1988 Cleveland Browns season

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

1988 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachMarty Schottenheimer
General managerErnie Accorsi
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWWWE · WDOK
Results
Record10–6
Division placeT-2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 23–24

Despite taking the Browns to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, 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 once again go through the same scenario with the Chargers, as in 2006, he was fired by them after the Chargers posted the best record in the NFL. The Browns finished the season with a 10-6 record, tied for second place in the AFC Central with the Houston Oilers. The Browns would be awarded second place by posting a better division record than the Oilers. The Browns would clinch 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 2020, 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
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



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 4, 1988 at Kansas City Chiefs W 6–3
55,654
2 September 11, 1988 New York Jets L 3–23
74,434
3 September 19, 1988 Indianapolis Colts W 23–17
75,148
4 September 25, 1988 at Cincinnati Bengals L 17–24
54,943
5 October 2, 1988 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–9
56,410
6 October 9, 1988 Seattle Seahawks L 10–16
78,605
7 October 16, 1988 Philadelphia Eagles W 19–3
78,787
8 October 23, 1988 at Phoenix Cardinals W 29–21
61,261
9 October 30, 1988 Cincinnati Bengals W 23–16
79,147
10 November 7, 1988 at Houston Oilers L 17–24
51,467
11 November 13, 1988 at Denver Broncos L 7-30
75,806
12 November 20, 1988 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–7
77,131
13 November 27, 1988 at Washington Redskins W 17–13
51,604
14 December 4, 1988 Dallas Cowboys W 24–21
77,683
15 December 12, 1988 at Miami Dolphins L 28–31
61,884
16 December 18, 1988 Houston Oilers W 28–23
74,610

Playoffs
Week Date Opponent Result
Wild Card December 24, 1988 Houston Oilers L 24–23

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; wind 13
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • Television network: NBC

[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; wind 9
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

[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; wind 16
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Kenny Stabler

[4]

Week 16
1 234Total
Oilers 10 670 23
• Browns 0 7714 28

[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
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.

Awards and records

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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