1989 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
General managerErnie Accorsi
Head coachBud Carson
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWWWE · WDOK
Results
Record9–6–1
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Bills) 34–30
Lost AFC Championship[lower-alpha 1]
(at Broncos) 21–37
Pro BowlersWR Webster Slaughter
DT Michael Dean Perry
OLB Clay Matthews Jr.
MLB Mike Johnson
CB Frank Minnifield

The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th season with the National Football League.

It was the Browns' first season with head coach Bud Carson, who had been the defensive coordinator of the New York Jets the previous season. The Browns finished with a 9-6-1 record, good enough for a division title and the second seed in the playoffs, and reached their third AFC Championship game in four seasons,[lower-alpha 2] and for the third time lost to the Denver Broncos.

It would be the Browns’ fifth consecutive season making the playoffs, but it would prove their last until 1994. The team has not won a division title since this season, the longest active drought in the NFL. As of 2023, this is their most recent appearance in the AFC Championship game.

Offseason

NFL draft

1989 Cleveland Browns draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Eric Metcalf *  Running back Texas
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1989 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Paul Lanham

Strength and conditioning

[1]

Roster

1989 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

47 active, 7 inactive, 6 practice squad


Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 10 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 51–0 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium 57,928
2 September 17 New York Jets W 38–24 2–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 73,516
3 September 25 at Cincinnati Bengals L 14–21 2–1 Riverfront Stadium 55,996
4 October 1 Denver Broncos W 16–13 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,637
5 October 8 at Miami Dolphins L 10–13 OT 3–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 58,444
6 October 15 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–17 3–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,840
7 October 23 Chicago Bears W 27–7 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,722
8 October 29 Houston Oilers W 28–17 5–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,765
9 November 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 42–31 6–3 Tampa Stadium 69,162
10 November 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 17–7 7–3 Kingdome 58,978
11 November 19 Kansas City Chiefs T 10–10 OT 7–3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,922
12 November 23 at Detroit Lions L 10–13 7–4–1 Pontiac Silverdome 65,624
13 December 3 Cincinnati Bengals L 0–21 7–5–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,236
14 December 10 at Indianapolis Colts L 17–23 OT 7–6–1 Hoosier Dome 58,550
15 December 17 Minnesota Vikings W 23–17 OT 8–6–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,777
16 December 23 at Houston Oilers W 24–20 9–6–1 Houston Astrodome 58,852

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Cleveland Browns (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 17 13 14751
Steelers 0 0 000

at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Bud Carson begins his Browns head coaching career with a memorable 51–0 victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. It is the most lopsided victory in the 79-game series between the teams and the Browns' biggest shutout ever. Carson, Pittsburgh's former defensive coordinator, watches his team force eight turnovers, record seven sacks and score three touchdowns (two by linebacker David Grayson).

Week 2

1 234Total
Jets 0 7107 24
• Browns 0 141410 38
Scoring summary
Q211:46NYJVick 39 yard run (Leahy kick)NYJ 7–0
Q26:01CLESlaughter 35 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)Tie 7–7
Q24:54CLEGash 36 yard interception return (Bahr kick)CLE 14–7
Q311:25NYJTownsell 49 yard pass from O'Brien (Leahy kick)Tie 14–14
Q38:27CLEManoa 6 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)CLE 21–14
Q37:18NYJLeahy 36 yard field goalCLE 21–17
Q34:09CLEJones 9 yard run (Bahr kick)CLE 28–17
Q412:06NYJMcNeil 1 yard run (Leahy kick)CLE 28–24
Q47:53CLENewsome 4 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick)CLE 35–24
Q42:12CLEBahr 21 yard field goalCLE 38–24

[2]

Week 4

The Browns snap a 10-game losing streak against Denver with a controversial 16–13 win at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was decided by a Matt Bahr 48-yard field goal as time expired – a kick that barely made the crossbar. Bahr's field goal comes after referee Tom Dooley ordered the teams to switch ends of the field, thanks to rowdy Dawg Pound fans who pelt the Broncos with dog biscuits, eggs and other debris. The switch gave the Browns a timely wind advantage.

Week 7

Wide receiver Webster Slaughter catches eight passes for 186 yards in leading the Browns to a 27–7 win over the Chicago Bears on ABC's Monday Night Football at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. One of the catches is a 96-yard touchdown pass from Kosar – the longest play from scrimmage in Browns history.

Week 8

For the first time in more than a decade Ozzie Newsome did not catch a pass, but the Browns still beat Houston, 28–17. The Browns explode for 326 second-half yards as Kosar throws touchdown passes of 80 and 77 yards to Slaughter. Newsome's club record streak of 150 consecutive games with a reception ends.

Week 11

Former coach Marty Schottenheimer, returning to Cleveland with his Chiefs, has to settle for a 10–10 tie as Kansas City kicker Nick Lowery misses three makeable field goal attempts: 45- and 39- yard attempts In the final 10 seconds of regulation and a 47-yard attempt with seven seconds left in overtime. The Browns fumble four times, throw one interception and punt a club-record-tying 12 times. This was the first Browns' tie since the introduction of overtime in regular season games in 1974. The Browns would not record another tie until week 1 of the 2018 season.

Week 16

With the AFC Central title and a wild-card berth at stake, the Browns blow a 17-point lead before bouncing back to defeat the Oilers, 24–20 at the Astrodome. The Browns march 58 yards with no timeouts and Kevin Mack scores on a 4-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left to save the day.

As of February 2022, the 1989 season marks the last time that the Browns have won a division title. The 30 season[lower-alpha 3] drought without a division title is the longest active drought in the NFL.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Divisional January 6, 1990 Buffalo Bills (3) W 34–30 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,706 Recap
AFC Championship January 14, 1990 at Denver Broncos (1) L 21–37 Mile High Stadium 76,005 Recap

AFC divisional playoff

Buffalo Bills (9–7) at Cleveland Browns (9–6–1)

Cleveland Browns 34, Buffalo Bills 30
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 7 7 7930
Browns 3 14 14334

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(2) 9 6 1 .594 3–3 6–5–1 334 254 W2
Houston Oilers(4) 9 7 0 .563 3–3 6–6 365 412 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers(5) 9 7 0 .563 1–5 6–6 265 326 W3
Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 5–1 6–6 404 285 L1

Notes

  1. ↑ The 1990 Conference Championship game between the Browns and the Broncos marked the third time in four years that John Elway defeated Bernie Kosar and the Browns in the AFC championship game.
  2. ↑ The Browns had previously reached the AFC Championship game following the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
  3. ↑ This excludes the three seasons from 1996 to 1998 when the Browns franchise was inactive.

References

  1. ↑ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.
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