won its first three games, but poor defense dashed the team's playoff chances and the Browns finished with an 8–8 record. Kardiac Kids Rutigliano was a gambler: he tinkered with offenses, took chances on trick plays and was not afraid to break with the play-calling conventions of his time. The coach, who earned the nickname "Riverboat Sam" for his risk-taking approach, once said that security was "for cowards". "I believe in gambling", he said. "No successful man ever got anywhere without gambling." This seat-of-your-pants philosophy began to manifest itself on the field in 1979. The campaign started with a nail-biter against the New York Jets that the Browns won in overtime on a Cockroft field goal as time expired. "If we continue to play 'em that way all year, I'll be gone before the 10th game because my heart just won't take it", Rutigliano said after the game. In the second week, Cleveland beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 on a Sipe touchdown to Rucker with 52 seconds left. The third game was an equally improbable 13–10 win against the Baltimore Colts. Cleveland Plain Dealer sports editor Hal Lebovitz wrote after the game that these "Kardiac Kids" were lucky to have pulled off the win after Colts kicker Toni Linhart missed three field goals. After a string of four wins and three losses, the late-game heroics returned in an overtime victory on November 18 against the Miami Dolphins. "You should never pipe Browns games into an intensive care unit, expose them to anyone weak of pulse", wrote Toledo Blade columnist Jim Taylor. "They're one of those teams that stands 8–4, and could easily be 1–11." While the Browns' 9–7 record did not get the team into the playoffs – the defense struggled all year, forcing Sipe and the offense to compensate with late-game comebacks – a sense of optimism and excitement took hold. The Kardiac Kids magic returned in the third game of the next season against the Chiefs, when the Browns scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to win 20–13. More down-to-the-wire games followed, including one against Green Bay on October 19 in which the team won on a touchdown to receiver Dave Logan on the last play of the game. After a close win over the Steelers and a victory over the Bears in which Sipe broke Otto Graham's club record for career passing yards, the Browns