Sep 21, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns helmet on the field before a game against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
With the Cleveland Browns set to embark on the first of four preseason friendlies in preparation for the 2015 NFL season, the annual quarterback conundrum surrounds the team.
Josh McCown is the starter, Johnny Manziel is the backup. And if that doesn’t fill Browns fans with joy and enthusiasm, is it a familiar feeling as the team has been searching for a quarterback since Nov. 8, 1993.
The team’s continuing struggles to fill what many consider the most important position on the team is baffling, especially when you consider the franchise’s history.
Otto Graham set the unbeatable gold standard for quarterback play, taking the Browns to 10 title games (and winning seven) during his 10-year career. Frank Ryan led the Browns to their last NFL title in 1964, Bill Nelsen went to the playoffs three times in his four years as the starter, Brian Sipe posted some memorable days along the lakefront, and Bernie Kosar passed the Browns to three AFC Championship Games.
In that spirit, here are the Top 10 passing games in franchise history, as ranked by Jonathan Knight’s 2013 book, The Browns Bible. Knight chose the games based on the highest passer rating posted by the quarterback, as long as they had a minimum of 15 pass attempts in the game. (Which is why Ryan’s game in the season finale of 1964 did not make the list.)
Next: No. 10: Gary Danielson saves the day
Oct 13, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans celebrate a touchdown against the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Browns closed out the 1986 season with a bitter overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Heading into the 1987 season, Cleveland was a favorite to make the team’s first trip to the Super Bowl.
Those plans took a hit, however, when the players went on strike after Week 2 and the Browns sitting at 1-1 on the season.
The owners cancelled the games for Week 3 before returning to action in Week 4 with replacement players. The Browns split the first two replacement games, beating New England but losing a divisional game to Houston. With a road game coming up against Cincinnati, and the Browns facing the prospect of falling to 1-2 in the division, quarterback Gary Danielson rode to the rescue.
Danielson, along with seven other regulars, crossed the picket line in time to face the Bengals at Riverfront Stadium. Against an overmatched Bengal defense, Danielson was 25-of-31 for 281 yards and four touchdowns, good for a quarterback rating of 144 as the Browns rolled 34-0.
The veteran quarterback’s favorite target was Brian Brennan, who caught 10 passes for 139 yards, and Danielson led the Browns to 410 yards of offense and 29 first downs.
The win helped the Browns right the ship in a season that would see them return to the AFC Championship Game for a rematch with the Broncos.
Next: No. 9: Milt Plum's rally falls short
The Browns opened the 1960 season with three consecutive wins, including a 41-24 win over Philadelphia in the opening weekend of the campaign.
Three weeks later, the team’s would face off for the rematch at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, with quarterback Milt Plum putting up the ninth-best passing day in a losing cause. Plum finished 16-of-22 for 289 yards and two touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 145.1 in leading the Browns to a 22-7 lead in the third quarter.
The defense was off that day, though, and allowed the Eagles to score 21 consecutive points to take the lead. Plum responded by leading the Browns on an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a short touchdown pass to Bobby Mitchell with a little less than two minutes remaining in the game.
The Eagles came back behind quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, who threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. The Browns appeared to have won the game when Bobby Franklin intercepted a Van Brocklin pass, but a pass-interference penalty on Vince Costello gave the Eagles a first down. Bobby Walston won the game for Philadelphia with a last-second field goal.
On the day, Plum led the Browns to 451 yards of offense, aided by 167 rushing yards from Jim Brown.
Next: No.8: Bernie takes on America's Team
The Browns were riding a two-game winning streak late in the 1988 season as they desperately held on to their hopes of returning to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
On the first Sunday in December, the 2-11 Dallas Cowboys came to town for what many assumed would be an easy win that would boost the Browns’ playoff push. However, Dallas rolled up 410 yards of offense in building a 14-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Bernie Kosar took over.
Kosar, who had missed time earlier in the year with an elbow injury, and who would go down once again the following week against Miami, rallied the Browns with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes – a 14-yarder to Herman Fontenot and the 36-yard game-winner to Clarence Weathers.
On the day, Kosar finished 19-of-27 for 308 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 145.3. He also received no help from the running game, which totaled just 27 yards on 20 carries.
The win, while more work than expected, left the Browns with a 9-5 record and a second-place tie with the Houston Oilers.
Next: No. 7: Frank Ryan schools the Giants
The Browns headed to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Oct. 24, 1965, for a meeting with the New York Giants, who had fallen on hard times after appearing in three consecutive NFL Championship Games earlier in the decade.
Quarterback Frank Ryan, who would make the second of his three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances that season, led the Browns to a 38-14 beating of the Giants, rolling up 526 yards of total offense.
After falling behind 7-3 in the first quarter, Ryan led the Browns on five consecutive touchdown drives on an easy New York afternoon. On the day, Ryan was 10-of-15 for 177 yards and three touchdowns, good for a passer rating of 146.4. He twice hit Walter Roberts with touchdown passes and also connected with Jim Brown on a touchdown.
Cleveland’s fourth consecutive win, coupled with St. Louis falling to Washington, meant that the Browns left Yankee Stadium that afternoon atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Browns would only lose two more games in the regular season, before falling to Green Bay in the 1965 NFL Championship Game.
Next: No. 5 (tied): Otto Graham airs it out
The Browns headed to Comiskey Park on the first weekend in October to take on the Chicago Cardinals in Week 2 of the 1953 season.
Cleveland had opened the season the previous weekend with a 27-0 shutout of Green Bay behind 292 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns by quarterback Otto Graham. Against the Cardinals, Graham would remind the NFL that he could also beat you with his arm.
Graham was 15-of-22 for 310 yards and three touchdowns that day against Chicago, good for a quarterback rating of 150.6. He threw touchdown passes of 55 yards and 34 yards to Dante Lavelli, and one of 48 yards to Ray Renfro.
The win was the second of 11 consecutive to open the season for the Browns, who would only lose twice all season. Unfortunately, one of those losses came in the 1953 NFL Championship Game against Detroit.
Next: No. 5 (tied): Brian Sipe roars past the Colts
Cleveland arrived at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium in mid-November of 1978 on the cusp of seeing a once-promising season slip away.
The Browns had opened the year with three consecutive wins, including an overtime victory over Cincinnati and a late win on the road against Atlanta, as the Kardiac Kids began earning their nickname.
But that 3-0 start had evaporated and, following two consecutive losses, the Browns stood at 5-6 as they prepared to take on the Colts.
Quarterback Brian Sipe was not going to let that happen, however, as he led the Browns to their highest point total in a decade in beating Baltimore, 45-24.
Cleveland trailed 10-0 in the second quarter before Sipe led the Browns to 17 consecutive points before the half. He then added 28 more points in the second half to complete the blowout.
Sipe threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns while completing 15-of-22 passes for a quarterback rating of 150.6. His touchdown passes covered 53 yards, 37 yards and 23 yards to Calvin Hill, and 25 yards to Reggie Rucker.
The win would even the Browns’ record at 6-6 in what would ultimately be an 8-8 campaign, sowing the seeds for the division-winning team two years later.
Next: No. 4: Milt Plum's smooth afternoon against Washington
The Browns opened the 1959 season in a bit of a malaise, splitting their first four games before hosting the Washington Redskins on the final weekend in October.
Cleveland righted the ship against the Redskins, however, with a 34-7 win behind four touchdown passes from Milt Plum – including a pair to Bobby Mitchell.
For the game, Plum was 13-of-18 for 253 yards while posting a quarterback rating of 153.9.
The win brought the Browns above the .500 mark for the first time and was part of a five-game winning streak in what would ultimately be a 7-5 season, the first of four consecutive seasons the Browns would miss the playoffs.
Next: No. 3: Milt Plum's best day ever
Milt Plum spent five years in Cleveland, starting 51 games and leading the Browns to the playoffs in 1957 and 1958, while making the Pro Bowl in 1960 and 1961.
It was during the 1960 season that Plum makes his third and final appearance on the Top 10 passing list.
The Browns were coming off a rough loss to the New York Giants when they hosted the St. Louis Cardinals for a November game at Municipal Stadium.
Cleveland took a 21-7 lead into halftime, but 13 consecutive points by the Cardinals coming out of the half cut the Browns’ lead to 21-20. The Browns would ultimately seal the win, and improve to 5-2 on the season, thanks to a three-yard touchdown run by Jim Brown early in the fourth quarter.
Plum supported a 234-yard game from the running backs by completing 11-of-15 passes for 194 yards and touchdown passes to Ray Renfro and Leon Clarke.
Next: No. 1 (tied): Otto's perfect day
The Browns had a rare (at least at the time) bye week early in the 1954 NFL season.
After dropping their opener to the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland’s Week 2 rematch with Detroit, which had beaten the Browns in the previous year’s NFL Championship Game, was rescheduled due to the Cleveland Indians being in the 1954 World Series. The Tribe would need Municipal Stadium for a potential Game 5 that never happened, forcing the schedule change. (Something that would never be a problem again after that season.)
Cleveland returned to action on Oct. 10 for a home game against the Chicago Cardinals and quarterback Otto Graham showed that the extra time off had done some good.
Graham and the Browns put up 31 first-half points against the hapless Cardinals on their way to a 31-7 victory.
Graham completed his first nine passes on the day and threw for three touchdowns. He finished the game 14-of-18 for 266 and a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.
The 33-year-old Graham would go on to earn First Team All-Pro Honors while leading the Browns to their sixth championship in nine years.
Next: No. 1 (tied): Brian Sipe matches the master
Brian Sipe is a bit of an underrated quarterback in franchise history.
A 13th-round draft choice in 1972, Sipe didn’t take over as the full-time starter until 1976 (no worries about “seeing what you have” with quarterbacks back in the day). He was good enough to be named the NFL’s MVP in 1980, but was just 13-of-40 with three interceptions in his lone playoff appearance with the Browns.
But on Oct. 29, 1978, Sipe was perfect, as he posted a quarterback rating of 158.3 in a win over Buffalo. On the day, Sipe was 12-of-15 for 217 yards and three touchdowns as the Browns rolled the Bills by a score of 41-20.
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A week being held to just three points and 162 yards of offense in a loss to Kansas City, Sipe and the Browns rebounded against the Bills, totaling 532 yards of offense (including a ridiculous 309 rushing yards.)
Sipe twice hit Reggie Rucker with touchdown passes (16 yards and 44 yards) and also tossed a scoring pass to Calvin Hill.
Thirty-two years after playing his last game for Cleveland (fittingly a home win over the Steelers where Sipe threw four touchdown passes), Sipe is still the only Cleveland quarterback to surpass 4,000 passing yards in a single season, holds three of the top four slots for single-season passing yards, and has the most 300-yard passing games (18) in franchise history.
And just look at those beautiful uniforms.