The Fumble In American football , The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos on January 17 , 1988 at Mile High Stadium . With 1 : 12 left in the game , Browns running back Earnest Byner appeared to be on his way to score the game - tying touchdown , but fumble d at the 2 - yard line . Background . 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 quarterback John Elway to running back Sammy Winder , making the score 38 - 31 with 6 minutes left in the game . Cleveland responded by advancing the ball down to Denver ' s 8 - yard line with 1 : 12 left , setting the stage for the play that would make this game one of the most famous games in NFL lore . The play . Browns running back Earnest Byner took the handoff and appeared to be on his way to score the game - tying touchdown , but was stripped of the ball by Broncos defensive back Jeremiah Castille at the 2 - yard line . The Broncos recovered the ball , gave the Browns an intentional safety , and went on to win 38 - 33 . While Byner took a lot of heat from Browns fans and the media for the fumble , what is often overlooked is that he was one of the main reasons Cleveland came so close to winning the game . He had a superb performance with 67 rushing yards , 7 receptions for 120 yards , and 2 touchdowns . Reactions . 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 Earnest Byner ' s fault . Schottenheimer stated : " The [ Browns ' ] wide receiver [ # 84 , Webster Slaughter ] is supposed to take 10 steps then block [ Castille ] to the outside . Instead , he wanted to watch the play . " Castille said : " I was thinking , ' I got burned the last time I tried to bump - and - run [ Slaughter ] ' , so instead I stepped back 6 - to - 8 yards before the snap , so I could better see the play unfold . I saw it was a draw play and that Byner had the ball . I remember thinking that Byner ran all over us that entire second half , so there was no way I was going to tackle him . Instead , I went for the ball the whole time . " Schottenheimer continued : " Earnest never saw Castille coming . Earnest was the reason we were still in the game at that point . He had several heroic runs and catches over the course of the second half that allowed us to have a chance to tie the game at 38 . All of these heroics , unfortunately , were overshadowed by a single draw play from the 8 - yard line . " Dick Enberg , the play - by - play announcer of the television broadcast on NBC , noted : " And wasn ' t it ironic that Denver got the ball back on the 2 - yard line ? Wasn ' t it just 1 year ago where the Broncos were on their own 2 before putting together what became ' The Drive ' ? " ESPN Page Two writer Bill Simmons used " The Fumble " as an argument for why the Cleveland Browns should be considered one of the most cursed franchises in sports . He also describes their fan base as " tortured " following this play . His article , " The Levels of Losing , " appeared January 29 , 2010 . Aftermath . Despite being primarily remembered for " The Fumble , " Byner went on to have a relatively successful career . After spending another year with the Browns , he was traded to the Washington Redskins prior to the start of 1989 season for running back Mike Oliphant . In his five seasons with Washington , Byner was selected to play in the Pro Bowl twice ( 1990 , 1991 ) and won a Super Bowl ring with the team in the 1991 season . In that season ' s Super Bowl XXVI , in 1992 , he caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter , and the Redskins won , giving him the NFL Championship ring he could not win with the Browns . He ended up going back to Cleveland for two more years , and then finished his career in 1998 , after spending two years with the transplanted Baltimore Ravens . In his 14 NFL seasons , Byner rushed for 8 , 261 yards , caught 512 passes for 4 , 605 yards , and scored 72 total touchdowns ( 56 rushing , 15 receiving , 1 fumble recovery ) . At the time of his retirement , Byner ranked within the NFL ' s top 30 all - time leaders in rushing attempts , rushing touchdowns , rushing yards , and total yards .