Today in 1978 - Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns

September 10, 1978 – Today in 1978, the Cincinnati Bengals took on the Cleveland Browns in a Week 2 game at the Dawg Pound in Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

The Bengals got on the board first with a 51 yard touchdown pass from John Reaves to Don Bass.  At the end of the first quarter, Cincinnati led 7-0.

Chris Bahr kicked a 37 yard field goal in the second quarter to increase the Bengal lead.  Cincinnati led 10-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Cleveland got on the board with a 32 yard field goal by Don Cockroft.  At the end of the quarter, Cincinnati led 10-3.

Cleveland tied the game in the fourth quarter on a 13 yard touchdown pass from Brian Sipe to Reggie Rucker.  The game was tied 10-10 after regulation and went to overtime.

In the overtime period, Don Cockroft kicked a 27 yard field goal and the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 13-10.  The Browns went to 2-0 and the Bengals fell to 0-2.

John Reaves passed 15-26 169 yards 1TD 1 Int for the Bengals.  Brian Sipe passed 16-32 219 1TD 1 Int and Greg Pruitt rushed 22-120 yards for the Browns.  

Notables

• One Hall of Famer played in this game, Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome.
• Long time players Ozzie Newsome and Clay Matthews were rookies in 1978.  Newsome was a starter at the time, but Matthews wasn’t.
• Matthews is the father of Green Bay Packer linebacker Clay Matthews.
• This was Bill Johnson’s third and last season coaching the Bengals.  He would be replaced after five games by Homer Rice.
• Johnson played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1950-56.

• This was Sam Rutigliano’s first season coaching the Browns.  He would coach the team from 1978-84.  He would be replaced in 1984 by defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer.
• This was future NFL head coach Dick Jauron’s first season with the Bengals.  He was previously with the Detroit Lions for five seasons.  He spent his last three seasons with Cincinnati.

Game stats and other data can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns - September 10, 1978.