Cleveland Browns: 5 best MNF games of all-time
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns opened the 1979 season with three consecutive wins, all by three points, as the Kardiac Kids were born.
In Week 4, however, the Browns put it all together against the Dallas Cowboys in front of 80,123 fans.
Cleveland scored three touchdowns in the game’s first seven minutes as quarterback Brian Sipe hit wide receiver Dave Logan for a 23-yard touchdown pass and tight end Ozzie Newsome for a 52-yard touchdown. Safety Thom Darden then picked off Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach and returned the pick 39 yards for a touchdown to give the Browns a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. (The interception was the first for Staubach in 150 pass attempts.)
The Cowboys would get on the scoreboard when Staubach hit wide receiver Tony Hill with a 48-yard touchdown pass, but the Browns would shutout the Cowboys, the defense NFC champions, over the game’s final three periods.
Defensive tackle Jerry Sherk, who had three sacks, led a feisty Cleveland defense that forced five turnovers by the Cowboys while picking off Staubach twice.
Running back Mike Pruitt would add the only score after the first quarter with his two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter put the finishing touches on a 26-7 victory.
The win pushed the Browns to 4-0 on the season for the first time since 1963, but would also be the club’s last victory for almost a month.
Next: No. 2: When 60 minutes is not enough