When it comes to the Cleveland Browns and the NFL playoffs, they think of the excuriating losses the franchise has endured like "Red Right 88" when Browns quarterback Brian Sipe was intercepted in the end zone by Oakland Raiders safety Mike Davis in the final seconds when Clevland was in field goal range for a game-winning field goal as they lost their 1980 AFC Divisional Playoff 14-12 or the Browns blowing a 17-point lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2002 AFC Wild Card Round to lose 36-33.
But on January 4, 1987, the Cleveland Browns would find themselves on the winning end of an epic playoff game that would become known as the "Marathon By The Lake" as they faced the New York Jets in the Divisional Round.
The Browns came into the playoffs with a 12-4 record to earn the #1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
The Browns were led by head coach Marty Schottenheimer who was in his second full season as the Cleveland head coach after taking over from former head coach Sam Rutigliano midway through the 1984 season.
The Browns also had one of the top young quarterbacks in the league in Bernie Kosar who was in his second year in the league and had led the Browns to the 1985 AFC Central Division title in his rookie year.
However, the Browns were blow a 21-3 lead and lose to the Miami Dolphins 24-21 as Kosar criticized Schottenheimer after the game for their conservative, run-oriented attack while holding a 18-point lead.
This would lead to a change in offensive philosophy for the Browns in 1986 as Kosar threw for 3,854 yards during the regular season as the Browns won eight of their last nine games to earn the top seed in the AFC.
While the Browns came into the playoffs on fire, the Jets came ice cold as they had dropped their last five games of the regular season to finish with a 10-6 record and a Wild Card spot.
A slew of injuries to starting quarterback Ken O'Brien, defensive end Mark Gastineau, and defensive tackle Joe Klecko had led to a five-game losing streak to end the regular season as the Jets were outscored 183-61 as head coach Joe Walton's team limped into the playoffs, the team's fourth in six seasons.
In the AFC Wild Card Game, Pat Ryan started in place of O'Brien, where the backup quarterback's 24-yard run on a 4th down quarterback draw in the 1st quarter sparked the Jets to a 35-15 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and send them on the shores of Lake Erie to take on the Browns in a Divisional Playoff game for the ages.
After the Jets went three-and-out to start the game, the Browns got the ball at their 44-yard-line where on 2nd & 9, Kosar connected with tight end Ozzie Newsome for nine yards and a 1st down which became a 24-yard play when New York defensive end Marty Lyons was called for a personal foul penalty, giving the Browns 15 extra yards as they had a 1st down at the Jets 31-yard-line.
The Jets' defense would stiffen and hold the Browns to just two yards on the next three plays to force a 46-yard field goal attempt by Mark Moseley, which fell short of the uprights and no good to keep the game scoreless.
Following an exchange of punts, the Jets had the ball at their 18-yard-line when Ryan connected with Al Toon for 28 yards on the first play of the drive to give New York a 1st down at their 46-yard-line.
Then after picking up another 1st down, the Jets went into their bag of tracks as Ryan handed the ball off to McNeil, only to have the running back throw a backwards lateral back to Ryan, who then fired a pass for a wide open Wesley Walker, who made the catch for a 42-yard touchdown to put New York on top 7-0 with 5:05 left in the first quarter.
The Browns would then get poor field position for their next possession as Gerald McNeil mishandled the ensuing kickoff, leading to Cleveland to begin the drive at its own two-yard-line.
However, Kosar would get the Browns out of the jam quickly as he connected with Newsome for passes of 21 and 23 yards to get Cleveland to midfield.
A nine-yard pass to Harry Holt and an offsides penalty gave the Browns a 1st down at the Jets' 37-yard-line when Kosar dropped back and found Herman Fontenot for a 37-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 with 1:44 to go in the opening period.
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| Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar would throw for a then Playoff record 489 yards on 33-of-64 passing. |
The score remained 7-7 in the second quarter when on a 3rd & 6 from the Jets eight-yard-line, Ryan would be sacked by Browns linebacker Chip Banks and defensive end Reggie Camp for an one-yard-loss which forced an New York punt, but even worse led to Ryan limp off the field with a pulled groin.
The Jets would punt the the ball back to the Browns who took over at exactly the 50-yard-line when Kosar hit three passes in a row: a 13-yarder to Newsome, a 3-yarder to Fontenot, and a 25-yarder to Mack to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the New York nine-yard-line.
But an holding penalty would push the Browns 10 yards back and eventually kill the drive as Moseley was forced to come on and kick a 38-yard field goal to give Cleveland a 10-7 lead with 5:51 left in the second quarter.
When the Jets' offense come onto the field for their next possession, O' Brien came onto the field with them, replacing Ryan.
O'Brien's first pass was complete to Toon for 11 yards but the Jets would be forced to punt again when McNeil was dropped for a three-yard loss on 3rd & 1.
The Jets would get the ball back at their 31-yard-line with 89 seconds left in the first half and a chance to pick up some points before halftime.
O'Brien scrambled for nine yards to begin the drive, then after a sack by Camp that dropped him for a three-yard loss, found McNeil for 12 yards and a 1st down at the Jets' 49-yard-line.
Soon, the Jets would be faced with a 4th & 4 at the Cleveland 45-yard-line when Walton decided not to punt the ball away and go for the 1st down.
The gamble paid off as O'Brien scrambled for 16 yards to set up Pat Leahy's 46-yard field goal that tied the game at 10 as the first half came to a close.
The Browns would get the ball to start the second half but would go three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Jets who took over at the Browns' 41-yard-line.
From there, McNeil would carry the ball three straight times, gaining 23 yards until he was dropped for a two-yard loss on his fourth straight carry.
Two incomplete passes would force the Jets to settle for another Leahy field goal, this one from 37 yards out to give New York a 13-10 lead with 10:57 left in the third quarter.
The Browns would get the ball back at their 28-yard-line but would quickly be in New York territory as Kosar connected with Holt for a 33-yard completion on 3rd & 1 to give Cleveland a 1st down at the Jets' 30-yard-line.
But the Jets' defense would hold to force a 44-yard field goal attempt by Moseley which sailed wide left to keep the score 13-10 in the Jets' favor.
The two teams would trade punts into the fourth quarter when the Browns got the ball at the 50-yard-line when one play after Mack was dropped for a two-yard-loss on 1st down, Kosar found Newsome for 34 yards and a Cleveland 1st down at the Jets' 18-yard-line.
The Browns would pick up another 1st down when Jets cornerback Russell Carter was called for pass interference to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the 10-yard-line.
After two runs by Mack that picked up eight yards, Carter would atone for his mistake as he intercepted a Kosar pass intended for Webster Slaughter in the corner of the end zone to stop the Browns from at least tying the game and giving the ball back to the Jets who took over at their 20-yard-line with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Jets would drive to the Cleveland 43-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 17-yard-line with 4:31 to go in the fourth quarter.
But on 1st down, Kosar was intercepted again, this time by the Jets' other cornerback, Jerry Holmes on a pass intended for Fontenot to give New York the ball at the Browns' 25-yard-line.
That is when O'Brien handed the ball off to McNeil, who took it around the right side for a 25-yard touchdown to increase New York's lead to 20-10 with 4:14 left and leading Jets radio broadcaster and future ESPN anchor Charley Steiner to declare "The Jets are going to win this football game! The Jets are going to the AFC Championship Game!"
It certainly appeared that way as the Browns needed at least 10 points in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime and had only one timeout left in their pocket.
Cleveland would begin its next possession at its 32-yard-line when an holding penalty pushed the Browns back 10 yards for 1st & 20 when Kosar was sacked by Lyons for a four-yard loss to set up 2nd & 24 at the Cleveland 18-yard-line.
The next play would see a pair of offsetting penalties forcing the two teams to replay 2nd & 24 when the turning point of the game.
Kosar would drop back and throw an incomplete pass only to have Gastineau dropped his helmet down and hit Kosar in the back to draw an roughing-the-passer penalty to not only give the Browns 15 yards but an automatic 1st down.
So instead of 3rd & 24 from the 18-yard-line, the Browns had a 1st & 10 from their 33-yard-line.
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| Mark Gastineau's late hit on Bernie Kosar gave the Browns new life as they trailed 20-10 with over four minutes left in regulation. |
After two more incomplete passes, Kosar would get rolling as he hit Reggie Langhorne for 10 yards and a 1st down at the Browns' 43-yard-line, then connected with Langhorne again, this time for 13 yards and a 1st down at the Jets' 44-yard-line.
Kosar would then complete passes to Brian Brennan of 22 and 19 yards to set up 1st & goal at the three-yard-line where he connected Curtis Dickey for two yards before handing the ball off to Mack who punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to make it 20-17 with 1:57 left in regulation.
The Browns would attempt an onside kick but the Jets' Marion Barber recovered it at the Cleveland 45-yard-line as New York needed just one 1st down to ice the game.
But the Jets would lose three yards on three straight running plays to force a punt with 1:13 left that was downed at the Cleveland' seven-yard-line, only to have it nullified by a holding penalty on Barber to push the Jets back 10 yards and force them to re-kick.
This time, the punt traveled 36 yards and was returned by McNeil for 11 yards to give the Browns the ball at their 33-yard-line, a 26-yard chance in field position, with 51 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
Kosar would throw a pass to Brennan which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on Jets defensive back Carl Howard, resulting in a 25-yard gain for the Browns and a 1st down at the New York 42-yard-line.
That is when Kosar dropped back and fired a deep pass for Slaughter, who made a sliding catch at the Jets' five-yard-line for a 37-yard completion to give Cleveland a 1st & goal.
As the Browns celebrated Slaughter's catch, Kosar tried to get the team lined up for a shot at the end zone which almost backfired as Kosar's pass for Slaughter was almost intercepted by Carter, who got one hand on the ball but could not complete the catch.
Following this near disaster, Schottenheimer sent in the field goal unit as Moseley kicked a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 20 with seven seconds left in regulation.
Miraculously, the Browns had scored 10 points in the final two minutes to send the game into overtime.
The Jets won the coin toss and elected to receive but would go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Browns who took over at their 26-yard-line.
Kosar would complete a six-yard pass to Fontenot to begin the drive which was followed by a five-yard run by Mack to pick up a 1st down at the Cleveland 37-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Kosar would complete his next three passes for 23 yards to set up 2nd & 1 at the Jets' 40-yard-line when Kosar lofted a deep pass that was caught by Langhorne for a 35-yard gain to set up 1st & goal at the five-yard-line.
Schottenheimer decided to send in the field goal unit as Moseley would attempt a 23-yard chip shot to send the Browns to the AFC Championship Game.
But shockingly, Moseley's kick sailed wide right and no good keeping it 20-20 and giving the ball back to the Jets at their 20-yard-line.
Seemingly have found no life, the Jets' drive began with back-to-back passes from O'Brien as he hit tight end Mickey Shuler for seven yards and Toon for 12 yards for a New York 1st down at their 39-yard-line.
But a sack of O'Brien by Browns defensive end Carl Hairston, one of the Browns' playoff record nine sacks, for a seven-yard loss killed the drive and forced the Jets to punt the ball away.
After both teams went three-and-out on their ensuing possessions, the Browns would get the ball at their 31-yard-line with 2:38 left in the overtime session.
But since it was a playoff game, the Browns would have more than 2 1/2 minutes to win the game as NFL rules dictate that a postseason game must have a winner, so if more than one overtime period is needed, then so be it.
On this drive, it was time for the running game to take over as Mack picked up four yards on 3rd & 1 at the Cleveland 40-yard-line, then ran for eight more on 2nd & 4 to give the Browns a 1st down at the Jets' 42-yard-line.
An seven-yard run by Fontenot set up 3rd & 4 at the Jets' 35-yard-line as the second overtime began when Mack busted through to run for 15 yards and a 1st down at the New York 20-yard-line.
Mack would run the ball two more times gaining 11 yards before Schottenheimer called on Moseley again to attempt a 27-yard field goal.
This time, Moseley's kick sailed through the uprights 2:02 into the second overtime period to give Cleveland a 23-20 double overtime win and their first trip to the AFC Championship Game after winning the third longest game in NFL history.
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| Mark Moseley kicks the game-winning field goal in double overtime. |
The loss to the Browns would begin a precipitous decline for the Jets as they would finish with only one winning season and one playoff appearance over the next decade.
As for the Browns, the high from their win over the Jets would be followed by a crushing low as they would lose to the Denver Broncos 23-20 in overtime with Broncos quarterback John Elway leading the Broncos on a 15-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the final five minutes of regulation that would become known as "The Drive".
The two teams would meet again in the following year's AFC Championship Game where the Browns' hearts would be broken again when Byner looked to be on his way to the game-tying touchdown, only to have the ball knocked loose and recovered by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille at the Denver' two-yard-line in a play that would go to be known as "The Fumble" as the Broncos would come away with the 38-33 victory.
After another playoff loss in 1988, Schottenheimer was fired by the Browns and replaced by Bud Carson who helped lead the Browns back to the AFC Championship Game, only to lose again to the Broncos, this time by the score of 37-21.
Since then, the Browns have only made the playoffs three times and won only one playoff game.
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