A look back at some of the nutty Chiefs-Browns games through the years
The Chiefs and Browns will meet for the 27th time in Sunday’s AFC Divisional playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium, and while it’s not one of the NFL’s great rivalries, there have been some crazy games in the series.
The series dates back to 1971, and the Chiefs lead 13-11-2 with 13 of the games being decided by one score (not including the two ties). The Chiefs have won three straight and coach Andy Reid is unbeaten in his career against the Browns 7-0 (3-0 with KC, 4-0 with Eagles).
Here is a closer look at some of the nutty games between the teams.
Chiefs 40, Browns 39
This is perhaps the most insane game in Chiefs history as there were five lead changes in the final 8 minutes, 5 seconds of the game, which was the season opener.
Phil Dawson’s 37-yard field goal with 29 seconds to play gave Cleveland a 39-37 lead. With 4 seconds to play, the Chiefs had the ball on their own 47-yard line. Quarterback Trent Green was about to get sacked when he flipped the ball back to offensive lineman John Tait, who rumbled 28 yards and was knocked out of bounds.
Game over? Nope, the Browns’ Dwayne Rudd thought Green had been sacked and celebrated by tossing his helmet. That was a penalty giving the Chiefs and untimed down and Morten Andersen won it with a 30-yard field goal.
“Fate was with us,” fellow offensive lineman Brian Waters said at the time. “Something was going to happen for us to win. It didn’t work out like we planned, but it worked.”
Browns 41, Chiefs 34
The Browns scored 41 points despite quarterback Brady Quinn throwing for just 66 yards. Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs returned a pair of kickoffs for a touchdown (103 yards and 100 yards), and Jerome Harrison ran for 286 yards, the third most in NFL history.
Mark Bradley caught a 28-yard pass from Matt Cassel with 2:20 to play as the Chiefs tied the game at 34-34. But Harrison’s 28-yard touchdown run with 44 seconds to play won the game.
Cassel threw for 331 yards and Jamaal Charles had 154 rushing yards. But it wasn’t enough to win.
“When you allow two returns for touchdowns,” coach Todd Haley said afterward, “that’s generally not a good thing. This is a guy we talked about at the start of the week, who could hurt us. We didn’t do a good enough job.”
Browns 31, Chiefs 28, OT
When Tony Gonzalez hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Trent Green early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had a 28-14 lead and were in control.
But Derek Anderson threw a pair of scoring passes to Steve Heiden, including a 3-yard throw with 35 seconds to play that tied the game. In overtime, Phil Dawson’s 33-yard field goal won it.
“I’m not superstitious,” Gonzalez said afterward. “What happened today was simple. We had our chances, but we lost it. There’s no other way to put it.”
Browns 27, Chiefs 24
The Browns were rolling at Arrowhead Stadium, holding a 20-0 lead in the second half, but then the Chiefs came to life.
J.T. Smith caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Steve Fuller in the third quarter. Touchdown runs by Tony Reed (9 yards) and Ted McKnight (1 yard) in the fourth quarter gave the Chiefs the lead. Jan Stenerud made a 30-yard field goal to make it 24-20.
But the Browns struck back, scoring the winning touchdown on Brian Sipe’s 21-yard pass to Reggie Rucker.
Chiefs 20, Browns 20
The Chiefs broke open a close game in the fourth quarter on Stenerud’s 13-yard field goal and Ed Podolak’s 2-yard run. That gave the Chiefs a 20-6 lead at Arrowhead Stadium.
But Cleveland’s Greg Pruitt broke off a 65-yard touchdown run and Milt Morin hauled in a 51-yard scoring catch from Mike Phipps as the Browns tied the game 20-20. Because there was no overtime in regular season games at that time, it ended in a tie.
