Hue Jackson and Cleveland Browns coaching debuts
By Thomas Moore
Forrest Gregg: 1975 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals
The winning streak had to come to an end at some point, and it arrived at Riverfront Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 24-17 loss in Forrest Gregg’s first game in charge.
The Browns did not go down easily, however, as they fought their way back from a 24-3 deficit in the third quarter to cut the lead to just seven. First, running back Greg Pruitt scored on an eight-yard run, then on the ensuing possession linebacker Charlie Hall recovered a fumble in the end zone for another Cleveland score.
Cincinnati fumbled the ensuing kickoff, with the Browns recovering, and quarterback Mike Phipps drove the offense to the Bengals’ three-yard line. The drive stalled on two fumbled center exchanges and a failed run on fourth down.
After getting the ball back, the Browns drove to Cincinnati’s one-yard line, but running back Hugh McKinnis was stopped on another fourth-down run. For the game, the Browns somehow managed to run six plays inside the Bengals two-yard line and fail to score a point.
Sam Rutigliano: 1978 vs. the San Francisco 49ers
In their first game under head coach Sam Rutigliano the Browns gave fans a preview of the excitement to come by scoring 10 points in the game’s final six minutes for a 24-7 win over the 49ers.
The Browns took a first-quarter lead on Greg Pruitt’s two-yard run and went into the half up by seven after a 33-yard touchdown run by rookie Ozzie Newsome. The game remained tight into the fourth quarter when Brian Sipe hit Reggie Rucker for a 69-yard touchdown pass following an O.J. Simpson fumble. Don Cockroft’s 23-yard field goal closed out the scoring.
The defense forced six San Francisco turnovers and limited Simpson to just 11 rushing yards in the second half.
Marty Schottenheimer: 1984 vs. the New Orleans Saints
The Marty Schottenheimer era kicked off in the middle of the 1984 season after Sam Rutigliano was fired and, oh boy, was that first game ever an omen of things to come as the Browns lost, 16-14.
The Browns took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter after Ozzie Newsome’s second five-yard touchdown catch of the day. The Saints cut the lead to one on a 21-yard field goal by Morten Anderson, setting up a finish that would soon become familiar to Browns fans.
Working to run out the clock, the offense looked to have clinched the win when quarterback Paul McDonald hit Brian Brennan for a 40-yard completion to the Saints five-yard line. But a holding penalty wiped out the play and the Browns were forced to punt.
The Saints took over on their own 23-yard line with no timeouts, but moved into field-goal range and Anderson connected on a 53-yard field goal as time expired to hand the Browns the loss.
Next: Some good, some bad