Believe it or not, the Cleveland Browns were not always the laughingstock they are today. They were not just a team with a 17-year playoff drought led by players like Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel or Trent Richardson. During those 17 years, Cleveland has gone through 10 head coaches.
Rewind to 1946. This was the Browns' first season in the All-America Football Conference. They won the AAFC Championship four years in a row before moving to the NFL in 1950. Here, they also saw great success under Paul Brown. The Browns made the NFL Championship game in seven of their first eight years in the league, winning three of them. In 1963, Blanton Collier took over as head coach and quickly returned the team to the NFL Championship.
Collier was the coach of the best Browns team of all time in 1964. Cleveland averaged 29.6 points per game on their way to a 10-3-1 record. They scored 30 or more points seven times. This includes two performances against the New York Giants where they scored 42 and 52 points. In the final game of the season, Cleveland put up those 52 points thanks to five passing touchdowns by quarterback Frank Ryan.
Cleveland was led by running back Jim Brown, who rushed for 1,446 yards. Brown led the NFL in rushing that season, something that he would do eight times in his nine-year career. Brown was named league MVP in 1963 but did not win the honors in the following year. Ultimately, however, he was a four-time MVP winner. Ryan's 25 touchdowns during the regular season also led the league.
The Browns lost two of their final four games of the season but this did not stop them from marching confidently into the NFL Championship. Their opponent was the Baltimore Colts. This was a 12-2 team that dominated the Western Conference behind head coach Don Shula and quarterback Johnny Unitas. The Colts were heavily favored in this matchup, but Cleveland weathered the storm early.
The game went into halftime without a score. It was a cold night with snow falling from the sky and both teams struggled to move the ball. Cleveland ended the scoring drought with a 43-yard field goal by Lou Groza. Then, the Browns scored again on an 18-yard pass from Ryan to Gary Collins. The two would connect for three touchdowns in the second half as the Browns went on to dominate the Colts, 27-0.
Collins tied an NFL Championship Game record with three touchdown receptions. Ryan outplayed Unitas, as he went 11-18 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Unitas finished the game 12-20 for 95 yards and two interceptions. Brown would rush for 114 yards and Collins added 150 receiving yards.
The 1964 Cleveland Browns did not have the most wins in franchise history, they did not have the league MVP and did not win a Super Bowl given that this was in the era that preceded it. What they did have was a great runner in Brown, a strong offense and a winning pedigree.
There were plenty of talented Browns teams to choose in the franchise's earlier years, but the 1964 team stuck out because of their blowout win over the favored Colts in the NFL Championship game.
Follow Us
Subscribe