Cleveland Browns: Unlikely Josh McCown run not unprecedented

The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens in overtime this past week in no small part to the 457 yards passing and two scores, as well as a rushing touchdown, from 36-year old Josh McCown.

McCown set a franchise record for passing yards in a regular season passing game and has accounted for 1,154 passing yards over the past three weeks; an extremely unusual stretch of play from a 36-year old quarterback that has experienced little success throughout his career, but it is not unprecedented.

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If someone asked who holds the record for passing yards in a single game for the Arizona Cardinals, people might inclined to guess Kurt Warner or Carson Palmer. A Cardinals fan might chime in with the correct answer – Boomer Esiason. Yes, Boomer Esiason, who only played 10 games for the team in 1996, but had one of the most entertaining runs in NFL history, especially for a team and a fanbase that had struggled for years.

Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) calls out the play at the line during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

As Esiason likes to joke, he played for the Bermuda Triangle of NFL franchises. He started his career with the Cincinnati Bengals where he led the team to a Super Bowl and was on the losing end of Joe Montana’s greatest drive. In 1993, Esiason went to the Jets where he played decently but the team proved to be a disaster. After a season where Esiason played in 14 games, he left to become a backup for the Cardinals in 1996.

Esiason was 35 and signed up to be in a similar role as Josh McCown. He was to be a bridge quarterback as the Cardinals tried to get through the season and figure out how they wanted to attack the quarterback position (They would draft Jake Plummer in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft). They also had signed Kent Graham from the New York Giants in the offseason.

After starting the season with a relative thud between performance, an 0-3 record, and simply being beaten up, the Cardinals turned to Kent Graham who was able to go out and win his first start with the team and guide them to a 3-2 record, getting them back to 3-5, before a knee injury would end his season against the New York Giants. Esiason came into that game and did not play particularly well, making the events of the next three weeks all the more unlikely.

The Cardinals were 3-6, going back to a quarterback that had played poorly, looking like his best days were long behind him and now they had to go on the road to face the Washington Redskins on the road The Redskins were 7-2 and just had their seven-game winning streak snapped by the Jim Kelly-led Bills in Orchard Park. Every indication suggested the Redskins would get back on track against the sputtering Cardinals. Instead, Esiason, guided by offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, went out and made history.

Despite Esiason throwing interceptions on their first two offensive possessions of the game, the Cardinals played the Redskins to a 13-13 draw in the first half. The Cardinals lone touchdown came on a 64-yard pass to Marcus Dowdell.

The Redskins came out and scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, putting the Cardinals in a sizable hole, down 27-13. Esiason threw his third interception of the game and on the last play of the quarter, he was sacked and fumbled that was recovered by one of his offensive lineman, setting up the Cardinals with third-and-26 to start the fourth quarter. This had all of the makings of another disappointing, predictable Cardinals loss.

Then something happened. Esiason connected with Rob Moore for a 40-yard gain to get them a first down. On the following third-and-12, Esiason connected with Moore again, this time for 34 yards, putting them on the one-yard line, setting up a Larry Centers touchdown putting the Cardinals withiin one score. The Redskins would score another touchdown but the Esiason led passing attack were able to account for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the final one which happened in the last seconds of regulation which forced overtime.

Even overtime proved to be a back and forth affair with missed field goals by both teams. Esiason and company were able to finally get the game winning field and secure a 37-34 victory. When the dust settled, Esiason had amassed 522 yards passing en route to the victory, which remains tied for fourth in NFL history, as well as the Cardinals’ franchise record.

That game alone would have made for a great story, a great moment, but Esiason and the Cardinals would go on to do more the following two weeks. Esiason threw for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a win against the New York Giants 31-23, having just lost to them two weeks previously.

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Against the Eagles in a shootout between Esiason and Ty Detmer of all people, Boomer threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns while Detmer threw for 322 yards in a 36-30 victory for Arizona. Esiason had thrown for a three-week total of 1,149 passing yards and eight touchdowns as the Cardinals won three straight, drawing even to a 6-6 record. There was little explanation as to why it happened considering how much Esiason had struggled the rest of that year, but it was just interesting to see how long the run could last.

The Cardinals’ run ended against the Minnesota Vikings, then a loss to the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys, but were able to defeat the Redskins again before losing their final game of the year to the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, the Cardinals had to go back to Kent Graham at the end of the year.

Esiason’s career in Arizona lasted just the one season as he went back to the Bengals to finish his career as Jeff Blake’s backup. He would actually end up playing the final five games of the 1997 season, leading the Bengals to four wins and a 378-yard, four-touchdown loss to the Eagles. His last stint with the Bengals made for a great final act in Esiason’s career but it was just not on the same level as that three game stint with the Arizona Cardinals, how entertaining that streak was, what it meant to the Cardinals and how unlikely it all was.

Oct 11, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine celebrates after his team scores during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Cleveland Browns defeated Baltimore Ravens 33-30 in over time. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Josh McCown was a third-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002. He has had nowhere near the amount of success Esiason had as an NFL quarterback and the 1-3 record for Mike Pettine’s team mutes some of the excitement in his accomplishment. Nevertheless, 36-year old McCown has had 1,154 yards of passing these past three weeks and Sunday’s game against the Ravens was the best.

McCown threw for 457 yards, threw two touchdowns and ran in another one, all while not turning over the ball on 51 pass attempts. Just like Esiason, he is an unlikely answer to the trivia question as to who has the team’s record for passing yards in a single regular season game as well as the first quarterback in team history to throw for 300 yards in 3 straight games. And just like Esiason, he did it at a surprising age, at 36.

The two weeks previous, McCown threw for 356 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Chargers and 341 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against the Raiders. In all, 1,154 yards passing with six scores (one rushing touchdown) and just the one pick. Much like Esiason, there is no way to know when this passing streak will end, though this coming week against one of the best defenses in the league in the Denver Broncos will about as stiff a test as one could imagine.

Jun 16, 2015; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) and Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo during minicamp at the Cleveland Browns practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The other part of this is the offensive coordinators involved. Jim Fassel was Esiason’s offensive coordinator in Arizona and would go on to lead the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance. John DeFilippo deserves a lot of credit for creating an environment for McCown to play well in and he appears to be an offensive coordinator on the rise. It will be interesting to see where Flip goes from here.

Esiason’s run in Arizona was short-lived and he was there for just the one year. McCown could end up being with the Browns for a year or two and may only play this year. Neither one is an answer to the quarterback question for the long term, but their runs of success just happened to be extremely entertaining for two fan bases that could use it at the time, if they are smart enough to go along for the ride and just enjoy what is happening.

Josh McCown will never have a more productive, more fun time in his career. He is certainly enjoying every second of it. Fans should too.

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