Years before the Browns got stung just short of Super Bowls by The Drive and The Fumble, Marty Schottenheimer's Cleveland defense delivered what might have stood up as The Stop.
Tom Flores was head coach of the Oakland Raiders when they beat the Browns 14-12 in the infamous "Red Right 88" game, whichnearly became a signature moment for Schottenheimer.
The Raiders came to Cleveland on Jan. 4, 1981, for a playoff game that kicked off amid a minus-37 wind chill.
Flores, announced as a Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 member on Saturday, was in his second year as John Madden's successor. Schottenheimer, who died Monday, was in his first season as Cleveland's defensive coordinator.
Many fans recall a January 1987 playoff comeback against the Jets, bywhich time Schottenheimer had become head coach, as their all-time favorite Browns game. Beating Oakland on that frozen day in 1981 would have been better.
The 1980 Browns became"The Kardiac Kids," based onlast-second wins behind NFL MVP Brian Sipe. Schottenheimer's defense was just as important. It caughtfireduring an 8-1 hot streak. In one four-game stretch, itallowed 16 points to the Steelers,7 to the Bengals, 14 to the Oilers and 14 to the Jets.
In that frozen playoff game, with head coach Flores calling Oakland's plays, Schottenheimer's unitstopped the vast majority of them.
Raiders QB JimPlunkett needed 30 passes to net 149 yards, at the expense of 16 incompletions, two interceptions by Ron Bolton (one a pick six),and two sacks. Oakland's run game averaged 2.0 yards on 38 carries. The Browns led 254-208 in yards.
At one point, with the Browns leading 12-7, the Raiders had punted nine times and had been intercepted twice.
Oakland scored with nine minutes left to go on top 14-12. A crazy fumble that flew out of Sipe's hand left Oakland with the ball and a fourth-and-inches, from the Cleveland 14, with 2:50 left.
That is when the Browns swarmed over ball carrier Mark Van Eeghen to make what could have been The Stop.
After apunt, NBC announcer Don Criqui told a national audience, "The Kardiac Kids will give you palpitations. Fasten all seat belts. Here we go!"
On second-and-10, Sipe got clubbed in the facemaskby a pass rusher on what would have been an easy penalty call in today's game. Hegot the ball off for a long completion to Ozzie Newsome, near midfield.A catch by Greg Pruitt and a run by Mike Pruitt got the Brownsin position to kick a game-winning field goal of about 30 yards.
Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano had timeouts and enough wiggle room to try for a touchdown in the final seconds. NBC analystJohn Brodie, a former 49ers quarterback, was all forSipe taking one more shot.
"In this weather," Brodie said, "I believe it's easier to try to complete a pass than it is to kick a field goal."
During a timeout on second-and-9 from the 13, with 49 seconds left, Rutigliano gave Sipe aplaynamed, in full,"red slot right, halfback stay, 88."
At the snap, Sipe thought safety Burgess Owens had pickedup wideout Dave Logan. Sipe looked away a split second before Logan broke wide open. Tight end Ozzie Newsome fooled cornerback Mike Davis with a juke toward the Cleveland skyline, then got open with a quick cut toward Lake Erie, in front of the Municipal Stadium bleachers.
Davis frantically doubled back toward Newsome, terrified he would slip on the end zone ice.
Pass rusher Rod Martin forced Sipe to hurry his throw. Davislungedand intercepted. Just like that, the stadium was as quiet as it was cold.
Flores' best decision of the day came when the Raiders won the coin toss and elected to receive, knowing the decision mightlead to the Browns going into the bitter wind blowing over the bleachers in the fourth quarter.
Recently, while awaiting the outcome of the 2021 Hall of Fame election, Flores recalled the play for ESPN.com.
"Mike Davis did not have the best of hands," Flores said. "But the sucker could run. He could hit. He was smart. That was a million-dollar catch."
A postgame photograph shows Flores, in a Raiders stocking cap and heavy gloves, looking to be more in pain than in ecstasy, with a sympathetic arm around a numb Rutigliano.
Davis' pick might have been worth the Hall of Fame for Flores, whose team went on to win Super Bowl XV. The loss began a downward spiral for Rutigliano that led to gettingreplaced as head coach by Schottenheimer midway through the 1984 season.
In the strike-shortened 1982 season, Rutigliano's Browns made the makeshift playoffs and lost 27-10 to Flores' Raiders.
Schottenheimer andFloreswent 1-1 against each other as head coaches in the 1986 and 1987 seasons, which were followed by Schottenheimer's AFC title gamelosses to Denver via The Drive and The Fumble.
Flores, a former Raiders quarterback who became a top assistant to Madden, was promoted to head coach in 1979after Madden pivoted into broadcasting.
In a Zoom interview this week following his Hall of Fame election, Flores seemed on cloud nine.
"The phone hasn't stopped ringing," he said.
At one point, Flores said good breaks can turn a career.
"Sometimes you have to be lucky," he said.
Flores' old boss, Madden, entered the Hall of Fame in 2006. Flores, 83, and Madden, 84, won't be around forever, but their busts are supposed to last 40,000 years.
"John Madden says our busts will be talking to each other," Flores said.
A January day in 1981 is likely to come up.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
