The 1994 NFL wild card round has its own little corner in football lore.
This was the round where the Packers held Lions great Barry Sanders to minus-1 yard on 13 carries in a 16-12 Detroit loss. The round also saw Don Shula win his last playoff game as Miami knocked off Kansas City in Joe Montana’s final NFL appearance. And Minnesota’s Warren Moon would make his final postseason start as the Vikings fell to the underdog Bears.
The ’94 wild card round also featured the one — and only — Browns playoff win in Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach.
On New Year’s Day 1995, the Browns bested New England 20-13 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. In victory, Cleveland picked off the Patriots’ Drew Bledsoe three times. Meanwhile, the Browns’ Vinny Testaverde was sharp, connecting on 20-of-30 passes for 268 yards, including a TD pass to Mark Carrier.
The following week, the Browns fell at Pittsburgh in the divisional round. Since then, the Browns have just one playoff appearance in 17 seasons, and they have no postseason wins.
Of course, the Browns aren’t the only club to have played in the ’94 wild-card round still sitting on a playoff winless streak. The Lions haven’t prevailed in a postseason game since 1991, and the Chiefs haven’t advanced in the playoffs since 1993. (And, as some have pointed out on Twitter, the Bengals haven’t won a postseason game since 1990.)
Detroit, of course, gets a chance to snap its streak on Sunday at Dallas. And Cincinnati can break through with a win at Indianapolis on Sunday. The Chiefs and Browns, meanwhile, are left to look ahead to 2015. Both have some talented top-line players, and both were serious playoff contenders at points this season.
And would they ever like to leave the recent past behind with a playoff win . . . or four.
