Kosar Goes Down, Bahr Bails Out Browns

Without Bernie Kosar, the Cleveland Browns don’t look anything like a Super Bowl team.

Kosar went out with an elbow injury in the first minute of the game, and the Browns struggled without him before downing the Kansas City Chiefs, 6-3, Sunday when Matt Bahr kicked a 38-yard field goal with 25 seconds left.

A Cleveland spokesman said Kosar is questionable for next Sunday’s game home opener against the New York Jets.

If nothing else, the Chiefs beat up the Browns, the consensus pick to win the American Football Conference. Running back Kevin Mack suffered a bruised neck, cornerback Frank Minnifield went out with a groin pull, linebacker Bob Golic suffered a pulled stomach muscle, receiver Webster Slaughter had a pulled hamstring and receiver Gerald McNeil had a contusion on the nose.

Kosar, who had thrown touchdown passes in 17 straight games and never left a game with an injury, was replaced by Gary Danielson with 14:04 left in the opening period. Sacked by Lloyd Burruss on a safety blitz, Kosar suffered a sprained right elbow.

“I didn’t do any practicing this week,” Danielson said. “I didn’t call any audibles. I just tried to do my job and not try to do too much. That’s why you have to be prepared to play every week.”

Danielson drove the Browns 73 yards in 13 plays for Bahr’s game-winner as Cleveland won its season opener for the first time in six years and snapped the Chiefs’ five-year string of winning openers.

An 11-year veteran, Danielson had not played since 1985, except for one game during last year’s strike. He put together a 12-play, 81-yard drive at the end of the first half to set up Bahr for a 19-yard field goal.

Earlier in the second period, the Chiefs had Bill Kenney’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Emile Harry wiped out by an illegal formation penalty and had to settle for Nick Lowery’s 33-yard field goal.

The scoring drive began after Bahr’s 39-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Burruss and recovered by Dino Hackett, who returned it 18 yards to the Cleveland 43.

Kansas City quarterback Bill Kenney, apologizing for the offense, said: “We were worse than poor, we were rotten. . . . That’s a shame because the defense played so great.”

Cleveland’s Lee Johnson put five punts inside the 20-yard line and provided the most exciting play of the game when he dropped the ball but got away with his mistake.

The snap from center was perfect, but Johnson dropped it as Kansas City’s Kevin Ross came blowing across from the left. Johnson scrambled away from Ross and then made a left-footed kick on the run as another defender bore down. The end-over-end kick took a Cleveland bounce and rolled all the way to the 6-yard line for a 39-yard effort.