Most young fans will never believe this, but there was a time when the Cleveland Browns were actually the dominant force in football. Moreover, believe it or not, despite being one of the best sports teams in Ohio, there was a time when they actually had a steady quarterback situation.
The Browns recently traded for Deshaun Watson and signed him to a massive extension to put an end to their lifelong woes at the QB position. It’s been long enough since they last had a franchise cornerstone under center.
But, as tough as it may be to believe, the Browns have actually had some pretty decent guys playing QB. So here, we’re going to let you know about them.
The Browns gave Bill Nelsen the last chance to prove his worth in the league. He was often hurt before his tenure in Ohio but turned them into a perennial contender as soon as he got to the team.
Nelsen was asked to replace franchise-great Frank Ryan, and it’s safe to say that he did just fine, leading them to back-to-back Conference Championship games. Unfortunately, that was as far as he was able to take them. Overall, Nelsen had a 34-16-1 record with the Browns and led them to three playoff berths in four seasons.
No Cleveland Brown QB has led them to a championship since Frank Ryan did in 1964. He took over mid-season in 1962 after Jim Ninowski got hurt and never looked back. He was one of the most gifted gunslingers in the league, even leading all football with 25 touchdown passes in the 1964 campaign.
Ryan then set new career and franchise bests a couple of seasons later with 29 touchdowns and 2,974 yards, but that wasn’t enough to lead the franchise back to the promised land. He retired with a 52-22-2 record and 4 playoff appearances for the organization.
The Browns’ decline started in the 70s, with just a handful of playoff appearances in the decade. Then, Brian Sipe arrived as a beacon of hope for the once-great organization, as he was widely considered one of the best passers the league had ever seen. Needless to say, it didn’t take long before he lived up to those standards.
Sipe earned NFL MVP honors in 1980 after setting franchise records of 4,132 yards and 30 touchdowns. His frenetic passing inspired the ‘Kardiac Kids’ era in Cleveland, albeit that 57–55 record (0-1 in the playoffs) isn’t exactly impressive.
Bernie Kosar was the last quarterback to lead the team to multiple playoff appearances. A big fan favorite in Cleveland, Kosar nearly got the team back to the promised land in the late-80s, taking over the job as a rookie and becoming one of the league’s most prolific passers.
Kosar’s career was hampered by multiple injuries, but he was a perennial MVP candidate when he was at his best. He set a then-record with 489 yards in a playoff game, and his average of 202.8 passing yards is a team record among QBs with more than 50 appearances for the organization. He had a 53-51-1 record with them.
Otto Graham is one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history, yet not many fans talk about him nowadays. He was so dominant and explosive that he led the Cleveland Browns to four straight championships in his first four seasons with the team.
Graham was the All-American Football Conference’s all-time leader in passing yards (10,085) and led them to a 47-4-3 regular-season record in a four-year span. He was named AAFC MVP once, NFL MVP three times, and led the Browns to seven total titles (4 in the AAFC, 3 in the NFL) in just nine seasons with the team.
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