Looking back at some of the biggest "One-hit Wonders" to ever grace the Brown and Orange
Honorable Mentions:
-Breshad Perriman and Antonio Calloway (2018)
-Jamaal Lewis (2007)
-Jamir Miller (2001)
10) Terrelle Pryor (2016 Season)
Normally, most quality players have their careers take off once they leave Cleveland. For Terrelle Pryor, the exact opposite happened. Following a contract dispute, Pryor was cut from the Browns prior to the 2017 season and bounced around to several teams, including the Redskins (now Washington Football Team) and Jets. The last we've heard of Terrelle Pryor, he was recovering from a near fatal stab wound by his (hopefully ex) girlfriend.
9) Gary Barnidge (2015 Season)
In the sole Pro-Bowl season of his career, Gary managed to finish the 2015 season with 1,043 receiving yards on 79 catches and 9 TDs, one of which include an amazing acrobatic catch made on the road at Baltimore. Despite this amazing performance, Gary Barnidge would make an early retirement from the NFL due to sustaining too many concussions.
8) Johnny Manziel (Week 2 vs Titans, 2015)
As tumultuous as the "Johnny Football" era was for Cleveland football, at least fans can be grateful for this sole game that he managed to look like an elite NFL quarterback for once in his shaky career. Against a Titans squad who beat the Buccaneers on opening day, Johnny Manziel managed to complete 8-of-15 passes for 172 yards and 2 TDs, both of them being 50 and 60-yd bombs to Travis Benjamin (who also chipped in with a punt return touchdown to give him three total touchdowns on the day), leading the Browns to a 28-14 victory over the Titans. Although the stats don't look special, what made it this game great for Johnny was that he managed to post an incredible 131.6 passer rating under pressure that game vs Tennessee, making this victory for him look all the more sweeter.
7) Josh McCown (Week 5 @ Ravens, 2015)
NFL journeyman QB Josh McCown has never really been known for putting up big numbers in his NFL career, but that all changed, at least for a moment, during a Week 5 road game vs the Baltimore Ravens. Playing more so out of desperation than just simply methodically carving up the Ravens, Josh McCown managed to complete 36-of-51 passes for 457 yards and 2 TDs (with no interceptions), also adding in a rushing TD to help the Browns overcome a 21-9 second half deficit to eek out a 33-30 OT win vs the Baltimore Ravens, the first road win the Browns had against the Ravens since 2007. Ironically, that game also ended in a 33-30 OT win vs. the Ravens, thanks in part to one of the weirdest field goals makes in NFL history.
6) David Bowens (Week 7 @ Saints, 2010)
It's very rare that you see defensive linemen get interceptions. It's also very rare that you see defensive linemen get defensive touchdowns. But in Week 7 of the 2010 season, David Bowens got both. TWICE. In a 30-17 upset of the defending champ New Orleans Saints, David Bowens managed to pick off future Hall of Famer Drew Brees twice in the same game, returning both for pick-6's (defensive touchdown off of an interception). At one point, trailing 30-10, David Bowens had scored more points by himself (12) than the entire Saints offense in that point of the game (10). Unfortunately, this would be the lone big game for David Bowens the rest of his time in Cleveland. He would later retire at the end of the 2010 season.
5) Peyton Hillis (2010 Season)
It's very rare that a de facto fullback is able to rise to stardom in today's NFL, but that's exactly what Peyton Hillis did in his short stint with the Browns. Peyton Hillis managed to finish the 2010 campaign with 1,177 rushing yards and 11 TDs for the Browns, eventually managing to find his way gracing the cover of Madden 12 over the likes of candidates such as Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Michael Vick. Peyton Hillis became one of the many victims of "The Madden Curse", with his career taking a sharp nose dive afterwards due to injuries and retiring following the 2014 season.
4) Braylon Edwards (2007 Season)
If you were to look at the definition of "inconsistently great", a picture of Braylon Edwards would appear right beside it (well, at least for the Browns). Luckily for Braylon, this season, he managed to play up to his potential for once. In 2007, Braylon Edwards managed to rack up over 1,300 receiving yards and set a Browns franchise record with 16 receiving TDs, second in the NFL that year only to Randy Moss. This would be his only Pro-Bowl and All-Pro season, however, and he would later get traded to the Jets, where he would see playoff success in a limited role with the 2009 and 2010 Jets. He would later retire after the 2013 season.
3) Derek Anderson (2007 Season)
Another NFL journeyman makes the list here with Derek Anderson's unusually great 2007 campaign with the Browns. Initially drafted by the Ravens in 2005, he would be traded to the Browns prior to the start of the 2007 regular season. In his sole Pro-Bowl season in the NFL, Derek Anderson replaced Charlie Frye at QB following a 34-7 blowout loss at home. In his first start in a Browns uniform, Derek Anderson threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-45 shootout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. He would finish the 2007 season with 3787 passing yards, 29 TDs, and 19 INTs, earning a Pro-Bowl nod and leading the Browns to a 10-6 record, only the 2nd time the Browns have finished above .500 since the 1999 season. Unfortunately, Derek Anderson's career would take a deep nosedive afterwards, and he would spend the rest of his career mostly serving as a backup QB and even finishing with a negative touchdown-to-interception ratio for his NFL career. He would later retire following the 2018 season.
2) Jerome Harrison (Week 15 @ Chiefs, 2009)
In basically what was a late season "tank bowl", the Browns traveled to Arrowhead late in the 2009 season to salvage what was essentially another lost season for the Browns. This game, however, would be one of the most entertaining games of the year in the 2009 season. In one barn-burner of a game, the Browns beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead 41-34. The biggest star of the game on the Browns side was Jerome Harrison, who managed to finish the game with a whopping 286 rushing yards and 3 TDs, setting the Browns franchise record for rushing yards in a game and having the 3rd highest single-game rushing total in NFL history.
(Side note: Browns return ace Josh Cribbs also went off for two kickoff return TDs in the first half of this game.)
Unfortunately, this would be his lone bright spot in his NFL career. Following getting diagnosed with a brain tumor, his career was cut short after the 2011 season.
1) Josh Gordon (2013 Season)
Coming out of nowhere in a typical down Browns year, WR Josh Gordon was one of the bright spots on the Browns 2013 team; a team that ironically had more Pro-Bowlers that year (6) than wins (4).
Josh Gordon would blossom in 2013 with the Cleveland Browns, leading the NFL and breaking the franchise record for receiving yards with 1,646 receiving yards, as well as 9 TD catches. What would make this even more absurd is that he did it off of just 87 catches playing with guys like draft bust/NFL journeyman Brandon Weeden at QB that same season. Josh Gordon is also the only player in NFL history to have back-to-back 200-yard receiving games (both of them ending in losses, ironically).
Despite putting up All-Pro numbers in 2013, Josh Gordon would fail to return to form and run into several off-the-field issues with drug use, causing him to be suspended for large portions of the 2014-2017 seasons due to being suspended for violating the NFL's substance abuse policies.
Josh Gordon still maintained his elite athleticism through all of this, however. Imagine how elite the Browns 2019 offense would have looked like with Josh Gordon, Odell Beckham Jr., and Jarvis Landry starting at WR (with some decent OTs and coaching). Would have easily rivaled the Kansas City Chiefs "Legion of Zoom" offense (2018-present). Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be, as Josh Gordon would be traded to the New England Patriots following the Week 1 tie against the Steelers in 2018. Despite being put in a great position to win, Josh Gordon would later run into more problems with the NFL, being suspended from the Patriots as well (ironically earning a Superbowl ring merely as a participatory member of the Patriots). The last we've heard of Josh Gordon, he's been waiting to get back into the NFL on the Seahawks roster following yet another suspension from the NFL in December of 2019.
Is there anyone else deserving of being on this list? Sound off in the comments below.
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