Began in the AAFC in 1946; joined the NFL for the 1950 season. Did not participate in the NFL in the seasons for 1996, 1997, or 1998.
Personally, I wouldn't count AAFC seasons, but the folks at Pro-Football-Reference do count them, so I have to go with their ruling.
All-Time Record: 562-548-14 (.506)
The Browns rolled up an absurd record of 158-48-8 (.767) under Paul Brown, and have been trending downward ever since. Of course, they've trended down much more rapidly since they returned to the league in 1999. They could be under .500 within two more seasons.
Super Bowl Record: 0-0 (The Browns are the last team we will see in this series that has not been to the Super Bowl).
Top Passer: Brian Sipe (23,713 yds). Otto Graham threw for 23,584 yds, and went 57-13-1 in NFL regular season starts.
Top Rusher: Jim Brown (12,312 yds)
Top Receiver: Ozzie Newsome (7,980 yds)
Top Coach: Paul Brown (158 wins)
Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value: Clay Matthews (AV of 125)
Jim Brown has an AV of 122, but AV data only begins with the 1960 season, so he gets no credit for his amazing seasons in 1957, 1958, and 1959. Otto Graham retired in 1955, so he has an AV of zero. Make of these facts what you will.
The Bengals lead the all-time series with Cleveland: 55-48-0.
ReplyDeleteIn five seasons in Cleveland (1991-1995), Bill Belichick had a record of 36-44. For four of those years (1991 to 1994), Nick Saban was Cleveland's defensive coordinator. The 1994 Browns went 11-5 and had the best defense in the NFL in terms of points surrendered per game.
ReplyDeleteSince joining the AFC for the 1970 season, the Browns have gone 5-13 in the playoffs. They played for the AFC title in 1986, 1987, and 1989 -- losing all three times to the Broncos. They lost the NFL title games in 1968 and 1969. So they are 0-5 in games where they could have advanced to the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteCleveland is the sixteenth team in this series. So if you haven't seen your team yet, then it is in the top half of the NFL in terms of all-time winning percentage.
ReplyDeleteOK, this is great. I'm thankful you are doing these posts, and I'm going to enjoy catching up in reverse order.
ReplyDeleteI loved Brian Sipe. I just started Joe Posnanski's latest book, Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments. I never seek out anything new, but my wife saw it and thought I would enjoy it. She was right! Anyway, he is a huge Browns guy, and one of his 100 moments is this game where Brian Sipe threw a key and unlikely interception late.
I've always weighed in with Otto Graham when there are conversations about the most underrated players in NFL history.
At various points, the Browns have been my second-favorite NFL team, but it has never really stuck.
Cleveland was my second-favorite team all through the late 1970's and 1980's, and that 1980 playoff game against Oakland really hurt.
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