Introduction Everybody loves an underdog There is something about facing long odds and overcoming them that's brought people together since David first picked up a rock and took aim at Goliath in the famous Bible story Of course underdogs rarely win That's part of the reason they're underdogs But every once in a while things come together Every once in a while everything that needs to go right does go right That's what makes upsets so exciting They're not supposed to happen When they do just another game becomes something unforgettable This book highlights the biggest upsets in National Football League NFL history Some were close games Others were stunning blowouts All of them changed the course of the league and helped make the game more popular than ever
10 Behind quarterback Otto Graham left and coach Paul Brown the Cleveland Browns took the NFL by storm in 1950 Welcome to the NFL The NFL had grown from humble beginnings in 1920 to a 10 team league that stretched from Boston to Chicago by the late 1940s The country's appetite for professional football was growing and new cities wanted in on the action Enter the All America Football Conference AAFC Founded in 1946 the AAFC introduced pro football to cities from Miami to San Francisco The AAFC's most popular team however was in Cleveland The Browns were formed after the NFL's Rams left town for Los Angeles Led by coach Paul Brown Cleveland won the AAFC title all four years of the league's existence The Browns then became one of three teams that joined the NFL when the AAFC folded in 1950 The NFL didn't exactly welcome the Browns with open arms Cleveland's first game as a member of the league was in the 1950 season opener The Browns had to go on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles the reigning NFL champions The old NFL's
Hall of Fame running back Marion Motley plows through the Eagles defense in the Browns first NFL game guard was hoping the Eagles would prove that the AAFC was not on the same level as the more established league The Browns proved them right but not how the league imagined Cleveland didn't just beat the Eagles The Browns whipped them all over the field Cleveland quarterback Otto Graham passed for 346 yards and three touchdowns while running for another score as the Browns stunned the Eagles 35 10 The victory was no fluke Cleveland posted a 10 2 record in the regular season to win the American Division The Browns ended up finishing their first year in the NFL the same way they finished every year in the AAFC as champions In the 1950 NFL title game Cleveland got revenge on the Rams for leaving Ohio for the West Coast Lou Groza kicked a 16 yard field goal with 28 seconds left to give the Browns a 30 28 win over Los Angeles After the victory NFL commissioner Bert Bell called the Browns the greatest team to ever play the game
