What if the Cleveland Browns had won Super Bowl XXI?

Looking back at what it would have been like had The Drive never happened and the Cleveland Browns beat the Denver Broncos.

As Super Bowl 50 is upon us, and for the fiftieth time our beloved Browns are absent from the biggest game in America’s most popular sport, I began to think: What if?

What if John Elway never completed the fateful “Drive” in 1987 at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium?

What if?

As a life-long Browns fan I have found myself wondering more often than not, “What if?” I mean let’s be honest, with the way the team has played since its return in 1999 can you blame me?

So let’s play the “what if” game in the spirit of Super Bowl week and look at how things could’ve been if they went in the Browns favor.

January 11, 1987: The Drive… stifled?

As the Browns climbed out to a 20-13 lead, and the Broncos muffed the ensuing kickoff, Denver started at their own 2-yard line with 5:32 left in the game. John Elway comes onto the field hoping to lead his team to pay-dirt and force overtime in the AFC Championship game.

Elway starts the drive out with a quick five-yard pass to Sammy Winder followed by a couple more short Winder runs to gain a first down and give Denver some breathing room.

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The clock continues to tick. Elway continues to move the ball all the way to the Denver 48-yard line as the two-minute warning is announced.

With :39 left on the clock and Elway facing 3rd and 1 from the Browns 5-yard line it happened.

The snap, Elway drops back to pass. He spots Mark Jackson coming across the end zone from his left, he fires a bullet.

PICKED OFF!

Linebacker Michael Johnson steps in front of the pass and intercepts Elway at the 2-yard line returning it to the Browns 17-yard line with 28 seconds on the clock and the Browns clinging to a 20-13 lead.

Marty Shottenheimer sent out Bernie Kosar to line up in the victory formation, take a knee and send the Browns to their first Super Bowl appearance where they would face the New York Giants and QB Phil Simms.

Super Bowl XXI took place in Pasadena, Calif. And boasted the two top teams in the NFL that year.

Neil Diamond serenaded the crowd with his rendition of the National Anthem and Pat Summerall along with John Madden were the announcers for the big game.

The Giants entered the game as seven point favorites over the Browns and some didn’t know what to expect out of the AFC champions after their emotional win over Denver two weeks earlier.

Bernie Kosar and Phil Simms led their teams into the Rose Bowl with each making their first ever Super Bowl appearance. The Giants were led by the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” defense with star LB Lawrence Taylor leading the charge. The Browns boasted one of the top-five offenses in the NFL that season led by Kosar, Ozzie Newsome, Reggie Langhorne, Webster Slaughter, Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner. A clash of the cream of the crop on both sides of the ball.

In order to beat the Giants, the Browns offensive line had to step up to the occasion and protect Kosar and open up holes for the dynamic-duo of Mack and Byner to run the ball.

And they did.

The Browns offensive line dominated the Giants front seven limiting them to one sack and 2 hits on QB Bernie Kosar. He went 28-35 for 273 yards and two touchdowns while Byner and Mack combined for 157 yards rushing along with a touchdown each leading the Browns to a 34-19 win and the teams first Super Bowl win in franchise history!

As Kosar was awarded the MVP award on the stage, Pat Summerall asked him what it meant to deliver the Browns their first Super Bowl win in franchise history?

“The fans… the fans are why we play the game,” Kosar said. “They are the reason we play hard and they fuel us to fight to the finish each and every-time. This win today, this win is for the Browns fans in the Dawg Pound and across the world!”

Elation filled the city, engulfed the fan base. The Cleveland Browns had overcome diversity during an grueling AFC Championship game two weeks earlier, and then followed it up with a big-time win, on the NFL’s biggest stage, capturing their first ever Super Bowl.

It was amazing. I can see it all over again like it was yesterday.

The Cleveland Browns, Super Bowl XXI Champions.

What if?

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