For other uses, see Fumble (disambiguation)

In American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game

The American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...

 between the Cleveland Browns

1987 Cleveland Browns season

-References:...

 and the Denver Broncos

1987 Denver Broncos season

-Schedule:-Playoffs:-External links:* *...

 on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium

Mile High Stadium

Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the...

. With 1:12 left in the game, Browns running back Earnest Byner

Earnest Byner

Earnest Alexander Byner is a former American football running back in the National Football League and is currently a running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars...

 appeared to be on his way to score the game-tying touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

, but fumble

Fumble

A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when a player, who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed or scoring. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession...

d at the 2-yard line.

Background

During the game, the Broncos jumped to a 21-3 halftime lead, but Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar

Bernie Kosar

Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...

 led them back with four second-half touchdowns. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 31. The Broncos then took the lead on a long drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback John Elway

John Elway

John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...

 to running back Sammy Winder

Sammy Winder

Sammy Winder is a former professional American football running back who spent his entire professional career playing for the Denver Broncos, from 1982 to 1990....

, making the score 38-31 with 6 minutes left in the game. Cleveland responded by advancing the ball down to Denver's 8-yard line with 1:12 left, setting the stage for the play that would make this game one of the most famous games in NFL lore.

The play

Browns running back Earnest Byner

Earnest Byner

Earnest Alexander Byner is a former American football running back in the National Football League and is currently a running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars...

 took the handoff and appeared to be on his way to score the game-tying touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

, but was stripped of the ball by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille

Jeremiah Castille

Jeremiah Castille is an American professional football player. A 5'10", 175-lb. defensive back from the University of Alabama, Castille was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He played in six seasons in the NFL from 1983–1988 for the Buccaneers and...

 at the 2-yard line. The Broncos recovered the ball, gave the Browns an intentional safety, and went on to win 38-33. While Byner took a lot of heat from Browns fans and the media for the fumble, what is often overlooked is that he was one of the main reasons Cleveland came so close to winning the game. He had a superb performance with 67 rushing yards, 7 receptions for 120 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Reactions

On ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...

's "The Fumble, the Story of the 1987 AFC Championship", the Browns' then-head coach Marty Schottenheimer

Marty Schottenheimer

Martin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...

 analyzed the play, showing that the fumble was not entirely Earnest Byner's fault. Schottenheimer stated: "The [Browns'] wide receiver [#84, Webster Slaughter

Webster Slaughter

Webster Melvin Slaughter is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1998....

] is supposed to take 10 steps then block [Castille] to the outside. Instead, he wanted to watch the play."

Castille said: "I was thinking, 'I got burned the last time I tried to bump-and-run [Slaughter]', so instead I stepped back 6-to-8 yards before the snap, so I could better see the play unfold. I saw it was a draw play

Draw play

A draw play, or simply draw for short, is a type of American football play. The draw appears to be a passing play, but is actually a running play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of the play action pass. The idea behind a draw play is to attack aggressive, pass-rushing defenses by...

 and that Byner had the ball. I remember thinking that Byner ran all over us that entire second half, so there was no way I was going to tackle him. Instead, I went for the ball the whole time."

Schottenheimer continued: "Earnest never saw Castille coming. Earnest was the reason we were still in the game at that point. He had several heroic runs and catches over the course of the second half that allowed us to have a chance to tie the game at 38. All of these heroics, unfortunately, were overshadowed by a single draw play from the 8-yard line."

Dick Enberg

Dick Enberg

Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...

, the play-by-play announcer of the television broadcast on NBC

NFL on NBC

NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...

, noted: "And wasn't it ironic that Denver got the ball back on the 2-yard line? Wasn't it just 1 year ago where the Broncos were on their own 2 before putting together what became 'The Drive

The Drive

The Drive refers to an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds...

'?"

ESPN Page Two writer Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons

William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...

 used "The Fumble" as an argument for why the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 should be considered one of the most cursed franchises in sports. He also describes their fan base as "tortured" following this play. His article, "The Levels of Losing," appeared January 29, 2010.

Aftermath

Despite being primarily remembered for "The Fumble," Byner went on to have a relatively successful career. After spending another year with the Browns, he was traded to the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 prior to the start of 1989 season

1989 NFL season

The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...

 for running back Mike Oliphant

Mike Oliphant

Michael Nathaniel Oliphant is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns....

. In his five seasons with Washington, Byner was selected to play in the Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 twice (1990, 1991) and won a Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

 ring with the team in the 1991 season

1991 NFL season

The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....

. In that season's Super Bowl XXVI

Super Bowl XXVI

Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...

, in 1992, he caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter, and the Redskins won, giving him the NFL Championship ring he could not win with the Browns.

He ended up going back to Cleveland for two more years, and then finished his career in 1998, after spending two years with the transplanted Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

. In his 14 NFL seasons, Byner rushed for 8,261 yards, caught 512 passes for 4,605 yards, and scored 72 total touchdowns (56 rushing, 15 receiving, 1 fumble recovery). At the time of his retirement, Byner ranked within the NFL's top 30 all-time leaders in rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, and total yards.