1980 Cleveland Browns Week 3

Chiefs at Browns

Big Win

You know what? I think I’m a genius.

Every single decision I made this afternoon turned out right. Our defense absolutely stifled the Kansas City offense, and our offense simply never let go of the ball.

We dominated from the kickoff to the final whistle. The 30-7 win was more of a blowout than the lopsided score indicates.

Kansas City didn’t get close to scoring until the final drive of the game, in which they scored a meaningless touchdown to spoil our shutout.

Our defense was ruthless, holding Kansas City to only 205 total yards of offense. The offense, meanwhile, was awesome: 191 yards rushing and “only” 266 of passing.

We ran out of the I formation as often as we did out of split backs. This confused Kansas City, and we had them guessing wrong all day long. Pruitt managed 140 yards, averaging 4.8 per carry, and Charlie White backed him up with a cool 3.6 per carry of his own.

Kansas City, meanwhile, had to resort to passing on the rare opportunities that they actually had the ball. The Chiefs did average 4.2 yards per run, but only ran the ball 18 times all game long. Fuller was 18 for 35 in the air, throwing 3 interceptions and suffering 3 sacks in a sad, sad performance.

I love this team.

Game Stats

Using the “auto blitz” option worked.

I think taking advantage of the auto blitz functionality was the key to overcoming my natural conservatism on defense. We blitzed as often as they did, but really made it count, forcing 4 turnovers in all.

Kansas City just didn’t have the ball for much time in this one. That’s what a good running game will do to you, of course. We held on to the ball, we weren’t sacked at all, and we passed when they were looking run and ran when they were looking pass.

Pruitt had a much better game, probably due to me running with him in different formations. We were far less predictable this time around, and the stats really show that.

This will make you forget about those heartbreaking losses in a hurry!

Other Action

Eagles 37, Giants 21: At Philadelphia, the Eagles demolished the New York defense. New York scored two meaningless late touchdowns to make the score look closer than it really was.

Patriots 20, Seahawks 7: At Seattle, New England overcame an early 7-3 deficit to make short work of the Seahawks. Seattle’s 4th quarter desperation drive fell flat after a 4th-and-4 run by Zorn with 1:31 to go came up 2 yards short.

Dolphins 38, Falcons 26: At Atlanta, the Dolphins overcame a late 26-24 deficit by scoring two straight touchdowns, the second an interception return by safety Don Bessillieu to seal the game.

Redskins 23, Raiders 17: At Oakland, a desperate Raider second half comeback fell just short, with one 4th quarter drive ending after a missed 4th down conversion and the other sputtering out after an interception.

Broncos 17, Chargers 10: At Denver, the Bronco defense stopped two late Charger drives cold in their tracks to preserve the win.

Oilers 20, Colts 10: At Houston, Earl Campbell ran for 139 yards on the turf to carry the Oilers past the Colts.

Jets 38, 49ers 14: At New York, the Jets made short work of the 49ers, who didn’t manage to score until the 4th quarter.

Bears 20, Vikings 9: At Chicago, the Bears stifled the Minnesota offense.

Bills 26, Saints 10: At New Orleans, Buffalo’s offensive attack was too much for the hapless New Orleans defense.

Packers 23, Rams 17: At Los Angeles, Green Bay needed overtime to get past the Rams. Los Angeles had the ball to open the sudden death overtime period, but wound up being forced to punt. Green Bay then drove the length of the field to win it.

Cowboys 31, Buccaneers 6: At Dallas, the Cowboys obliterated Tampa Bay’s offense, forcing 3 turnovers.

Cardinals 33, Lions 21: At Detroit, the Cardinals offense gained 408 yards in a big win.

Steelers 31, Bengals 24: At Cincinnati, the World Champions proved that they weren’t over the hill just yet, improving to 3-0.

Standings

We’re climbing up, but I’m worried that Pittsburgh will be tough to beat.

We play at Tampa Bay next week, and I’m expecting another big win.