Monday, September 21, 1970
Browns 31, New York Jets 21
Cleveland Stadium (85,703)
Bill Nelsen controlled the game for the Browns with 145 yards passing and a TD.
Billy Andrews on his way to the endzone after intercepting Joe Namath.
Bo Scott helped control the clock with his rushing and backfield blocking efforts.
Coach Bob Nussbaumer and Homer Jones in practice before the game. Jones had a 94 yard kickoff return for a TD.
Don Cockroft handled the punting duties for the Browns and also added a 27 yard field goal and four PATs.
First Monday Night Football Game program cover.
Fred Hoaglin leads the way for Leroy Kelly who rushed for 62 yards.
Gary Collins hauling in a 8 yard touchdown pass from Bill Nelsen to open up the scoring on the night.
Jack Gregory and Ron Snidow bearing down on Joe Namath.
Jim Houston hauls in one of Joe Namath's three interception while Erich Barnes looks on.
The headline tells the story of the night as 85,703 attended the first Monday Night Football Game in history.
On an historic evening, the Browns played their first game as a member of the American Football Conference and hosted the initial broadcast of ABC's Monday Night Football, holding off the Jets for an exciting victory before the largest home crowd in team history. The Browns jumped to a quick 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possessions. They then added a third score when WR Homer Jones - acquired in the offseason to replace Paul Warfield, who was traded so the Browns could draft QB Mike Phipps - returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-7. With QB Joe Namath picking apart the Cleveland defense, including hitting WR George Sauer 10 times for a whopping 172 yards, the Jets battled back to pull within three points at 24-21 and regained possession with just over a minute left. Cleveland LB Billy Andrews then made a diving interception and scampered 25 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. It was the fourth New York turnover, as Jets' mistakes wiped out a convincing 454-221 advantage in total yardage. New York also rolled up 161 yards in penalties (the Browns added 101) and committed two of their turnovers inside the Cleveland 20, allowing the Browns to escape with a victory on a memorable evening.
1 2 3 4
Jets 0 7 7 7 = 21
Browns 14 0 10 7 = 31
CLE-Collins 8-yd. pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)
CLE-Scott 2-yd. run (Cockroft kick)
NYJ-Boozer 5-yd. run (Turner kick)
CLE-Jones 94-yd. kickoff return (Cockroft kick)
NYJ-Boozer 10-yd. run (Turner kick)
CLE-Cockroft 27-yd. FG
NYJ-Sauer 33-yd. pass from Namath (Turner kick)
CLE-Andrews 25-yd. interception return (Cockroft kick)
Passing
NYJ: Namath 18-31-298 1 TD 3 INT, Woodall 1-2-7 0 TD 0 INT
CLE: Nelsen 12-27-145 1 TD 0 INT
Rushing
NYJ: Snell 16-108, Boozer 15-58, Nock 1-3, White 1-0, Namath 1-(-1)
CLE: Kelly 20-62, Scott 9-12, Nelsen 1-2
Receiving
NYJ: Sauer 10-172, Maynard 4-69, Boozer 3-38, Caster 1-19, Stewart 1-7
CLE: Morin 5-90, Scott 4-21, Collins 2-21, Hooker 1-13
Text reproduced from The Browns Bible:The Complete Game-By-Game History of the Cleveland Browns by Jonathan Knight, The Kent State University Press
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