3. Browns 30, Bengals 27, Oct. 11, 1970 at Cleveland
It was the first regular season meeting between the two teams. It drew national attention because the Bengals, in their third season as a franchise, were coached and owned by Paul Brown. The Cleveland Browns had been coached by Brown since their first season as a franchise in 1946 until he was fired by owner Art Modell following the 1962 campaign. With Brown at the helm, Cleveland had won the All-America Football Conference championship in each of the league’s four years, and then played in seven NFL title games, winning three.
Cincinnati took a 10-0 lead but the Browns pulled to within 17-16 at the half. Defensive tackle Walter Johnson tackled Bengals quarterback Virgil Carter in the end zone for a safety and Browns quarterback Bill Nelsen threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to running back Leroy Kelly. Then, Kelly took a Nelsen screen pass 55 yards to set up Nelsen’s 4-yard scoring toss to tight end Milt Morin.
Kelly and Bo Scott both had 1-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter for a 30-20 Browns lead.
Nelsen was 17 of 29 passing for 226 yards. Kelly gained 84 yards on 29 carries and caught five passes for 79 yards. Gary Collins made five catches for 65 yards and Morin had four receptions for 40 yards.
When Modell had fired Brown, he replaced him with longtime Brown friend and assistant Blanton Collier. Brown resented Collier’s acceptance of the job. He and Collier didn’t shake hands after the Bengals had defeated the Browns 31-24 in a 1970 exhibition game. Collier, who would retire at season’s end, approached midfield at the end of this game, maybe trying to meet Brown, but the Cincinnati coach went straight to the locker room.
The Browns had joined the Bengals in the American Football Conference Central Division for the 1970 season, as the merger between the National Football League and American Football League was completed.
The Browns, coming off two straight seasons of falling one win short of the Super Bowl, were expected to dominate the Central Division. This game made Cleveland 3-1 and Cincinnati 1-3. The injury-riddled Browns, though, stumbled to a 7-7 finish. Meanwhile, the Bengals passed them with a stunning 7-game winning streak (including a 14-10 Game 9 win over the Browns in Cincinnati) to close the regular season and win the Central with an 8-6 record. The Bengals then lost 17-0 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts in a playoff game.
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