Cleveland Browns defensive ends Jack Gregory (81) and Ron Snidow (88) blast through the Jets protection to pressure quarterback Joe Namath on Sept. 21, 1970. Photo Credit: AP/Anonymous
Whether it was “a ballyhooed game full of the snap and crackle people have come to expect of these taffy pulls,” as Stan Isaacs wrote in Newsday, or simply a penalty-marred mess of a game largely was beside the point.
When the Jets visited the Browns on Sept. 21, 1970, it was a seminal event in the history of sports media, one that the current NFL schedule will acknowledge by having the teams meet again Monday night at MetLife Stadium.