Ryan took the next snap, stepped up in the pocket, and found Collins open in the EZ behind the goal posts after he got away from Boyd and Logan. Browns 10 Colts 0 (13:34)
Collins had noticed that Boyd was shading him toward the sidelines. So he broke the other way, heading for the goal post. Ryan had enough time to read the change and let fly. Five times that year he had hit a goal post. But this t… Moreime, the ball went under the crossbar.
Lorick made a bad decision on the kickoff when he tried to run it out from 1y into the EZ. Not only was he taken down by a necktie tackle by rookie Leroy Kelly - destined to replace Brown someday - but a clipping penalty moved the ball half the distance to the 6. After a 2y run, Unitas tried to pass but yet again ended up running, for 1y this time. He threw a short pass to Lorick who was felled at the 12. Gilberg wasn't so lucky on his punt this time, the ball going out 27y upfield on the Colt 39.
Smelling blood, Ryan called a reverse, but Braase hit Brown as he handed to Warfield who was downed for a loss of 4. Undaunted, Ryan dropped back and lofted a high spiral with the wind toward Collins. Boyd slipped down on the dirt infield, and all Gary had to do was cradle the ball on the 5 and waltz into the EZ. Browns 17 Colts 0 (6:12)
That play was called Hook & Go. Collins faked the hook to freeze the DB, then ran straight for the EZ.
Ryan: This was probably the most important decision I had to make all after­noon. We had established tremendous momentum. The running was going; we had just gained 46y on a running play, and I was tempted to call another sweep. But maybe I would call a sweep into an outside blitz, and they would drop Jim for a long loss. Then I thought maybe we can go inside, but if they pinched in and cut off the inside we wouldn't gain, and the momentum could go from us to them. I knew they had been playing Gary Collins for a hook pass all afternoon. I decided to call a hook-and-go to Collins, and when he went he was open.
Gary was so wide open, I had buck fever, said Frank. There was no one within 20 yards of him. I had the wind at my back. It surprises you when a receiver is that wide open, but it happens occasionally. I just had to make sure I got him the ball, because Gary could have caught it and walked into the end zone.
Collins: When I faked, Bobby Boyd slipped and fell. When that ball was in the air, I kept thinking that if I dropped it, I had better catch a jet out of Cleveland right now.
Boyd: We couldn't hear our calls. We blew one on that play, and we blew another one later. The guy who was supposed to take the middle deep took the outside.
Unitas pulled out all the stops to produce some points. He started with his pa­tented down-and-out to Berry, who got away from Walter Beach, but for only 4y. Then a pitchout to Moore got a first down at the 31. Three straight runs moved the chains again to the 42. Two plays later, Johnny threw in a QB draw to the 47. A 3rd down pass to Moore was underthrown but defensive holding gave the Colts a 1st down at the Cleveland 48. And that's when disaster struck again. Moore never had control of the ball on the handoff from Unitas and fum­bled, Paul Wiggin covering the ball at the Cleveland 47.
Browns defensive coach Nick Skorich explained his unit's success afterward: We crowded them. Especially when they were throwing into the wind and we knew that they could not throw long. We knew that the Colt pass patterns are built on precision and timing. We knew that if you take away the first receiver and force Johnny Unitas to go to a second or third you are forcing them out of a pattern, and, too, if you cover Jimmy Orr and Raymond Berry tight up close you force them to change their cuts and patterns and you take away the timing and the precision. ... And we got a strong rush inside, so he (Unitas) couldn't duck away from the rush from the ends and still find freedom to throw the ball.
On 2nd-and-8, Billy Ray Smith, newly inserted at DT, hit Ryan but a tad too late, the pass going to TE Johnny Brewer to the 37. Then the Browns ran a beautiful sweep around RE. Jimmy followed his interference all the way to the 14, where DT Fred Miller chased him down from behind.
END OF Q3: Browns 17 Colts 0 Less