1980 NFL MVP: Legendary Quarterback Brian Sipe’s Incredible Story

While the Cleveland Browns have been attracting a lot of criticism lately for paying big money to controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson, once can’t deny that the franchise has also been blessed by some legends who gifted fans innumerable moments worthy of super loud cheers.

One such man is Brian Sipe. The star quarterback played college football at San Diego State University where he was studied architecture. His noteworthy performances at the college level allowed him to make his way into the NFL.

In the 1972 draft, Sipe was roped in by the Browns in the thirteenth round. It would be fair to say that there wasn’t much hype around the young QB, which is why, he was mostly sidelined for the first two seasons of his career.

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Brian Sipe’s Incredible 1980 Season

In fact, Brian stayed only on the team’s reserve squad for the first couple of years and didn’t take the field even in a single match. He finally got his chance to shine during the 1974 season.

Although he guided his team to a memorable win against the Broncos, after just four starts, he was replaced by Mike Phipps. However, a terrible start to the 1975 season allowed Sipe to again make a comeback and this time he made his presence felt on more than one occasion.

After a few good seasons, arrived the season of Brian Sipe. The 6 feet tall QB just couldn’t take a wrong step during the 1980 season. He passed for a 4,132 yards and 30 TDs and took his team to the postseason for the very first time since 1972.

Although the Browns’ season came to a frustrating end after they were defeated by the Raiders in the divisional round playoff game, Sipe was announced the season MVP for his heroics.

Post that, Sipe had a couple of disappointing seasons and was eventually benched before he decided to play for the New Jersey Generals of the US Football League.

Brian went on to play for the Jacksonville Bulls as well. After his playing career was over, Sipe donned the coach’s hat. He was roped in as a quarterback coach by his alma mater, San Diego State.

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