I drove the -200 for a number of years and it was routine to have a reverser open on the 6th month checks. It took a lot of rudder until you got the engine shut down, a bit more so than just an engine failure, of course.
A few things added to the drill. 1) if you had your hands in the wrong place when the reverser opened, you got a good shot as the throttle slammed to idle. Not fun. 2) the event was usually introduced shortly after getting airborne and V2 engine problems require much better footwork on the rudder than a simple V1 failure. 3) after shutting down the engine it was pretty much just another single engine approach except slightly higher power settings due to the drag.
At 'my house' a friend of mine had an engine separate coming out of PHL just after takeoff. No problem. Again, just another single engine approach.
The little -200 would trim up very nicely for such an approach and the only problem was not trying to hold the airplane off for a smooth touchdown as with flaps 15, it would float forever.
FWIW, the 727 also tossed a few engines. The bolts holding the engine on the pylon are not that thick and are designed to fail with a 'catastrophic seizure' as some others have noted. Better to have the engine leave the airplane than have the gyroscopic forces tear up fuselage or wing (in the 737s case).