Earnest Byner deserves a better reputation with the Cleveland Browns

RB Earnest Byner will always be remembered in Cleveland Browns’ history for what happened in Denver back on January 17, 1988.  That was the game with the moniker of “The Fumble” as he fumbled the ball late in the game deep in Broncos’ territory to lock up another Super Bowl appearance for the Broncos.  A closer look at the stats from that AFC Championship Game shows that Byner had a really good game before the fumble.  He carried the ball 15 times for 67 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 120 yards (17.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  But in the end, the Browns lost 38-33 to the Broncos in Denver that day.

The Fumble

Owner Art Modell never seemed to forgive him for “The Fumble” as the Browns dealt Byner to the Redskins for fellow RB Mike Oliphant.  Oliphant played in 18 games in his two years with the Browns and he carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) and he returned 5 kickoffs for 69 yards (13.8 avg) with the Browns.  Earnest Byner played five years for the Redskins before returning to the Browns as a free agent in 1994.  Byner made it to 2 Pro Bowls and he helped the Redskins win a Super Bowl in his five years in the nation’s capital.  Byner played in 80 games in his five years with the Redskins and he carried the ball 990 times for 3,950 yards (4.0 ypc) with 25 TD runs.  He also caught 185 passes for 1,577 yards (8.5 ypc) with 4 TD grabs with the Redskins.  This was one of the worst trades in Cleveland Browns’ history.

Earnest Byner came to the Cleveland Browns in 1984 as a 10th round draft pick.  In his second year with the Browns, Byner played in 16 games (13 starts) in which he carried the ball 244 times for 1,002 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 45 passes for 460 yards (10.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in 1985.  Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner both rushed for over 1,000 yards in 1985 for the Browns!  Byner played in 99 games in his 7 years with the Browns and he carried the ball 862 times for 3,364 yards (3.9 ypc) with 27 TD runs.  He also caught 276 passes for 2,630 yards (9.5 avg) with 10 TD grabs for the Browns.  Byner finished up his career with the Browns #7 in team history in rushing yards with 3,364.  He also finished #7 in TD runs in Browns’ history with 27 of them.  Byner is tied for 13th in Browns’ history in receptions (276) with Dennis Northcutt and he is also #21 in receiving yards with 2,630 in team history.

Byner came back to the Browns in 1994 and 1995.  He had a great game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the last home game in Browns’ history at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.  The Browns won the game 26-10 as Byner carried the ball 31 times for 121 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 36 yards (5.1 avg) in that game.  Byner then did a victory lap around the stadium before heading to the locker room. 

Earnest Byner was a good RB who always gave the Browns or any team he played with 100% every game.  So he made a big mistake in a big game……a lot of players in NFL history have done that.

Article Source:

http://www.brownslocker.com/2011/07/12/earnest-byner-deserves-a-better-reputation-with-the-cleveland-browns/