In Browns folklore, this playoff loss does not rank with the most heartbreaking, however the game truly was a sign of things to come under Marty Schottenheimer. With a 21-3 lead and 11 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, Marty choose to try to run the clock out against Dan Marino. In effect, he played into Don Shula's hands who dared Marty to pass the rest of the game. With a young Bernie at the controls, a few first down passes might have locked this one up for the Browns but Marty had to play it by the book right up to the bitter end. There is no doubt that during the regular season, Marty's obsession with playing the percentages was in fact the smart approach. But come playoff time, you simply gotta roll the dice sometimes. It turned Schottenheimer's stomach to take risks, even in the playoffs, and the price paid was that during the prime of Kosar's career, the Browns never made it to the Super Bowl. If we had to label this game for it's infamy, the best title I can come up with is "foreshadowing the drive" because it was the same fear of winning the following year, that led Marty to play bend but not break when we had Elway pinned at the 3 yard line with 5 minutes left.
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