Nov. 3, 1963 - Jimmy Brown was at his devastating best once again today, running with all his power over the Eagles in Philadelphia for 223 yards. It wasn’t until the final gun sounded, however, that Brown, Lou Groza, Frank Ryan, and the other Cleveland Browns could be sure of their 23-17 victory at Franklin Field. Charging back from his poor day against the Giants a week ago when he picked up only 40 yards, Brown was the terror to defenses that he usually is. Nevertheless, if it hadn’t been for a couple of important defensive plays by Ross Fichtner — an interception and a recovered fumble — and an interception by Larry Benz of Cleveland, the Browns might have suffered their second straight defeat. As it is, the Browns are still atop the Eastern Division one game ahead of the Giants, who also won today. Brown has gained 1,194 yards in 8 games this season, and he is only 333 yards short of his own NFL record of 1,527, which he established in 1957. He has six games more to play this year. Today’s 223 yards marked the fourth time in his pro career that Brown had topped 200 yards in a game. His personal high is 237. After today’s game, Brown was more interested in talking about the team than his own individual efforts. “There’s too much stress being put on one individual,” he said. “This is a team game. My teammates have to block for me. Without them, I am lost.” The faces of ring of newsmen around Brown didn’t indicate he was winning many converts to his line of thinking. It appeared as if many of them believed Brown’s teammates would be lost without him. “How would the Browns be without Brown?” Eagle coach Nick Skorich was asked a little later. Skorich didn’t bother answering the question. Thinking about the Browns without Brown is unthinkable. “Our defensive line played very well,” Skorich said, “and our defensive backs forced [Browns’ quarterback Frank] Ryan to run because their coverage of his receivers was so good. The men in our line [subs Dick Stafford and Ray Mansfield] played well. We were better offensively than we were last week, and [quarterback King] Hill actually had a better game than Ryan, but the fumbles and the interception hurt us. And you got to have a little more than we have to stop Brown.”
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