1987: Browns Rally to Defeat Jets in OT of AFC Divisional Playoff Game

The AFC Divisional playoff game on January 3, 1987 featured the Cleveland Browns, winners of the AFC Central Division, hosting the New York Jets, the second place finisher in the AFC East that qualified for the postseason as a Wild Card.

The Browns were coached by Marty Schottenheimer and won the last five games of the 1986 regular season to finish with a 12-4 record. Second-year QB Bernie Kosar (pictured above) had the league’s lowest interception percentage (1.9), being picked off just 10 times while tossing 17 TD passes. The receiving corps was a good one although the running back tandem of Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner, who was out against the Jets, had been disrupted by injuries.  A knee injury had cost the team the services of PK Matt Bahr and 38-year-old Mark Moseley, long-time kicker for the Redskins who was released earlier in the season and also was the league’s last remaining straight-ahead placekicker, was signed to take his place.

New York, under Head Coach Joe Walton for the fourth year, had gotten off to an impressive 10-1 start before losing five straight games to end up at 10-6. Injuries were a problem, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, and QB Ken O’Brien’s performance dropped off significantly. He was benched in favor of backup QB Pat Ryan, who led the Jets to a win over Kansas City in the Wild Card playoff round.  WR Al Toon was an All-Pro and RB Freeman McNeil, when healthy, was very productive. But the injuries on defense played havoc with the ability of the Jets to defend against the pass.

There were 78,106 fans in attendance at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. The Jets had first possession and punted. The short kick by Dave Jennings had the Browns starting at their 44 and a personal foul on the defense two plays later moved the ball into New York territory. However, after reaching the 29, Cleveland came up empty when Mark Moseley was short on a 46-yard field goal attempt.

The teams exchanged punts before the Jets advanced 82 yards in four plays. Pat Ryan threw to Al Toon for 28 yards and WR Wesley Walker for seven before firing to Walker once more on a flea-flicker for a 42-yard touchdown. Pat Leahy added the extra point and the visitors held the early 7-0 advantage.

The Browns started at their two following the ensuing kickoff but responded with a 98-yard drive in six plays. Bernie Kosar passed twice to TE Ozzie Newsome for 21 and 23 yards and to TE Harry Holt for nine yards to the New York 42. After an offside penalty on the Jets, Kosar went to the air once again, this time to RB Harry Fontenot for a 37-yard TD. Moseley’s point after tied the score.

The Jets punted after a short possession and the Browns were on the move as the opening period came to a close with Kosar connecting with WR Webster Slaughter for 15 yards and Newsome for 14. But the drive stalled at the New York 40 and, now in the second quarter, Cleveland was forced to punt.

The teams returned to trading punts until the Browns, regaining possession at midfield, advanced 29 yards in seven plays. Kosar completed three passes, the biggest to Newsome for 13 yards and Kevin Mack (pictured at right) for 25 down to the New York nine. However, a holding penalty moved the ball back and the offense could get no further. Moseley booted a 38-yard field goal to put Cleveland in the lead by 10-7.

Following another exchange of punts, the Jets took possession at their 31 with 1:29 remaining in the first half. QB Ken O’Brien, now behind center because of a groin injury to Ryan, twice scrambled for gains of nine and 16 yards and completed two passes. With the clock down to seven seconds, Leahy came on to kick a 46-yard field goal and the teams went into halftime with the score tied at 10-10.

The Browns had the ball first in the third quarter, punted, and New York started off with good field position at the Cleveland 41. Freeman McNeil ran three straight times for 23 yards but was then tackled for a loss and two O’Brien passes fell incomplete. Still, the Jets took the lead when Leahy kicked a 37-yard field goal that made the tally 13-10.

Cleveland responded by driving into New York territory, the big play being a Kosar throw to Holt for 33 yards. But after RB Curtis Dickey ran for three yards, two passes intended for Fontenot were incomplete, the second after being tipped by DT Tom Baldwin, and the Browns came up empty when Moseley was wide to the left on a 44-yard try for a field goal.

The teams returned to trading punts for the remainder of the period, with the Browns coming out ahead on the battle for field position. Starting at midfield early in the fourth quarter, Kosar threw to Newsome for a 34-yard gain and a pass interference call on a third-and-six play gave Cleveland a first down at the New York 10. But after Mack carried twice for eight yards, Kosar’s third down pass into the end zone was intercepted by CB Russell Carter. It ended a streak of 133 consecutive passes without an interception for Kosar.

O’Brien completed passes to Toon for 11 yards and FB Tony Paige for 10, and McNeil ran effectively as the Jets reached the Cleveland 43 before having to punt. However, they got the ball right back when Kosar was again picked off, this time by CB Jerry Holmes at the Cleveland 25. On the next play, McNeil carried the ball on a sweep to the right and went the distance for a touchdown. Leahy converted and New York was ahead by 20-10 with only a little over four minutes remaining in regulation.

It looked dire for the Browns on the next series as they faced third-and-24 at their 18, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on DE Mark Gastineau earned them 15 yards and a first down and, after two passes were incomplete to set up third-and-10, Kosar connected on five straight throws. WR Reggie Langhorne caught the first two, for 10 and 13 yards, and WR Brian Brennan followed up with receptions for 22 and 19 yards to get the ball to the New York three. Two plays later, Mack scored a TD from a yard out and, with Moseley’s extra point, the visitors’ lead was cut to 20-17.

The try for an onside kick was recovered by the Jets and they were able to run the clock down to 1:03 before punting. Starting from their 33, the Browns were helped along by a pass interference penalty that moved the ball to the New York 42. Kosar threw to Slaughter for 37 yards and, after the next pass was incomplete, Moseley kicked a 22-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to tie the score at 20-20 and send the game into overtime.

The Jets went three-and-out on the first possession of OT. It looked good for the Browns, starting from their 26, as Kosar completed five passes, the last to Langhorne for 35 yards down to the New York five. But Moseley then missed to the right on a 23-yard field goal attempt and the game continued.

Neither team could move on the next few possessions, resulting in punts. Cleveland had the ball at the New York 35 as time expired in the first overtime period and three runs by Mack picked up 26 yards to the nine before Moseley, given another opportunity, came through with a game-winning 27-yard field goal at the 2:02 mark of the second overtime period. The Browns advanced by a final score of 23-20.

Cleveland had by far the most total yards (558 to 287) and first downs (33 to 14). The Browns also recorded nine sacks, three of them by DE Carl Hairston, to four by New York. Cleveland turned the ball over twice, to none by the Jets, but the visitors were flagged 10 times at a cost of 94 yards, to four penalties for 40 yards on the Browns.

Bernie Kosar completed 33 of 64 passes for 489 yards, the attempts and yards setting new NFL postseason records, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Kevin Mack rushed for 63 yards on 20 carries that included a TD and also had 5 catches for 51 yards. Ozzie Newsome (pictured at left) had 6 pass receptions for 114 yards and Webster Slaughter also caught 6 passes, for 86 yards. Mark Moseley was successful on three of six field goal attempts.

For the Jets, Pat Ryan was 6 of 11 for 103 yards and a TD and, in relief, Ken O’Brien completed 11 of 19 throws for 134 yards. Al Toon caught 5 passes for 93 yards and Freeman McNeil rushed for 71 yards on 25 attempts that included a score along with four pass receptions for 35 yards. Dave Jennings punted 14 times for a 37.9-yard average.

“It has to be one of the finest games in the history of the game,” said Cleveland’s Coach Schottenheimer. “It equals any comeback I’ve ever seen and it is certainly the best I’ve ever been a part of.”

“I think the Browns just got revved up and played very well,” said Coach Walton of the Jets. “The big thing was our inability to move the ball.”

Cleveland advanced to the AFC Championship game and lost a close contest to the Denver Broncos, the first of two consecutive conference title game meetings between the clubs that were both won by the Broncos. The Jets dropped to 6-9 in 1987 and didn’t return to the postseason until 1991.

1991: Moon Passes for 423 Yards to Rally Oilers Past Jets

The Houston Oilers were well established by 1991 as the NFL’s most prolific passing team. Under second-year Head Coach Jack Pardee, they operated a run-and-shoot offense that had 34-year-old QB Warren Moon (pictured at right) throwing early and often to a talented stable of wide receivers that included Drew Hill, Haywood Jeffires, Ernest Givins, and Curtis Duncan. They were off to a 4-1 start as they took on the New York Jets on October 13.

The Jets, coached by Bruce Coslet, were 3-3 after having won their previous two games following three straight losses. QB Ken O’Brien, in his eighth season, was a steady if not spectacular performer and he had two good targets in wide receivers Al Toon and Rob Moore. RB Brad Baxter had outperformed the team’s 1990 first round draft choice, Blair Thomas.

There were 70,758 fans in attendance on a cloudy day at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. They saw the Jets take the opening kickoff and roll 80 yards in 10 plays. O’Brien completed four passes, including one for a 34-yard gain to Baxter to the Houston three yard line. From there, Baxter ran up the middle for the final three yards and a touchdown.

The Oilers went three-and-out on their initial possession and the Jets came back to score again. O’Brien started the drive off with an 18-yard completion to Toon and later threw to WR Chris Burkett for 23 yards to the Houston seven. New York wasn’t able to punch in for another TD, but the 59-yard possession ended with Pat Leahy kicking a 21-yard field goal to make it 10-0.

In the second quarter, Houston finally got something going on offense. The Oilers converted a fourth-and-one play at the New York 31 with a Moon pass to Haywood Jeffires (pictured below) for nine yards. Throwing on every play, Moon finished off the 10-play, 54-yard series with a three-yard TD pass to a diving Curtis Duncan in the end zone. Ian Howfield missed the extra point attempt, however, and the score remained 10-6 in favor of the Jets.

Following a New York punt, the Oilers took over at their 17 and Moon immediately threw to Jeffires for 35 yards. The drive went 83 yards in 10 plays with Moon converting two third downs with a 21-yard completion to Jeffires on third-and-five at the New York 43 and a 14-yard pass to Drew Hill in a third-and-six situation that made it first-and-goal at the four. RB Lorenzo White finished off the possession by taking a pitchout for a one-yard touchdown. This time the point after was successful and Houston was in front at 13-10.

New York had to punt again following its next series but Moon was intercepted by DB Lonnie Young to give the Jets a last shot with 21 seconds before the half and the ball at the Houston 47. Two O’Brien completions got the ball to the 34, but Leahy’s 52-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to the right and the Oilers maintained the three-point lead at the intermission.

Starting at their own six yard line after a short kickoff return to start the second half, the Oilers moved the ball effectively with Moon hitting on passes of 16 yards to Hill, 13 yards to Jeffires, and 9 more to Jeffires again to start the drive. But after reaching the New York 44, Moon was intercepted by CB Mike Brim, who returned it 13 yards to not only stop Houston’s drive but also give the Jets good field position. New York made the most of it, moving methodically down the field in 14 plays that ended with Leahy booting a 31-yard field goal to tie the score.

Moon had the Oilers driving again as the third quarter came to an end, but the drive stalled at the New York 32 and the attempt to convert a fourth-and-seven situation ended with an incomplete pass intended for WR Ernest Givins that was broken up by Lonnie Young.

The Jets went three-and-out on their next possession and Houston again came out throwing with Moon going to Jeffires for gains of 14 and 35 yards to the New York 27. An apparent touchdown run by White was nullified by a holding penalty, but the Oilers scored on Howfield field goal of 23 yards to move back in front at 16-13.

New York was unable to move the ball on its next series, even after retaining possession when a punt hit Houston DB Marcus Robertson on the arm and was recovered by Burkett for the Jets. Still, a second Louie Aguiar punt went out of bounds at the Houston six, and with just under six minutes remaining there was still time for the Jets – if they could get the ball back.

White ran for a two-yard loss on Houston’s first play, but then Moon threw to Duncan for nine yards and, in a big third-and-three situation, hit Duncan again for 23 more yards. White ran for 11 yards and then Moon passed for eight before handing off to White three more times for short gains while the Jets used their first two timeouts. But on third-and-four, Moon threw to Hill on a crossing pattern and the wide receiver went all the way for a 37-yard touchdown.

It was the clincher for Houston – the Jets drove to a last-play touchdown as O’Brien passed to Burkett from 18 yards out, but time ran out on New York. The Oilers came away with a 23-20 win.

Houston significantly outgained the Jets (436 yards to 279) and had the edge in first downs (25 to 21). Neither team ran the ball effectively, with New York gaining 43 yards on 21 attempts and the Oilers compiling just 27 on 15 carries. The Oilers sacked O’Brien four times while Moon was sacked once by the Jets. Houston also turned the ball over three times while New York suffered just one turnover.

Warren Moon went to the air 50 times and had 35 completions for 423 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Haywood Jeffires led the receivers with 13 catches for 186 yards while Curtis Duncan added 8 receptions for 67 yards and a TD and Drew Hill (pictured below) pulled in 6 passes for 80 yards and a score. Lorenzo White led what there was of a running attack with 24 yards on 11 attempts that included a TD.

For the Jets, Ken O’Brien completed 24 of 42 passes for 269 yards with a TD and one intercepted. Chris Burkett caught 6 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and Al Toon also had 6 receptions, for 51 yards. Brad Baxter had 31 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts.

“This should show people we are for real,” say Haywood Jeffires. “Now we can go to Miami and come up with back-to-back wins on the road. I think we will and people will consider us a Super Bowl contender.”

Houston did indeed win the next week against the Dolphins and made it to 7-1 before losing again. The Oilers did lose three of their last five games, but after having been a Wild Card team the previous four years, they won the AFC Central with an 11-5 record. In the postseason, they once again beat the Jets to get through the Wild Card round but lost a close contest at Denver in the Divisional round to once again come up short of a trip to the Super Bowl. New York was 8-8 on the year but still managed to finish second in the AFC East and qualify for a Wild Card spot.

Filling the air with passes on a regular basis, Warren Moon led the NFL in attempts (655), completions (404), yards (4690), but also interceptions (21). Still, his passer rating of 81.7 ranked only tenth and he was fifth in touchdown passes with 23. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth straight year.

Haywood Jeffires led the league with 100 pass receptions and ranked fourth with 1181 yards. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and also was chosen for the Pro Bowl for the first of an eventual three consecutive times. Drew Hill ranked third by catching 90 passes and seventh in yards with 1109. 

1986: O’Brien Outduels Marino as Jets Defeat Dolphins in Overtime Thriller

The September 21, 1986 game between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands featured two first-round quarterbacks from the highly-touted 1983 draft field. After three seasons, Miami’s Dan Marino had already established himself as one of the top passers in the game. He had put together an astounding season in 1984 as the Dolphins advanced to the AFC Championship, and even after getting a late start due to a training camp holdout in ’85, still threw for 4746 yards and 44 touchdown passes. The Dolphins went 12-4 but lacked a meaningful running attack and didn’t stop the run very well, either. After nearly being upset by the 8-8 Cleveland Browns in the Divisional playoff, they were beaten by the Patriots in the AFC title game. Coming into the contest against the Jets, they were 1-1, having given up 50 points in a loss to the Chargers in the season-opening game but then having comfortably beaten the Colts in Week 2.

Ken O’Brien of the Jets had taken longer to develop, having not played at all during his rookie season in ’83. He took over as the starting quarterback in the last five games of the 1984 season (after getting caught up in a trial pertaining to a brawl at the Studio 54 night club in New York City). Still, he had broken out with a Pro Bowl year in ’85, throwing for 3888 yards and 25 TDs against just 8 interceptions. The Jets, having put together back-to-back 7-9 seasons under Head Coach Joe Walton, improved to 11-5 and were viewed as a team on the rise. An ’86 opening-day win at Buffalo had been followed by a dismal 20-6 loss to the Patriots the next week. Such was the stage set for the matchup with division-rival Miami.

The game started off quietly enough, with the teams trading punts until Jets WR Kurt Sohn returned one 27 yards to give New York excellent starting field position at the Miami 23 yard line. While the offense failed to move the ball, Pat Leahy kicked a 32-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Dolphins promptly came alive on their next possession as Marino threw back-to-back completions to WR Mark Duper of 22 and 21 yards. The six-play, 67-yard drive ended with a six-yard scoring pass to WR James Pruitt and Miami held a 7-3 lead after a quarter of play.

As the game moved into the second quarter, O’Brien moved the Jets along with four pass completions and RB Johnny Hector scored on a one-yard touchdown run to put New York back in the lead at 10-7. Two plays into Miami’s ensuing possession, safety Lester Lyles intercepted a Marino pass and returned it to the Dolphins’ 19 yard line. Three snaps later, Hector ran eight yards up the middle and it was a 17-7 game.


Miami came right back with big plays through the air. Marino threw to WR Mark Clayton for a 42-yard gain, went to Clayton again for 13 more, and then to Duper for 21 yards down to the New York one. On a play-action pass, Marino threw to TE Dan Johnson for a TD and, with the successful PAT, a three-point game.

Shortly thereafter, it was Miami’s turn to benefit from a turnover as CB Don McNeal intercepted a pass that was bobbled by Jets WR JoJo Townsell. With a 17-yard return, the Dolphins took over at the New York 13 and, two plays later, Marino found Duper in the corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and 21-17 lead.

It didn’t take long for the Jets to strike back as O’Brien threw long to a wide-open WR Wesley Walker who went all the way for a 65-yard touchdown. Following a Miami punt, New York got the ball back but had to kick it away with under a minute to go in the first half. However, Pruitt and safety Reyna Thompson collided, the ball hit Thompson, and LB Matt Monger recovered for the Jets at midfield. O’Brien immediately went long for Walker, who gathered it in for a 50-yard touchdown, and the Jets took a 31-21 lead into halftime.

Already, both quarterbacks had thrown for over 200 yards (Marino with 245, O’Brien 203), and things did not slow down in the third quarter. After a three-and-out series by the Jets, Marino connected with Duper for a 46-yard touchdown that cut New York’s margin to 31-28. The Jets turned the ball over on the next possession when O’Brien was sacked by LB Mark Brown, fumbled, and NT George Little recovered for the Dolphins at the New York 47. Six plays later, and after Clayton dropped a long pass at the five yard line, Fuad Reveiz kicked a 44-yard field goal and the score was tied at 31-31.

The Jets again turned the ball over on a fumble two plays into the next possession, and again Miami capitalized six plays after that on a one-yard Marino pass to TE Bruce Hardy that put the Dolphins back in front at 38-31.

Nearing the midpoint of the fourth quarter, the Jets tied the score following an 80-yard drive in 11 plays that featured a pass from O’Brien to WR Al Toon for 36 yards and a one-yard carry by RB Tony Paige on a fourth-and-one play at the Miami eight. RB Dennis Bligen ran for a seven-yard TD and Leahy’s extra point made it 38-38 with 8:32 to go in regulation.

Following a Miami punt, Walker fumbled after catching a short pass from O’Brien and LB Jackie Shipp gave the Dolphins possession at the New York 27. Helped along by an unnecessary roughness penalty, Miami again made the Jets pay when Marino threw to Clayton for a four-yard touchdown. The Dolphins were again in front at 45-38.

With the clock down to under two minutes, Miami got the ball back but was unable to get a clinching first down on a third-and-seven play and had to punt. Starting from their 20 and with only one timeout left, the Jets moved down the field. A pass from O’Brien to TE Mickey Shuler turned into a big gain when the tight end, after gaining seven yards, lateraled to Hector, who went another 21 yards to the Dolphins’ 39. Following the final timeout and two completions to Shuler, O’Brien threw to Walker and, with no time remaining, the wide receiver gathered in the pass at the two yard line and dove into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown. Leahy’s all-important extra point was good, and with the score tied at 45-45, the contest went into overtime.

The Jets won the toss to start the extra period and, following a 19-yard kickoff return, they took possession at their 22 yard line. O’Brien threw to Toon for back-to-back completions that totaled 25 yards and, following two running plays, he went deep once more to Walker. Walker grabbed the ball at the goal line for a 43-yard touchdown and the Jets came away with a stunning 51-45 win at 2:35 into overtime.

The teams combined for 1066 total yards of offense, with the Jets holding the edge at 581 to 485. The total of 884 yards through the air set a league record. New York also accumulated 32 first downs, to 27 for the Dolphins, but also turned the ball over four times, to three turnovers suffered by Miami.

Ken O’Brien completed 29 of 43 passes for 479 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. While Al Toon had the most catches for the Jets, with 7 for 111 yards, Wesley Walker (pictured below) had the more noteworthy performance with 6 receptions for 194 yards and four TDs – made even more impressive because he had been dealing with a groin injury coming into the game. Johnny Hector led the running game with 82 yards on 22 carries and two scores.



For Miami, Dan Marino went to the air 50 times and had 30 completions for 448 yards and six touchdowns; he was picked off twice. Mark Clayton caught 8 passes for 174 yards and a TD and Mark Duper was right behind with 7 receptions for 154 yards and two scores. RB Tony Nathan was the leading ground-gainer with 36 yards on four carries (the Dolphins had just 50 yards of rushing offense).

“I was down on myself because I fumbled the ball. I thought I lost the game for the team,” said Wesley Walker afterward. “I was just grateful I was given the opportunity to make it up.”

“It's a shame to waste a performance like this by Marino,” said a disappointed Coach Don Shula of the Dolphins. “We let it go down the drain.”

The Jets went on to win their next eight straight games, but then lost the final five (starting with a 45-3 whipping by the Dolphins in Miami) to end up at 10-6, good enough for second place in the AFC East and a wild card playoff spot. They defeated the Chiefs in the first round but lost to Cleveland in overtime in the Divisional playoff game. Miami continued to be plagued by inconsistency and finished in third place in the division with an 8-8 record.

Ken O’Brien went on to throw for 3690 yards and ranked second in the league with 25 touchdowns. As was the case against the Dolphins, Al Toon was the team’s top receiver with 85 catches for 1176 yards and eight TDs and earned consensus first-team All-Pro honors. Wesley Walker had 49 receptions for 1016 yards to average 20.7 yards-per-catch (tied for second best in the NFL with Green Bay’s Walter Stanley) and scored 12 touchdowns.

Dan Marino led the league in pass attempts (623), completions (378), yards (4746), TD passes (44), and percentage of TD passes (7.1). He ranked second in passing (92.5 rating) but also in interceptions (23, tied with Randy Wright of the Packers). Mark Duper caught 67 passes for a career-high 1313 yards and 11 touchdowns and Mark Clayton had 60 receptions for 1150 yards and 10 scores; both joined Marino in being selected to the Pro Bowl.