Recalling the Cleveland Browns 5 wins against the Denver Broncos

As the calendar turned to 1990, it was clear that the golden era of the Bernie Kosar-led Browns was coming to an end.

After opening the season with a win over Pittsburgh, the Browns dropped three consecutive games, the third a 34-0 beating at the hands of Kansas City.

Kosar was able to create one last night of magic, however, the following week when Cleveland traveled to Denver for a Monday night game with the Broncos.

The Cleveland defense and special teams struggled all night as the Broncos took a 29-20 lead with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the game.

But Kosar would not let the Browns lose, first leading an 80-yard touchdown drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions and ended with Kosar hitting Brian Brennan for a 24-yard touchdown.

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Following a Denver punt, the Browns took over on their own 39-yard line just before the two-minute warning. Kosar drove the offense down the field, leaving just enough time for Jerry Kauric to hit a 30-yard field goal as the game clock struck zero.

The win, Cleveland’s first road win over Denver in 18 years, would prove to be the highpoint of the season. Just four weeks later, after a 42-0 loss to Buffalo, head coach Bud Carson was fired and offensive coordinator Jim Shofner took over on an interim basis.

According to the 2006 book, Sundays in the Pound, Carson was done is as much by owner Art Modell’s inner circle – which included pro personnel director Mike Lombardi – as he was by the losing.

“The team was being run by Lombardi, not so much by Carson,” center Mike Baab said at the time. “I remember on cut days, the coaches would say, ‘who’s here’ because they had no input on who was going to be cut or kept. It was a very wild situation.”

In what should be no surprise for a team that had Lombardi calling the shots, the Browns finished the season at 3-13.

And on Sunday, just a little more than 15 years to the day of their last victory over Denver, the Browns will be looking for their next win against the Broncos.

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