Pro football on Monday nights was not unprecedented, but
as a regularly-scheduled weekly television series, which it became in 1970, it
was an innovation. The American Broadcasting Company promoted the concept
vigorously and provided resources for covering the games that the other
networks typically used only for playoff contests. An entertaining trio of
announcers Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson, and ex-Cowboys QB Don Meredith added
to the showcase.
The first week’s contest on September 21, 1970 pitted the
Cleveland Browns, an established NFL team that had been shifted to the American
Football Conference as part of the merger (thus being aligned with former
American Football League teams), against the New York Jets, champions of the
AFL two years earlier.
The Browns were coached by Blanton Collier for the eighth
season and had advanced to the last two NFL Championship games. It was
anticipated that, with recent success and grouped with three mediocre teams in
the new Central Division of the AFC, that the Browns would contend. They had
traded away star WR Paul Warfield to Miami in order to draft QB Mike Phipps out
of Purdue, but veteran Bill Nelsen was still the starting quarterback. HB Leroy
Kelly remained a major cog in the offense and they also had WR Gary Collins and
TE Milt Morin. The team’s biggest questions pertained to the reshuffled
defense.
New York, coached by Weeb Ewbank, had followed up the
1968 Super Bowl season with a division-topping 10-4 record in ’69. Now in the
AFC East, they continued to rely on QB Joe Namath passing to a good group of
receivers led by Don Maynard and George Sauer and the running game featured FB
Matt Snell and HB Emerson Boozer. The defense was good up front but
questionable in the secondary.
It was a clear night at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland
with a stadium-record 85,703 fans in attendance and an estimated 35 million
watching the telecast. The Jets punted following the first series of the game
and Cleveland drove 55 yards in nine plays. Bill Nelsen had completions to Milt
Morin for 13 yards and to FB Bo Scott for 21 and a third-down pass to Gary
Collins was good for an eight-yard touchdown. Don Cockroft added the extra
point.
The Jets reached midfield on their next possession but
again had to punt. Starting at their 16, the Browns drove to another score,
going 84 yards in 11 plays. Leroy Kelly ran effectively and a pass interference
call on a third-and-eight play kept the drive alive. In New York territory,
Nelsen threw to Morin for 18 yards and to Scott for 15 and it was Scott running
around end for the last two yards and a TD. Cockroft added the extra point and
Cleveland carried a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Jets, relying primarily on runs by Emerson Boozer and
Matt Snell, put together an eight-play, 61-yard series that resulted in Boozer
plowing into the center of the line for a two-yard touchdown. Jim Turner
converted and Cleveland’s lead was cut to 14-7.
Nelsen completed a pass to Morin for 25 yards on the next
series but the Browns ended up having to punt. The Jets also moved well, with
Namath completing back-to-back passes to George Sauer (pictured at left) for 17 and 40 yards, but
after reaching the Cleveland 17 Namath again looked to Sauer but was picked off
by CB Walt Sumner, who returned it 34 yards. Following another Cleveland punt,
another New York drive into Browns territory ended with Namath being
intercepted once more, and the score remained unchanged at the half.
The Browns started off the third quarter with WR Homer
Jones taking the second half kickoff and returning it 94 yards for a touchdown
and, with Cockroft’s PAT, a 21-7 lead. In response, Namath came out throwing
and immediately connected with Don Maynard for 20 yards and Sauer for 16 to
reach the Cleveland 44. Another pass to Sauer picked up 13 yards and then Snell
and Boozer accumulated another 13 yards between them on the ground. Namath
found Sauer once again for an additional 13 yards and, two plays later, Boozer
raced 10 yards through the middle for a TD to complete the 10-play, 80-yard
drive. Turner converted and it was once more a seven-point contest.
The Browns started their next series with favorable field
position at their own 47 after a good kickoff return with a penalty tacked on.
They advanced 47 yards in six plays and Cockroft kicked a 27-yard field goal. In
their next series, the running of Snell and Boozer moved the Jets back into
Cleveland territory, and Namath also completed two short passes. However, the
drive stalled at the 42 and Turner’s 50-yard field goal attempt fell short.
The Browns punted on the final play of the third quarter
and New York again threatened to score. Snell ran for 19 yards on the first
play of the series and, after five more running plays, a pass interference call
on CB Erich Barnes put the ball on the Cleveland seven. But on the next play,
Snell fumbled and DE Jack Gregory recovered to end the threat. The Browns
responded with a long six-minute drive. Nelsen completed three passes, the
longest to Morin for 22 yards, and Scott had a 17-yard run. But Cockroft missed
to the right on an 18-yard field goal try.
The Jets took over from their 20 with 5:40 remaining on
the clock and, with Namath throwing on every down, they quickly moved 80 yards
in four plays. Completions to Boozer, WR Rich Caster, and Sauer picked up 14,
19, and 14 yards, respectively, and a throw to Sauer was good for a 33-yard
touchdown. Turner’s conversion put the visitors just three points behind at
24-21.
The time was running down to two minutes as the Browns
went three-and-out on their next possession, but Cockroft’s 65-yard punt had to
be chased by DB Mike Battle, who failed to catch the ball at the 30 and downed
it at the New York four. Four plays later, Namath’s pass was intercepted by LB
Bill Andrews, who returned it 25 yards for a clinching touchdown. Cockroft
again converted and Cleveland came away the winner by a final score of 31-21.
The Jets dominated in total yards (454 to 221) and first
downs (31 to 20). However, they also turned the ball over four times, to none
suffered by Cleveland, and were penalized 13 times at a cost of 161 yards, to 8
flags thrown on the Browns.
Bill Nelsen completed 12 of 27 passes for 145 yards and a
touchdown with none intercepted. Milt Morin (pictured at right) had 5 catches for 90 yards and
Leroy Kelly rushed for 62 yards on 20 carries.
For the Jets, Joe Namath was successful on 18 of 31
throws for 298 yards and a TD, but gave up three interceptions, including the
last one that led directly to the game-clinching score. George Sauer caught 10
of those passes for 172 yards and a touchdown and Don Maynard gained 69 yards
on his four receptions. Matt Snell topped the ground game as he rushed for 108
yards on 16 attempts and Emerson Boozer contributed 58 yards on 15 carries that
included two TDs.
Following the exciting opening contest, neither team
ended up meeting expectations over the course of the season. The Browns reached
4-2 before losing five of their last eight contests and ending up at 7-7 and in
second place behind the third-year Cincinnati Bengals. Leroy Kelly’s
performance dropped off due to an ankle injury and Homer Jones failed to fill
the shoes of the departed Warfield (his kickoff return TD against the Jets was
the highlight of his season). The Jets won their second game but proceeded to
lose six straight on the way to a 4-10 record. Injuries were the key to New
York’s collapse, with Joe Namath suffering a broken wrist and Matt Snell a torn
Achilles tendon that sidelined them for most of the season.
Pro football on Monday nights did not disappoint,
however, and the program maintained consistently strong ratings in its first
year and well beyond.
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