"The Kardiac Kids" Season Summary
The 1980 Cleveland Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. Finishing 11-5, the Browns captured the hearts and imagination of many pro football observers and their fans, as well as their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. It was also Cleveland's version of the best roller-coaster ride ever, with plenty of very high highs and very low lows.
So it seemed fitting, then, that the two most important contests of the year, the regular-season finale at Cincinnati and the divisional playoff with the Oakland Raiders, went down to the end as well.
Rallying from a 10-0 first-half deficit, the Browns erased the memory of that painful 28-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, which they lost on a last second Hail Mary pass from Pro Bowl QB Tommy Kramer to then All-Pro WR (and future NBA broadcaster) Ahmad Rashad, rallying to beat the Bengals 27-24 to finally snare the Central championship. Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left, then the Bengals got as far as the Cleveland 14 before time ran out. In the excruciating 14-12 loss to the Raiders in what has become known as the Red Right 88, or Ice Bowl, game, the Browns, trailing 14-12, marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds, only to have Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome - on a play called Red Right 88 - get intercepted.
That was about the only big mistake Sipe made all year. Sipe simply was brilliant, throwing for 4,132 yards and 30 touchdowns, with just 14 interceptions, to win the NFL MVP award. But Sipe, while the heart and soul of head coach Sam Rutigliano's team, had plenty of help. He was able to use a variety of weapons, spreading the ball around to keep defenses guessing.
Five Browns had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt with 63. Running back Calvin Hill, exceptional as a third-down pass receiver, recorded six TDs among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals. And when the Browns needed to move the ball on the ground, they could turn to FB Mike Pruitt, who went over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight year with 1,034. He also ran for six TDs.
It was a wild season, which is why members of the 1980 team are still loved decades later by older Browns fans with good memories. To commemorate the Browns success during the 1980 holiday season, a version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was recorded by Clark Walter, Mack Hayes and Sandra Hayes. Entitled, "The Twelve Days of a Cleveland Browns Christmas," each day mentioned a hero on a "Rutigliano Super Bowl team".
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