2002 Cleveland Browns season
The 2002 season was the Cleveland Browns' 54th as a professional sports franchise, their 50th as a member of the National Football League, and the second season under head coach Butch Davis.
| 2002 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Alfred Lerner (Until October 2, 2002) Randolph Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002) |
| Head coach | Butch Davis |
| Home field | Cleveland Browns Stadium |
| Local radio | WTAM · WMMS |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC North |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36 |
| Pro Bowlers | none |
In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration while the play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, the Chiefs had one untimed down. Chiefs' kicker Morten Andersen made the 30-yard field goal to win the game.
The Browns made their first playoff appearance since their re-activation. It was only the Browns' fourth year since returning to the league effectively as an expansion team, and their first winning season. The Browns then lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020.
Offseason
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| T Ryan Tucker (Rams) | LB Wali Rainer (Jaguars) |
| FS Robert Griffith (Vikings) | T Roman Oben (Buccaneers) |
| LB Earl Holmes (Steelers) | DE Greg Spires (Buccaneers) |
| DE Kenard Lang (Redskins) | DE Keith McKenzie (Bears) |
2002 NFL Draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | William Green | Running back | Boston College |
| 2 | 47 | André Davis | Wide Receiver | Virginia Tech |
| 3 | 76 | Melvin Fowler | Offensive Lineman | Maryland |
| 4 | 101 | Kevin Bentley | Linebacker | Northwestern |
| 4 | 111 | Ben Taylor | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | 122 | Darnell Sanders | Tight end | Ohio State |
| 5 | 141 | Andra Davis | Linebacker | Florida |
| 7 | 227 | Joaquin Gonzalez | Offensive Lineman | Miami |
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Frisman Jackson | Wide Receiver | Western Illinois |
| Kalvin Pearson | Safety | Grambling State |
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC South and NFC South according to the NFL's new conference rotation, and played the Chiefs and Jets based on 2001 standings with respect to the newly aligned divisions.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 39–40 | 0–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,938 | ||
| 2 | September 15 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–7 | 1–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,358 | ||
| 3 | September 22 | at Tennessee Titans | W 31–28 (OT) | 2–1 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,804 | ||
| 4 | September 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–16 (OT) | 2–2 | Heinz Field | 62,864 | ||
| 5 | October 6 | Baltimore Ravens | L 21–26 | 2–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,688 | ||
| 6 | October 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–17 | 2–4 | Raymond James Stadium | 65,625 | ||
| 7 | October 20 | Houston Texans | W 34–17 | 3–4 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,248 | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at New York Jets | W 24–21 | 4–4 | Giants Stadium | 78,502 | ||
| 9 | November 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–23 | 4–5 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,718 | ||
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| 11 | November 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–20 | 5–5 | Paul Brown Stadium | 64,060 | ||
| 12 | November 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 24–15 | 6–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,295 | ||
| 13 | December 1 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–13 | 6–6 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,718 | ||
| 14 | December 8 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 21–20 | 7–6 | Alltel Stadium | 46,267 | ||
| 15 | December 15 | Indianapolis Colts | L 23–28 | 7–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,098 | ||
| 16 | December 22 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 14–13 | 8–7 | M&T Bank Stadium | 68,348 | ||
| 17 | December 29 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–16 | 9–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,528 | ||
Week 8: at New York Jets
Week 8: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets – Game summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 24 |
| Jets | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
- Game attendance: 78,502
- Referee: Bob McElwee (95)
- TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross, and Beasley Reece
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings
| AFC North | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 390 | 345 | W3 |
| (6) Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 344 | 320 | W5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 316 | 354 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 279 | 456 | L1 |
Postseason
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Wild Card | January 5 | at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 33–36 | 0–1 | Heinz Field | 62,595 |
Game summaries
AFC Wild Card: (#6) Cleveland Browns at (#3) Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 7 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 33 |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 36 |
- Date: January 5, 2003
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
- Game weather: Light snow, 27 °F (−3 °C)
- Game attendance: 62,595
- Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
References
- Cleveland Browns 2002 Roster accessed November 28, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.