Cleveland Browns: Top 30 moments of all-time
By Thomas Moore
Who doesn’t love talking about one of the most infamous plays in Cleveland Browns history?
One year after John Elway led the Denver Broncos on a 98-yard drive to send the 1986-87 AFC Championship game into overtime where they would ultimately win, the Browns met the Broncos once again, one win away from the team’s first berth in a Super Bowl.
The venue was Denver this time around, and the Browns were ready to make up for the defensive collapse in what became known as “The Drive.” Nothing like immortalizing a loss by making it into a proper noun.
The Browns found themselves down 21-3 at halftime, seemingly unable to overcome the Broncos and destined to never move past “The Drive.”
But the Browns started the second half with Felix Wright interception an Elway pass, setting up a Bernie Kosar touchdown pass to Reggie Langhorne to put the Browns down 21-10. After a quick Broncos touchdown, the score was at 28-10, which turned into a 31-24 lead after two Browns touchdowns to close out the quarter.
Stop reading now if you want to be spared the painful reminders of the past.
Bernie Kosar led an 87-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter, tying the game at 31 in the fourth quarter. Elway countered with a touchdown pass of his own, putting the Broncos up 38-31 with four minutes left in the game.
Kosar was not about to give up, and led the Browns down to the Broncos’ 8-yard line with just over a minute remaining. He handed the ball off to Earnest Byner. Then this happened.
This unfortunate play marred a great performance by Byner up to that point in the game. He had two touchdowns in the game, but the fumble at the end of the game, ending the comeback attempt, overshadowed any success he had in the game. – SK
Next: No. 10: The Drive