Phil Dawson kicked a 35-yard field goal to put Cleveland ahead 24-21 with 3:30 left, and Courtney Brown blocked John Hall’s 44-yard tying attempt in the closing seconds to seal it for the Browns.Ģ010: Moments after Nick Folk’s field goal put the Jets ahead by seven with 2:42 left, Colt McCoy rallied the Browns to a tying touchdown to send it to overtime. Mark Moseley missed a 23-yard field goal in the first overtime, but was good on his 27-yarder in the second OT to send the Browns to the AFC championship game with a 23-20 victory.Ģ002: The Jets took a 21-3 lead under Chad Pennington, then Tim Couch marched the Browns back in the second half. Bernie Kosar rallied Cleveland to tie it and send it to overtime. Freeman McNeil’s TD run gave the Jets a 10-point lead with just over four minutes left, but a late hit by Mark Gastineau on a third-down play kept the Browns alive. An interception of Matt Robinson by Oliver Davis gave the Browns the ball in the extra period, and Cockroft’s 27-yarder won it 25-22 for Cleveland.ġ987: Another OT game, this time in the teams’ only postseason meeting. But Brian Sipe rallied Cleveland down the field and Don Cockroft kicked a tying 35-yarder to send it to overtime. The Browns fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Jets recovered, allowing Leahy to redeem himself by booting a go-ahead 21-yarder. The Browns’ 16-year postseason drought is the league’s active longest skid.ġ979: The Jets tied it on Kevin Long’s 5-yard TD run with under a minute left, but Pat Leahy missed what would have been the go-ahead extra point. These days, Cleveland will take just making it to the playoffs, of course. The Browns are still looking for their first Super Bowl appearance - joining the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans as the only active franchises to not make it to the NFL’s biggest game. But Cleveland then went through several years of mediocrity while failing to reach the playoffs again until 1980 under Sam Rutigliano. Nick Skorich took over and guided the Browns back to the postseason the next two years while going 19-9 in that span. It was also the final season for coach Blanton Collier, who retired. Cleveland opened the season 3-1, but scuffled to a 7-7 finish and failed to make the playoffs. The win over the Jets on Monday night didn’t springboard the Browns to continued success. There was lots of uncertainty about the future, though, as the merger between the NFL and AFL was completed and Cleveland moved to the newly formed AFC. The Browns were coming off consecutive appearances in the NFL championship game, losing to the Colts in 1968 and the Vikings in 1969. That 11-season postseason drought is the longest in franchise history, with this current Jets squad second at eight years. The Jets went 17-25 during that span and didn’t get back to the playoffs until the 1981 season - four years after Namath retired following a one-season stint with the Rams. Namath came back, but played in just 23 games over the next three seasons because of various injuries. They then skidded to the end of the season with three straight losses. The Jets rebounded the following week with a 31-21 victory over the Boston Patriots, but Namath was lost for the season in Week 5 when he broke his wrist against Baltimore in the teams’ first meeting since New York’s Super Bowl victory.Īl Woodall replaced Namath and helped snapped the Jets’ six-game losing streak with consecutive wins against the Los Angeles Rams, Boston and Minnesota.
There was plenty of optimism in 1970 after New York made the playoffs the previous season, but the loss to the Browns was an omen of disappointment to come. The glory days of Namath and the Jets were already fading, two seasons after winning the franchise’s first - and, still, only - Super Bowl title. Here’s a look at how that first “Monday Night Football” game affected each team in subsequent seasons: sharing the spotlight with the Jets’ Le’Veon Bell, and both teams looking to avoid starting the season 0-2. The teams will meet again this Monday night at MetLife Stadium - this time with the Browns’ Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr.
#Where was the first mnf game series#
It was the first in what would become the longest-running sports series in TV history. Billy Andrews sealed the win for Cleveland by intercepting Namath late in the game and returning it 25 yards for the final score.