Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Bernie Kosar was one of NFL’s best when it mattered

By Thomas Moore

NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback Bernie Kosar #19 of the Cleveland Browns calls the play during an NFL game against the Washington Redskins on November 27, 1988. The Browns defeated the Redskins 18-13. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback Bernie Kosar #19 of the Cleveland Browns calls the play during an NFL game against the Washington Redskins on November 27, 1988. The Browns defeated the Redskins 18-13. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar never met a defense he could not beat, which is why he is one of the most-clutch quarterbacks in NFL history.

Cleveland Browns fans old enough to remember the teams from the late 1980s all have a special memory they hold dear.

Maybe it is Gerald McNeil returning a kickoff or punt return for a touchdown. Or cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield making life miserable for opposing wide receivers. A punishing hit from linebacker Eddie Johnson, a big run from Kevin Mack, or a key catch from Webster Slaughter, Earnest Byner or Ozzie Newsome.

The list goes on and on from a team that won four division titles and made five playoff appearances from 1985 through 1989. Everyone has a different touchpoint from those years, but there is one that almost all Browns fans can agree on:

When the game was on the line, you wanted the ball in the hands of quarterback Bernie Kosar.

Kosar joined the Browns in 1985 and led Cleveland to the playoffs while splitting time with veteran Gary Danielson. Kosar took over as the full-time starter in 1986, and over the next four years cemented his legacy in Cleveland while leading the Browns to three AFC Championship Game appearances.

Along the way there was not a blitz that Kosar could not beat, a defense he could not dissect, or a moment that was too big for him.

That is why it is no surprise that Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier included Kosar on his ranking of the 25 most clutch quarterbacks in NFL history. Kosar checks in at No. 17:

"Kosar engineered seven game-winning drives during the 1986 regular season. He was the ultimate Marty Schottenheimer quarterback: a great decision-maker with enough arm talent and creativity to do more with less at the skill positions."

"As the ultimate Schottenheimer quarterback, Kosar got the buzzsaw treatment from fate in the playoffs. Dan Marino came back from 21-3 to beat the Browns in 1985. John Elway drove in 1986. Ernest Byner fumbled in 1987. Injuries claimed Kosar in the midst of another playoff run in 1988. Kosar then quickly fell from the limelight."

"Kosar wasn’t destined to be the perennial challenger to Elway and Marino that he appeared to be in the mid-’80s. But for a few years, he was the one quarterback you did not want to face in the fourth quarter. Unless you were Elway, of course."

Of all the big moments that Kosar pulled off, the one at the top of the list will always be the double overtime win against the New York Jets in the 1986 playoffs. But there is another game from that season that still stands out more than 30 years later.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

The Browns were hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12. Cleveland was coming off a disappointing road loss to the Los Angeles Raiders that left the Browns at 8-4. A nice record, certainly, but a second consecutive loss would have stalled Cleveland’s momentum.

Despite facing a Steelers team that was going nowhere that season, the Browns found themselves heading into overtime after Pittsburgh’s Gary Anderson made a 40-yard field goal. Making matters worse, the Browns were without their own kicker as Matt Bahr had injured his knee earlier in the game while making a tackle.

Not wanting to leave the team’s fate in the hands of backup tight end Harry Holt, who had kicked while playing in the CFL, Kosar led a game-winning drive in overtime that culminated with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Slaughter.

We can still see Kosar coming up to the line, surveying the defense and signaling Slaughter to change the play. As the ball sailed through the dark of a late-fall Sunday afternoon at old Municipal Stadium, there was never a doubt that Kosar had made the right call, the right throw and that all was right with the world.

Next: Browns: Top 10 quarterbacks of all-time

If you needed one play to show someone what type of quarterback Kosar was, you would be hard pressed to find a better one.

Home/Browns News