Kardiac Kids
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The Kardiac Kids is a reference to the 1980 Cleveland Browns who had a penchant for having games decided in the final moments. Finishing 11-5, the Browns captured their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. To commemorate the Browns success during the 1980 holiday season, a version of The Twelve Days of Christmas was recorded by Clark Walter, Mack Hayes and Sandra Hayes. Entitled, The Twelve Days of a Cleveland Browns Christmas, each day mentioned a hero on a "Rutigliano Super Bowl team". Of course, they didn't win the Super Bowl or even reach the AFC Championship Game for that matter. But, regardless of their early exit from the playoffs, the 1980 Browns season endures as one of the most beloved chapters in franchise history.
[edit] Memorable Moments
Week 7 (Home) - Browns 26, Green Bay Packers 21
- Facing a third and 20 from the Packers 46 yard line with 16 seconds left, Brian Sipe completed a pass to Dave Logan for the winning touchdown.
Week 8 (Home) - Browns 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 26
- A fantastic effort to overcome the arch-rival Pittsburgh. Sipe and company fought back from deficits of 10-0, 20-7, and 26-14 to defeat the Steelers in Cleveland. The winning catch was hauled in by Ozzie Newsome with 5:35 to play.
Week 9 (Home) - Browns 27, Chicago Bears 21
- Although it was Mike Pruitt's 56-yard touchdown run that ultimately won the game for Cleveland, Sipe threw for 298 yards and reached a milestone in Browns history, becoming the franchises all-time passing leader.
Week 11 (Away)- Browns 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 16
- Seeking their first ever win at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Browns were once again denied, this time on a Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann touchdown with eleven seconds left. It marked the Browns 11th consecutive defeat at Pittsburgh.
Week 15 (Away) - Browns 23, Minnesota Vikings 28
- The Browns relinquished what had been a 23-9 lead with only 7:15 remaining. The game is probably most remembered for Browns Saftey Thom Darden's deflection of Tommy Kramer's "Hail Mary pass", which was caught by Ahmad Rashad as time expired. Kramer's 456 passing yards were the most ever given up by the Browns.
Week 16 (Away) - Browns 27, Cincinnati Bengals 24
- Needing a win to secure the Central Division title, the Browns hold off the Bengals 27-24. Don Cockroft's game winning field goal came with 1:25 left to play.
[edit] 'Red Right 88'
AFC Divisional Playoff Game (Home) January 4, 1981 - Browns 12, Oakland Raiders 14 In sub-zero conditions on Cleveland's windy Lakefront, the Browns and Raiders battled into the waning moments of the contest. Down 14-12 and having mounted a 72-yard drive, the Browns were within striking distance at the Oakland 13 yard line with less than a minute remaining. Although it was only second down, Don Cockroft had already missed two field goal attempts in the swirling winds. Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano chose a more aggressive strategy, opting to go for the kill and pass the ball on second down instead of conservatively running the ball and then, perhaps, settling for a last second field goal. The play called was Red Right 88, which was intended for Dave Logan. However, Ozzie Newsome managed to get clear in the Raiders endzone and Sipe fired the ball to him -- but the wind managed to interfere with the plan and heartbreak was the outcome for the frozen 77,655 Cleveland faithful: the ball was intercepted by Oakland Cornerback Mike Davis. The 1980 season will be remembered fondly albeit bittersweet, but the game would go down in Browns history (along with The Drive and The Fumble) as one of the franchises sadder moments.
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