Cleveland Browns: Top 10 rushing games of all-time (Part 1)
By Thomas Moore
The Cleveland Browns closed out a tumultuous 1984 season with an unexpected road win that offered a preview of what was to come the following season.
The 4-11 Browns traveled to Houston on Dec. 16, 1984, looking to sweep the Oilers in for the first time in eight years. While quarterback Paul McDonald put up his usual pedestrian numbers in his final start in a Cleveland uniform (158 passing yards and an interception, his 23rd of the season), it was running back Earnest Byner who carried the day.
Seeing more playing time under head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who replaced Sam Rutigliano midway through the season, Byner rushed 21 times for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns to help the Browns to a 27-20 victory.
Byner’s longest run of the day, and possibly the most important, was a 54-yard burst late in the fourth quarter to set up a 29-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to close out the scoring. The Oilers got the ball back with a little more than two minutes remaining, but the Browns defense held on for the win.
The 188-yard effort was Byner’s second consecutive 100-yard game on the season and gave opposing defenses a taste of what was to come, as Byner and Kevin Mack would both rush for more than 1,000 yards the following season.
Next: No. 10 (tied): Jim Brown ropes the Cowboys