Those of us who watched this game will never forget it. Monday evening September 24 1979 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium vs "America's Team", the Dallas Cowboys. Staubach and company came to town and conventional wisdom was that the Cowboys would manhandle the unproven Browns, who despite the fact that they were 3-0, had not convinced the experts that they were for real.
The series in the Youtube video is culminated by a long touchdown pass from Sipe to Ozzie Newsome. It's classic Kardiac Kids. On third and one, the Browns decide to break tendency and pass. Sipe manages to avoid a sack and spots Ozzie who gets open deep behind the Dallas zone. The result is a long touchdown and a 13-0 Browns lead in the first quarter. The blow out was on and the Browns won the game 26-7, giving Browns fans an absolutely unforgettable evening.
This game was our first sign that the Browns of that era were legit. Specifically it shows how important Ozzie Newsome was to the success of the Browns in that era. Ozzie was frequently able to capitalise on his speed and get deep behind a zone. It's surprising, but it really did take NFL teams over 3 years to adjust to the fact that Browns tight end Ozzie Newsone had blazing speed.
The 1979 Browns gave us many thrills. Of course as the season wore on, the lack of depth caused primarily by Art Modell's not so deep pockets, proved costly, but on Monday September 24, 1979, Brian Sipe, Ozzie Newsone and company let Browns fans dream just a little.
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