The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bills-Browns ’90 playoff game had it all
The Browns are back in the playoffs, which is triggering memories of the past for fans of the Brown and Orange.
Some might think back to 2002, when Cleveland got in as a wild-card team and lost an entertaining game to the Steelers, 36-33.
Or they might go back a little further to 1994, the last time the Browns won a playoff game, which was also in the wild-card round. Vinny Testaverde, Leroy Hoard and Michael Jackson led the way in a 20-13 win over the Patriots at Municipal Stadium.
But for the total package — entertainment, back-and-forth action and unmatched drama — the last truly great playoff game and moment in Browns history has to be traced back to the 1989 season.
That’s when Cleveland — champions of the AFC Central with a 9-6-1 record — defeated the Bills in a divisional playoff game, 34-30, in a game that rarely gets discussed as one of the best in NFL postseason history.
This one had it all — huge plays on offense, one on special teams and another on defense.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was in attendance and future President Donald Trump was in the owners box with Browns owner Art Modell. The Bills and Browns put on a show for everyone to close out the 1980s.
It only seemed fitting. The ‘80s marked plenty of success for the Browns. The team made the playoffs seven times, but there was heartbreak too. There were three losses to the Broncos in the AFC championship game, and another to the Raiders in 1980. There was also the death of Don Rogers to a drug overdose and the loss of beloved quarterback Brian Sipe to the upstart USFL.
Still, Browns football in the ‘80s is mostly remembered for good times, and despite the game being played on Jan. 6, 1990, the Bills playoff game was an all-time capper for that time period.
Here’s a look back: The Browns and Bills won their respective division titles — the AFC Central and East — but the teams limped to the end of the regular season.
Cleveland lost two of its last six games, and needed a victory in Houston to win the division by a half-game. Talk about an up-and-down season. First-year coach Bud Carson’s debut began with a 51-0 win at Pittsburgh, and fans were dealt four overtime games during the regular season. It was enough to earn the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and host a playoff game.
Buffalo was also all over the board en route to a
9-7 mark. It needed a win against the terrible Jets in the final week and took care of business with a 37-0 win. The Bills were led by a Hall of Fame cast — QB Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, receiver Andre Reed, and defensive end Bruce Smith. They were one year from the start of a run that included four straight appearances in the Super Bowl.
The 1989 season was an odd year in the AFC. Just one team — the 11-5 Broncos — won more than 10 games, and nine teams were in a cluster with records that ranged from 9-6-1 to 7-9.
When the Bills and Browns were set to meet, most were predicting a low-scoring affair for good reason. Cleveland allowed 254 points, the secondfewest in the AFC, had a conference-high 27 interceptions and team record 45 sacks. Las Vegas set the over-under at 36. The wise guys in the desert were wrong.
The weather was usual for January: 28 degrees and overcast but the wind was not a factor. Bernie Kosar and Kelly were set up for success, and they delivered.
The game’s first score — fitting for this day — came on a 72-yard catch and run from Kelly to Reed in the first quarter. Matt Bahr’s 45-yard field goal cut the lead to 7-3, but things were just getting warmed up for the second and third quarters.
Kosar threw the first of his three TD passes to Webster Slaughter on a balloon pass that landed perfectly in the receiver’s hands for a 52-yard score. Kelly and the Bills answered with a 33-yard strike to another Hall of Fame receiver James Lof
ton.
The Browns then took a 17-14 lead into halftime on a Kosar-to-Ron Middleton 3-yard TD pass.
In the third quarter, Kosar (20 of 29, 251 yards, three TDs) connected again with Slaughter — this time for 44 yards — and the lead was 24-14.
“Coming in today, I don’t think either team thought they would be able to move the ball that well,” said Kosar after the game. “But the (weather and field) conditions were ideal for this time of year, and that helped the passing game on both sides.”
The Bills wouldn’t go away. Kelly (28 of 54 for 405 yards and four TDs) found Thomas from 6 yards to pull his team with 24-21, but rookie Eric Metcalf provided the game’s most electrifying moment on the ensuing kickoff.
The 80,000-plus in attendance went into a frenzy when Metcalf raced untouched 90 yards for a TD for a 31-21 advantage.
“I got a lot of key blocks
and I just found a hole, and from there on it was a race,” said Metcalf.
Still, it was far from over entering the fourth quarter. While cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnefield were having fits covering Reed and Lofton, so was linebacker Clay Matthews trying to cover Thomas out of the backfield.
Thomas was held in check as a runner (10 carries, 27 yards) but he was near unstoppable as a receiver with 13 catches, 150 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was a fun game to watch, but not necessarily to play in,” said Matthews.
A field goal by Scott Norwood pulled the Bills to within 31-24, but the Browns answered with Bahr’s second field goal to push the lead back to 10.
Buffalo again answered. Kelly found Thomas for a 3-yard TD pass with four minutes remaining but Norwood’s extra point missed. It was a critical mistake.
“The field was icy and hard at that spot and my cleats weren’t digging in,” said Norwood. “I’ve kicked in every stadium and this is the toughest one.”
After the Browns stalled on offense, Buffalo had one final chance but because it was down four — and not three — needed a TD. Anyone in attendance not thinking about the The Drive — which occurred on the same field and was orchestrated by the Broncos’ John Elway three seasons earlier — was fooling themselves.
“I’ve got to admit, during those final plays, The Drive crossed my mind,” said Dixon.
The Bills began their final drive at their own 26 with 2:41 to play with one timeout. Kelly used mostly short pass to Thomas and backup running back Ronnie Harmon to move to the Cleveland 11 with just seconds remaining.
On this cold, dreary afternoon, there was no Drive II to send Browns fans home in misery.
That’s because with nine seconds on the clock, Kelly’s pass to Harmon in the end zone was dropped.
On the next play, Kelly looked for Thomas in the middle of the field near the end zone but Matthews was in position to intercept the pass.
Said Carson in the postgame: “It was one of those crazy, wild football games that you get in about once every three years.”
An instant classic went to the Browns, but the frenzy didn’t last. A week later in Denver, the Broncos were in control throughout and won a third straight AFC championship game against the Browns, 37-21.
Few in attendance at that Jan. 6, 1990, game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium or those who watched will ever forget one of the great playoff games in Browns history.