Celebrating Perhaps the Nuttiest Game in NFL History
To commemorate the 11th anniversary of the 51-45 Browns-Bengals 2007 brain-melter, here's an excerpt from my latest book, Paul Brown's Ghost:
Into Cleveland rolled the Bengals, who had defeated the Browns five straight times and were coming off a rousing victory over defending division champ Baltimore. And, just like the previous week, the Browns defense permitted a long touchdown drive on the first series of the game, followed by a bumbling three-and-out by the wayward Cleveland offense. Another blowout appeared imminent.
Instead, the Browns and Bengals reenacted the bizarre fireworks show they’d put on three years before. The teams combined for five touchdowns in the second quarter, including three scoring passes from Anderson, who, in his fourth career start, had somehow become the unlikely gunslinger going eyeball-to-eyeball with Carson Palmer. Anderson threw two more touchdown tosses in the second half, giving him five for the day, and with newly acquired running back Jamal Lewis exploding for 215 yards on the ground—the team’s highest tally in forty-four years—the Browns topped the fifty-point mark for the first time in eighteen years and built a 51–38 lead with under six minutes left.
Naturally, the Bengals scored to narrow the margin on Palmer’s sixth touchdown pass of the afternoon, then regained possession with a minute left with a chance to pull out a victory. But, just as things had ended in Cincinnati in 2004, the Browns came up with an interception that secured a wild and woolly 51–45 triumph—arguably the nuttiest in team history. “This game,” Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty wrote, “was a great reason smart people don’t bet on NFL games.”
While the total number of points in Crazy Bowl II was slightly behind the initial encounter, the other statistics surpassed it, essentially rewriting each team’s media guide. The teams combined for twelve touchdowns, fifty-six first downs, and a ludicrous 1,085 total yards.
Just as memorable as the victory was the aftermath. It lit a fire under the previously lifeless Browns, and they embarked upon their finest season since their return to the NFL.
Paul Brown's Ghost hits shelves Oct. 2. Pre-order now.
Into Cleveland rolled the Bengals, who had defeated the Browns five straight times and were coming off a rousing victory over defending division champ Baltimore. And, just like the previous week, the Browns defense permitted a long touchdown drive on the first series of the game, followed by a bumbling three-and-out by the wayward Cleveland offense. Another blowout appeared imminent.
Instead, the Browns and Bengals reenacted the bizarre fireworks show they’d put on three years before. The teams combined for five touchdowns in the second quarter, including three scoring passes from Anderson, who, in his fourth career start, had somehow become the unlikely gunslinger going eyeball-to-eyeball with Carson Palmer. Anderson threw two more touchdown tosses in the second half, giving him five for the day, and with newly acquired running back Jamal Lewis exploding for 215 yards on the ground—the team’s highest tally in forty-four years—the Browns topped the fifty-point mark for the first time in eighteen years and built a 51–38 lead with under six minutes left.
Naturally, the Bengals scored to narrow the margin on Palmer’s sixth touchdown pass of the afternoon, then regained possession with a minute left with a chance to pull out a victory. But, just as things had ended in Cincinnati in 2004, the Browns came up with an interception that secured a wild and woolly 51–45 triumph—arguably the nuttiest in team history. “This game,” Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty wrote, “was a great reason smart people don’t bet on NFL games.”
While the total number of points in Crazy Bowl II was slightly behind the initial encounter, the other statistics surpassed it, essentially rewriting each team’s media guide. The teams combined for twelve touchdowns, fifty-six first downs, and a ludicrous 1,085 total yards.
Just as memorable as the victory was the aftermath. It lit a fire under the previously lifeless Browns, and they embarked upon their finest season since their return to the NFL.
Paul Brown's Ghost hits shelves Oct. 2. Pre-order now.
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