The Fumble

In American football, The Fumble refers to a play in the 1987 AFC Championship Game between the Browns and Broncos on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium. With 1:12 left in the game, Browns running back Earnest Byner fumbled on the Broncos 1 yard line while trying to score a touchdown to pull within one point. The Broncos went on to win 38–33 after taking an intentional safety.

The same two teams had met in the previous AFC Championship Game. That game also ended in victory for the Broncos and featured a famous five-minute, 98-yard touchdown drive led by quarterback John Elway, known simply as The Drive, to take the game into overtime.

During the game, the Broncos jumped to a 21–3 halftime lead, but Browns' quarterback Bernie Kosar 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 Elway to running back Sammy Winder, making it 38–31 with 6 minutes left. Cleveland responded by advancing the ball to Denver's 8-yard line with 1:12 left, setting the stage for the play that made this game one of the most famous in NFL lore.

Browns running back Earnest Byner took the handoff and appeared to be on his way to score the game-tying touchdown, but was stripped by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille at the one-yard line. Denver recovered, gave the Browns an intentional safety, and went on to win 38–33.

On ESPN Classic's "The Fumble, the Story of the 1987 AFC Championship", the Browns' then-head coach Marty Schottenheimer analyzed the play, showing that the fumble was not entirely Byner's fault. Schottenheimer stated: "The Browns' wide receiver #84, Webster Slaughter is supposed to take ten steps then block Castille to the outside. Instead, he wanted to watch the play."

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