comes up now for cleveland trying to go to ozzie newsome probably the most sure-handed receiver on the team meriwether and swain out there in coverage double coverage remember that critical development after the browns matt barr kicked a field goal to put cleveland ahead 31-28 late in the game he made the tick the tackle on loopy sanchez he tried to get him foot with him and badly injured his right leg he was carried off the field so harry hole the back up tight end will be the place kicker for cleveland we don't know what harry can do and he probably doesn't either long ball they've got to get in the end zone in our probability cleveland as the long foot of webster slaughter is overthrown at the 30. and now the steelers will get it back in quite possibly in good position their first possession of the overtime cleveland nine of 14 now and third down conversion second half they were spectacular finally miss and they miss it overtime remember too that terry anderson is an excellent long-distance field goal kicker cassette's done a big job he not only held for that field goal for the final three points that cleveland scored in regulation but he's been punting the ball very well and does again hits a knuckle ball downfield rick woods bear catches it at his 29 yard line there the steelers go on offense first and ten the steelers have got up to a one and six start this season and come back to win three of their last four faced with elimination official elimination mathematically from the playoff chase if they lose today chuck noll their coach now in his 18th year at pittsburgh the native clevelanders played on two nfl championship teams with the browns and coach four super bowl winners with the he had to go to the other hand to hold out his rings malone to jackson as those steeler runners protect them all lay matthews an outside linebacker was on the staff along with carl hairston and anthony griggs you can see both offenses now on first downs being very conservative cleveland ran the ball on a simple sweep play pittsburgh doing the same thing i don't see i don't think we'll see a lot of blitzes in this overtime period you don't want to give up the big play here the two deep threats for the steelers come to the near flank the star went to the lower left portion 82 and the super fast lewis lips back to jackson browns are going to get him for a loss back at the 30. now chip banks came up and made this stuff we haven't called his number much today they've done an excellent job of stopping him keeping him out of the plays although they've run that way an awful lot and again a very conservative call now ehrenberg in the lineup for pittsburgh that could be very well where they're going to rich erenberg we're in overtime 31-31 don quickie with bob trump at cleveland stadium cold and pleasant win not too much of a factor here on the shores of lake erie malone on third not close they have to punt the ball back to cleveland browns get a second overtime possession on rich ehrenberg was wide open he was wide open at the first down marker and malone didn't see him [Applause] chose to throw it to john stalwart strange of two of the overtime games it fits much ehrenberg if you can see at the corner of the screen pittsburgh runs a little pick look he is right there wide open for a first down part hit downfield by newsom and he really unloaded as the ice cube goes back somehow catches it on his fingertips and he's in trouble or is he mcneal fighting down the near step line gets after the 39-yard line what a run they hadn't lost it he ran it back 15 yards what a catch he turns a bad play into a big play looks like there's no place for him to go here chuck sanders 45 knocks one of his other players out of the way and 142 pounds with everything he owns on kid can break a tackle so they warm up the ice cube casey has to go in again 146 pounds of return specialist now coats are so great throughout his collegiate days and games in the late stages goes to the run and the browns take it out to the 47-yard line where's harry holt he's the field goal kicker kevin matt who've never lost under joe gibbs after a monday night game out in front 14 nothing on dallas at rfk and the thing about harry holt the back up tight end he is a straight ahead kicker was a punter and a punt returner in canada he's warming up the regular kicker was injured making a tackle matt barr was carried from the field with an injury to his right leg his kicking leg first down carry as the browns play percentage football and just got it right at the steeler defense and for those of you who joined us late kevin mcat one time in this ball game injured and was penciled out coming out twice comes back to gain 103 yards he hurt his left knee there's harry holt let's see the form here luke rosa as i live and breathe put 76 on that kid got his picking shoe on he probably hasn't had it on a while at least he's got one down to the 48-yard line first down cleveland we're in overtime 31-31 mack fights for yards he's still out of range but they have three more downs in this set as the rounds taken to the 43-yard line of pittsburgh very very conservative keith willis on the tackle nothing fancy you don't want to turn the ball over have a ball bounce off of shoulder pads through hands the 80 000 who bought their tickets weeks ago for this encounter getting everything they paid for and more as the steelers and the browns where's brennan there's ot now to the near side he's been catching some clutch passes the lower portion of your screen [Applause] overtime clock ticking down of course in a regular regular season game if nothing happens in overtime it's a tie which counts as a half game one and a half game loss i'm kind of surprised mac didn't try to cut this ball up he loses yardage on this carrier brings up third down at about seven there's harry holt with that kick and shoe on now he's out of the offense we know that for sure he's got a square toe on it and black shoe gary holt very shortly could be the toast to cleveland or a forgotten kicker he'll never be given a chance again they'll be bringing in kickers during the week try out as far as not ready blitz in the throw herman fontenot gets the ball first down cleveland how do they do that the lsu tiger who was recommended to marty schottenheimer is a free agent by his brother and assistant coach at lsu makes another big play he's been doing it all season long all right so did gosar again he's avoided here look edmund nelson right in his face 64. and cos are not known for as a kid with a quick quick release but hinkle again victimized fontenot comes back for the catch a big first down shattenham and the browns are probably wondering can harry holt even get it in the air let alone get it through there's no kicking tee in this league [Applause] audible 80 000 in celebration a 36-yard scoring play in overtime and the browns go to 8-4 keep their share of first with cincinnati in the afc central don i think they caught the pittsburgh steelers thinking the steelers thought that all cleveland was going to do is go for the first down donny elder was the man in coverage bernie cosa with a career game 414 yards passing he hit 401 against miami in a win two games to go 28-46 the last the biggest to the rookie webster slaughter in the end zone with the game-winning touchdown in overtime donnie elder is underneath slaughter wide open somebody busted the coverage there either slaughter didn't get it or donnie shell didn't get it webster slaughters sixth gets 134 yards and a touchdown cleveland's first victory ever in overtime versus the steelers posar adds to his legend now it's time for the most valuable player award sponsored by budweiser today's mvp is bernie kosar budweis will make a contribution to the united way on behalf of all the mvps selected in today's games we'll be back where cleveland ohio just began a big party in an overtime win what a day this has been on the north shore of america cleveland ohio and the shores of lake erie with a browns rally to win in overtime on a spectacular play by back bernie kosar to rookie receiver webster slaughter burning your numbers i know you're not aware of them 28 for 46 for 414 yards but that last 36 yards was bigger than all the rest put together great great effort thank you thanks a lot the statistics really don't mean too much all that only thing that makes the difference is that w and thank god right now for this moment it's a great feeling bernie you threw the ball to nine different receivers you beat the pittsburgh blitz all day long once again an outstanding game plan hey thank you thanks a lot it really felt good to get this one it's an important game for us in our conference and looking forward to moving keeping it up and going towards the playoffs i gotta go guys thank you thanks a lot all right birdie when you're the most valuable player bernie's comments on this play he made a good read he does he's not set he still gets the ball to slaughter quarters sixth catch of the day and they win in overtime off balance throw falling back so bernie coast from boardman ohio a town on the pennsylvania line they say half the fans there for the steelers and heifer for the browns and the cleveland people are just happy as dad was a lifelong browns fan and this is where he wanted to play don this looks like double rotation zone elders got shortened outside shell has got deep in outside it looked like donnie shell didn't rotate over or donny elder didn't get the right coverage because webster slaughter was wide open the webster's got some of that good stuff after he gets in the end zone with a second nfl touchdown it's a gamer it brings the browns to an eight and four record the cincinnati bengals held on today to beat the minnesota vikings at riverfront stadium 24-20 and so through 12 games the browns and the bengals are tied for the afc central lead both at eight and four and they've got a showdown coming up it is december 14th they'll be playing at cincinnati when this division could be decided that pittsburgh's dealers with a great effort but with the loss they're out of business as far as the playoffs are concerned this season both teams played outstanding football the browns have the easier schedule remaining in competition against cincinnati but they keep playing the way they did today a gutty performance by both teams but kosar gets it done off balance gangly and in the end zone so the game is in the books it's history it took overtime the score coming with 8 23 remaining in the 15-minute overtime period had no points been put up in the 15 minutes of overtime it would have been a tie game officially bob trumpy this is don quickie glad you could be with us at cleveland now coming up next the nfl budweiser report after these messages from your local station

Channel: Sports !

Views: 4,687

Rating: 4.9333334 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: IGkVd-nGhDg

Length: 179min 32sec (10772 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 26 2021