Cleveland Browns season openers: One win, one tie, a whole lot of misery and heartbreak

(Editor's note: The Browns managed to win their season opener of the 2022 season thanks to a 58-yard field goal by rookie kicker Cade York)

BEREA − No Browns fan needs to be reminded of what season openers have meant since the team was reborn in 1999. They've got the scars to show for the past 23 seasons.

It's why, even amidst the excitement of Sunday's opener at the Carolina Panthers, there's no doubt a place deep in the recesses of their minds that is approaching it with a level of cautiousness. That's what happens when a team goes 1-21-1 over a very significant period of time.

That doesn't mean there aren't moments to remember in amongst the misery. There are always a diamond or two to be mined out of it, even when there's only one true crown jewel.

So, with yet another Browns season quickly approaching, it's time to hope in the way-back machine to remember a handful of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Sept. 12, 2004: Cleveland Browns 20, Baltimore Ravens 3

The list will start with one game, and that one game is the one time the Browns have won since their rebirth. Jeff Garcia threw for 180 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown to Quincy Morgan with 24 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Browns the lead for good. Garcia capped the scoring with 4:20 remaining with a 3-yard run, guaranteeing Cleveland's first happy opening day in a decade. Of course, it didn't portend to any sort of happy ending. Coach Butch Davis quit after 11 games and Terry Robiskie piloted the Browns the rest of the way to a 4-12 record.

Sept. 8, 2002: Kansas City Chiefs 40, Cleveland Browns 39

This could be No. 1 on the list, if only for the fact it should have been opening-day win No. 1. Except that Dwayne Rudd lost his head for a moment, tossed his helmet and created one of the most memorable moments in Browns history. The Chiefs trailed the Browns 39-37 with less than five seconds remaining when Rudd helped pressure quarterback Trent Green into lateralling the ball to lineman John Tait for a 28-yard gain as time expired. Game over. Only it wasn't, because Rudd tossed the headgear before the play was over, resulting in a unsportsmanlike penalty and an untimed down that the Chiefs turned into a game-winning 30-yard field goal by Morten Andersen. And thus was the inauspicious start to what actually turned into the "new" Browns first playoff season. A 9-7 regular season that was one moment of lost composure away from being a 10-win year in the fourth year of the new franchise.

Sept. 9, 2018: Cleveland Browns 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 21, OT

It wasn't a loss. You can call this game a lot of things − a whole lot of things in fact − but you can't call it a loss. Although, when James Connor scored with 5:23 left in the third quarter to put the Steelers ahead 21-7, it certainly felt like one was on its way. Instead, Carlos Hyde and Josh Gordon scored fourth-quarter touchdowns, the latter a 17-yard pass from Tyrod Taylor with 1:58 left in regulation, to force a 21-21 deadlock and overtime. Both teams had a legitimate chance to win in overtime, except for the fact both missed makeable field goals. Chris Boswell missed from 42 yards for the Steelers, and Zane Gonzalez missed from 43 for the Browns. Myles Garrett had two of Cleveland's four sacks of Ben Roethlisberger in the game, as well as two forced fumbles. Taylor, who completed 15 of 40 passes for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception (on a fourth-down play from the Steeler 43 with less than 10 seconds left in regulation), was replaced in the middle of a Week 3 win over the New York Jets by the team's No. 1 pick that year, Baker Mayfield. It catapulted the Browns, who played in Week 17 at Baltimore for a potential playoff spot, to a 7-8-1 record.

Sept. 12, 2021: Kansas City Chiefs 33, Cleveland Browns 29

This is maybe the one that got away the most. Who knows how much it changes the trajectory of the season if it ends up the other way. The Browns seemed to have control when they took a 22-10 halftime lead over the Chiefs in a rematch of their previous season's AFC Divisional playoff loss. The offense, with Mayfield at the controls, was humming along and the defense was doing enough to keep Patrick Mahomes and the high-flying Chiefs offense in check. Even early in the fourth quarter, things were looking up when Kareem Hunt's 2-yard touchdown run put the Browns ahead 29-20 with 10:24 left. Ah, but the winds of change came blowing in, and blew the Browns off their perch. Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for a 75-yard touchdown, then Jamie Gillan botched a punt snap that put the Chiefs at the Cleveland 15. Once Mahomes hit Cleveland Heights native Travis Kelce for a 7-yard touchdown with 7:04 remaining, Arrowhead was in a frenzy and the Browns were never the same. The Browns twice had the ball after that, and never crossed midfield. It ended with Mayfield throwing an interception with 1:10 remaining. Mayfield completed 21 of 28 passes for 321 yards with the interception. Nick Chubb had 83 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Sept. 7, 2014: Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Cleveland Browns 27

This game was halfway to being just another Browns opening-day bomb. The fact it wasn't gives it the consolation prize of being maybe the best of the worst. The former Heinz Field was frothing when Shawn Suisham's 34-yard field goal at the end of the first half gave the Steelers a 27-3 halftime lead. By the time there was still more than 11 minutes left in regulation, the Browns had scored 24 unanswered points to tie the score at 27-27 on Brian Hoyer's 9-yard pass to Travis Benjamin. The Browns didn't have another truly good scoring opportunity, only getting as close as the Steelers 40 after that tying score. When the Steelers took over at their own 43 with 47 seconds remaining, Roethlisberger completed his first three passes, including a 20-yarder to Markus Wheaton, to set up Suisham's game-winning 41-yard field goal as time expired. With Johnny Manziel watching from the sideline, Hoyer completed 18 of 30 passes for 222 yards. Hoyer, a Cleveland-area native helped to guide the Browns to a 7-4 start and residence, albeit briefly, in first place in the AFC North. Manziel, though, didn't stay on the sidelines, nor did the Browns stay in first place. They finished the season on a five-game losing streak to close out Mike Pettine's first season as coach 7-9.

Sept. 9, 2012: Philadelphia Eagles 17, Cleveland Browns 16

Admit it. You remember this game more for Brandon Weeden getting caught under the giant American flag during the National Anthem than you do for literally anything else that happened on the field. That's fine. Most people couldn't tell you that it was decided by a Michael Vick-to-Clay Harbor 4-yard touchdown pass (plus the ever-important point-after kick) with 1:18 left. Considering the fact Weeden threw four interceptions in the game, it's probably best that's all you remember about his day. That fact also makes it sort of amazing the Browns actually held a 16-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Even more so when one considers the Eagles outgained the Browns 456-210 in total yards. The Eagles, though, were one better than the Browns in one other place than on the scoreboard. The Browns had the four interceptions, but the Eagles had five total turnovers, including four from Vick as well. Vick also had the one touchdown pass, which is why his four-interception day gets lost to history. The season, Pat Shurmur's second, also ended up as his last after he was fired in Pittsburgh after finishing at 5-11.

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns openers: One win, one tie, a whole lot of misery and heartbreak