Where were you on September 13, 1993?
It’s been 29 long years since that date so that memory might be a bit fuzzy. For Browns fans, it can be difficult to remember the last time the team was 2-0 in a season. But it did happen on this date 29 years ago today.
For a refresher, the Browns were 1-0 after thumping the Bengals in Week 1 of that season. Bill Belichick’s Cleveland team hosted the San Francisco 49ers for Monday Night Football on the fateful date. Bernie Kosar hit Michael Jackson for a 30-yard TD pass before the half to give the Browns a 20-13 lead.
The only scoring in the second half came on a Matt Stover field goal, giving the Browns a 23-13 win and a shiny, unblemished 2-0 record. Cleveland’s defense picked off Steve Young three times and Jerry Ball notched a strip-sack of the future Hall of Famer which Michael Dean Perry recovered.
Those 49ers would advance to the NFC Championship that year. Belichick’s Browns would win again the following week to go to 3-0 and advance to 5-2 at the bye week. An injury to Kosar derailed the season and the Browns finished a disappointing 7-9.
Cleveland looks to make it 2-0 when the Browns host the 0-1 New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday. To put in perspective how long it’s been since they were 2-0, that game in 1993 happened four days shy of my 21st birthday. I turn 50 on Saturday.