AFC Championship: "The Fumble"

For the Cleveland Browns, their AFC Championship matchup against the Broncos on January 17, 1988 offered a chance at redemption: a year earlier, they’d lost a heartbreaker to the Broncos, 23-20, at home in the AFC title game. But when the Broncos, playing in front of a revved-up crowd at Mile High Stadium, surged to leads of 21-3 at halftime and then 28-10 in the third quarter after an 80-yard John Elway touchdown pass, the situation for the Browns looked hopeless. But Cleveland showed resilience, as their quarterback, Bernie Kosar, threw three second half touchdowns, the last of which tied the score at 31 in the fourth quarter. In typical clutch fashion, Elway led the Broncos down the field and threw a 20-yard touchdown pass for a 38-31 lead. But the Browns again demonstrated their fight, driving the ball to the Denver 8 as the clock wound down. The Browns were just a few yards from a game-tying score when Kosar handed the ball to Earnest Byner, who’d already scored two touchdowns. But before reaching the goal line, Byner lost the ball – “the Fumble” as it would become known – which bounced into the hands of a Bronco defender and Denver won again, 38-33. ― NFL 100

Box Score: Football Reference

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