1988 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
General managerErnie Accorsi
Head coachMarty Schottenheimer
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWWWE · WDOK
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Oilers) 23–24
Pro BowlersOLB Clay Matthews Jr.
CB Hanford Dixon
CB Frank Minnifield

The 1988 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 39th season with the National Football League.

Despite taking the Browns to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, head coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired at the end of the 1988 season. He left the Browns having compiled a record of 44–27 (a 62% winning percentage) with the team. (Schottenheimer would later go through a similar scenario with the San Diego Chargers: they fired him after the 2006 season, during which the Chargers posted a 14–2 record and then lost their first playoff game.) The Browns finished the season with a 10–6 record, tied for second place in the AFC Central with the Houston Oilers. The Browns were awarded second place by posting a better division record than the Oilers. The Browns clinched a playoff berth for the 4th straight season. In the playoffs, they lost to the Oilers in the Wild Card game, 24–23. As of 2023, this remains the last time the Browns swept the Steelers.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1988 Cleveland Browns draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 21 Clifford Charlton  OLB Florida
2 50 Michael Dean Perry *  DT Clemson
3 77 Van Waiters  OLB Indiana
4 103 Anthony Blaylock  CB Winston-Salem State
7 188 Thane Gash  S East Tennessee State
8 216 J.J. Birden  WR Oregon
9 244 Danny Copeland  DB Eastern Kentucky
10 272 Brian Washington  DB Nebraska
11 300 Hendley Hawkins  WR Nebraska
12 328 Steve Slayden  QB Duke
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[1]

Roster

1988 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad None

47 active, 9 inactive


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 4 at Kansas City Chiefs W 6–3 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 55,654 Recap
2 September 11 New York Jets L 3–23 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,434 Recap
3 September 19 Indianapolis Colts W 23–17 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,148 Recap
4 September 25 at Cincinnati Bengals L 17–24 2–2 Riverfront Stadium 54,943 Recap
5 October 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–9 3–2 Three Rivers Stadium 56,410 Recap
6 October 9 Seattle Seahawks L 10–16 3–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,605 Recap
7 October 16 Philadelphia Eagles W 19–3 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,787 Recap
8 October 23 at Phoenix Cardinals W 29–21 5–3 Sun Devil Stadium 61,261 Recap
9 October 30 Cincinnati Bengals W 23–16 6–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,147 Recap
10 November 7 at Houston Oilers L 17–24 6–4 Houston Astrodome 51,467 Recap
11 November 13 at Denver Broncos L 7–30 6–5 Mile High Stadium 75,806 Recap
12 November 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–7 7–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,131 Recap
13 November 27 at Washington Redskins W 17–13 8–5 RFK Stadium 51,604 Recap
14 December 4 Dallas Cowboys W 24–21 9–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,683 Recap
15 December 12 at Miami Dolphins L 31–38 9–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 61,884 Recap
16 December 18 Houston Oilers W 28–23 10–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,610 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card December 24 Houston Oilers (5) L 23–24 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
• Browns 0 303 6
Chiefs 0 300 3
  • Date: September 4
  • Location: Arrowhead Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 55,654
  • Game weather: 65 °F or 18.3 °C; wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • Television network: NBC
Scoring summary
Q2KCLowery 33-yard field goalKC 3–0
Q2CLEBahr 19-yard field goalTie 3–3
Q4CLEBahr 38-yard field goalCLE 6–3

[2]

Week 2

Week 9

1 234Total
Bengals 0 1033 16
• Browns 3 7103 23
  • Date: October 30
  • Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 38 °F or 3.3 °C; wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Scoring summary
Q1CLEBahr 34-yard field goalCLE 3–0
Q2CINFulcher 16-yard interception return (Breech kick)CIN 7–3
Q2CLEManoa 2-yard run (Bahr kick)CLE 10–7
Q2CINBreech 19-yard field goalTie 10–10
Q3CLEBahr 39-yard field goalCLE 13–10
Q3CLEFontenot 1 yard blocked punt return (Bahr kick)CLE 20–10
Q3CINBreech 32-yard field goalCLE 20–13
Q4CLEBahr 29-yard field goalCLE 23–13
Q4CINBreech 22-yard field goalCLE 23–16

[3]

Week 14

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 1407 21
• Browns 7 3014 24
  • Date: December 4
  • Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 77,683
  • Game weather: 35 °F or 1.7 °C; wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Kenny Stabler
Scoring summary
Q1CLELanghorne 73-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)CLE 7–0
Q2DALClack 7-yard pass from Pelluer (Ruzek kick)Tie 7–7
Q2CLEBahr 25-yard field goalCLE 10–7
Q2DALFolsom 5-yard pass from Peuller (Ruzek kick)DAL 14–10
Q4CLEFontenot 14-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)CLE 17–14
Q4CLEWeathers 36-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)CLE 24–14
Q4DALWalker 4-yard run (Ruzek kick)CLE 24–21

[4]

Week 16

1 234Total
Oilers 10 670 23
• Browns 0 7714 28
Scoring summary
Q1HOUTony Zendejas 39-yard field goalHOU 3–0
Q1HOUDomingo Bryant 36-yard interception return (Tony Zendejas kick)HOU 10–0
Q2CLEMichael Dean Perry 10-yard fumble return (Matt Bahr kick)HOU 10–7
Q2HOUTony Zendejas 42-yard field goalHOU 13–7
Q2HOUTony Zendejas 35-yard field goalHOU 16–7
Q3HOUHaywood Jeffires 7-yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)HOU 23–7
Q3CLEEarnest Byner 2-yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick)HOU 23–14
Q4CLEEarnest Byner 2-yard run (Matt Bahr kick)HOU 23–21
Q4CLEWebster Slaughter 22-yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick)CLE 28–23

[5]

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals(1) 12 4 0 .750 4–2 8–4 448 329 W1
Cleveland Browns(4) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 6–6 304 288 W1
Houston Oilers(5) 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 424 365 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 336 421 W1

Playoffs

AFC wild card game

Houston Oilers 24, Cleveland Browns 23
Period 1 2 34Total
Oilers 0 14 01024
Browns 3 6 7723

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Oilers cornerback Richard Johnson's interception set up kicker Tony Zendejas' game-clinching 49-yard field goal with 1:54 left in the game. After the Browns scored first on a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, Houston marched 91 yards to score on quarterback Warren Moon's 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Allen Pinkett. Then on Cleveland's next drive, Oilers defensive lineman Richard Byrd recovered quarterback Don Strock's fumble to set up Pinkett's 16-yard touchdown run. Bahr later made two field goals to cut Houston's lead, 14–9, before halftime. In the third quarter, backup quarterback Mike Pagel, who replaced an injured Strock, threw a 14-yard touchdown completion to wide receiver Webster Slaughter to put the Browns ahead, 16–14. However, the Oilers marched on a 76-yard drive that was capped with running back Lorenzo White's 1-yard rushing touchdown. After Johnson's interception and Zendejas' subsequent game-clinching 49-yard field goal, Slaughter caught a 2-yard touchdown reception to close out the scoring.

References

  1. ↑ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.
  3. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-02.
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Jan-31.
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-22.
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