Saban wrote:BD Sullivan wrote:in regard to the 1969 Vikings, their 51-3 rout of the Browns is a strong contender. The Browns had 169 yards of total offense, while their defense had no answer either. The Vikes scored the first nine times they had the ball, then finally punted on their last possession. Vikes held the Browns to 39 offensive plays, 151 total yards and eight first downs. In the latter instance, they didn't get their first FD until the second quarter.
I will chalk the 51 to 3 loss to the Vikings in 1969 and the 34 to 0 loss to Baltimore in 1968 to Cleveland's let downs that they almost always suffered during the late 60's the week after their Dallas games. Dallas was their main rival in the Eastern Conference at that time and the Browns were always way up for them. Trouble is that they seemed to crash down the following week. Even after losing to the Cowboys, Cleveland seemed to always play badly, like their 31 to 14 loss to Detroit after losing the opener to Dallas in 1967.
1961 Packers - 37 to 0 over the Giants.
1954 Browns - 56 to 10 over Detroit Lions. Cleveland started slow that year with some new players replacing retired players, but after 3 games their defense was their greatest ever. They allowed 72 points in their last nine games which is an average of 8 points per game. Cleveland managed to squeeze by Washington in one game, 62 to 3.
Regarding the 1967 Cleveland/Detroit game, won by the Lions 31 to 14, there may be a couple excuses other than the post Dallas game letdown. For one, flanker Gary Collins missed the game due to an injury. Tight end Milt Morin also missed that game, but Morin missed most of the season due to an injury or injuries. The Detroit game was the only game that the Browns' Collins missed. Collins was Cleveland's main possession receiver and usually could be counted on for a TD or two.
Detroit had a tie with Green Bay in their opener and thought that they may have had a chance to win the Central Division of the Western Conference. To win the division, they could not afford to lose very many games with Green Bay in their division. Cleveland, on the other hand, played in an easier division (Century Division) and their only real threat early on was thought to be the St. Louis Cardinals, but the Cardinals seemed to have a tendency to self destruct, and they had lost their opener to the New York Giants. So, the Browns could probably let a couple of games slip away and still win their division.
One other thing, early in the game, Leroy Kelly fumbled on Detroit's 5 yard line. Of course, those things are part of the game, but Cleveland may have had a 21 to 3 lead early on, and Detroit may have played it differently if that was the case.
What was really bad for Cleveland that day was Detroit seemed to run the ball at will against them, especially in the second half.