1988 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Cleveland Browns 1988 Marty Schottenheimer Dave Adolph Ernie Accorsi Art Modell Cleveland Municipal Stadium 10–6 2nd AFC Central Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Oilers) 23–24 OLB Clay Matthews Jr.CB Hanford DixonCB Frank Minnifield Browns seasons thumb | right | alt=Primary script logo used by the Cleveland Browns, 1975-1995 | Primary script logo used by the Cleveland Browns, 1975-1995 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 resigned 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 1 21 Clifford Charlton OLB Florida yes 2 50 Michael Dean Perry DT Clemson yes yes 3 77 Van Waiters OLB Indiana yes 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 Personnel Staff 1988 Cleveland Browns President and owner – Art Modell Executive vice-president of football operations – Ernie Accorsi Head coach – Marty Schottenheimer Quarterbacks – Marc Trestman Running backs – Joe Pendry Receivers – Richard Mann Tight ends – Ray Braun Offensive line – Howard Mudd Defensive coordinator – Dave Adolph Defensive line – Tom Pratt Secondary – Bill Cowher Special assistant/defense – Darvin Wallis Special teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning – Dave Redding All-Time Assistant Coaches http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/assistant.php ClevelandBrowns.com February 6, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20080522125743/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/assistant.php May 22, 2008 dead Roster 1988 Cleveland Browns 19 Bernie Kosar 10 Mike Pagel 12 Don Strock 43 Tony Baker running back, born 1964 44 Earnest Byner 28 Herman Fontenot KR 34 Kevin Mack 42 Tim Manoa FB 86 Brian Brennan 88 Reggie Langhorne 89 Gerald McNeil PR 84 Webster Slaughter 85 Clarence Weathers 83 Glen Young wide receiver KR 82 Ozzie Newsome 81 Derek Tennell 77 Rickey Bolden T 74 Paul Farren T 69 Dan Fike G 66 Tony Jones offensive tackle y G/T 73 Gregg Rakoczy C 63 Cody Risien T 70 Larry Williams American football G 64 Frank Winters C/LS 91 Sam Clancy DE 79 Bob Golic DT 78 Carl Hairston DE 95 Marlon Jones DE American football 92 Michael Dean Perry DT y 99 Darryl Sims DE 58 Clifford Charlton OLB y 56 David Grayson American football OLB 51 Eddie Johnson linebacker ILB 59 Mike Johnson linebacker ILB 54 Mike Junkin ILB 57 Clay Matthews Jr. OLB 50 Van Waiters y OLB 36 Stephen Braggs CB 29 Hanford Dixon CB 30 Thane Gash SS y 23 American football Mark Harper CB 35 Will Hill safety SS 31 Frank Minnifield CB 48 Brian Washington SS y 22 Felix Wright FS 9 Matt Bahr K 4 Max Runager P 87 JJ Birden y WR PUP 24 Anthony Blaylock y CB IR 72 Charles Buchanan American football DE y IR 39 Danny Copeland y S IR 18 Gary Danielson QB IR  8 Jeff Jaeger K IR -- Jeff Modesitt TE IR 75 Chris Pike American football y DT IR 38 George Swarn RB IR 47 active, 9 inactive 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, 1988 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, 1988 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, 1988 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 1988–89 NFL playoffs 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 Browns 0 3 0 3 Chiefs 0 3 0 0 September 4 Arrowhead Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 55,654 65 °F °C 1 or; wind 13 mph km/h knots Jim Tunney NBC yes Q2 KC Lowery 33-yard field goal KC 3–0 Q2 CLE Bahr 19-yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q4 CLE Bahr 38-yard field goal CLE 6–3 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12. Week 2 April 2015 Week 9 Bengals 0 10 3 3 Browns 3 7 10 3 October 30 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 38 °F °C 1 or; wind 9 mph km/h knots Dick Jorgensen Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 CLE Bahr 34-yard field goal CLE 3–0 Q2 CIN Fulcher 16-yard interception return (Breech kick) CIN 7–3 Q2 CLE Manoa 2-yard run (Bahr kick) CLE 10–7 Q2 CIN Breech 19-yard field goal Tie 10–10 Q3 CLE Bahr 39-yard field goal CLE 13–10 Q3 CLE Fontenot 1 yard blocked punt return (Bahr kick) CLE 20–10 Q3 CIN Breech 32-yard field goal CLE 20–13 Q4 CLE Bahr 29-yard field goal CLE 23–13 Q4 CIN Breech 22-yard field goal CLE 23–16 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-02. Week 14 Cowboys 0 14 0 7 Browns 7 3 0 14 December 4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 77,683 35 °F °C 1 or; wind 16 mph km/h knots Jerry Seeman Jim Nantz and Kenny Stabler CBS yes Q1 CLE Langhorne 73-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 7–0 Q2 DAL Clack 7-yard pass from Pelluer (Ruzek kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 CLE Bahr 25-yard field goal CLE 10–7 Q2 DAL Folsom 5-yard pass from Peuller (Ruzek kick) DAL 14–10 Q4 CLE Fontenot 14-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 17–14 Q4 CLE Weathers 36-yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 24–14 Q4 DAL Walker 4-yard run (Ruzek kick) CLE 24–21 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Jan-31. Week 16 Oilers 10 6 7 0 Browns 0 7 7 14 December 18 Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio 1:00 p.m. 74,610 Snow; 20 °F °C 1 or; wind 13 mph km/h knots Dick Jorgensen Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy NBC yes Q1 HOU Tony Zendejas 39-yard field goal HOU 3–0 Q1 HOU Domingo Bryant 36-yard interception return (Tony Zendejas kick) HOU 10–0 Q2 CLE Michael Dean Perry 10-yard fumble return (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 10–7 Q2 HOU Tony Zendejas 42-yard field goal HOU 13–7 Q2 HOU Tony Zendejas 35-yard field goal HOU 16–7 Q3 HOU Haywood Jeffires 7-yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick) HOU 23–7 Q3 CLE Earnest Byner 2-yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 23–14 Q4 CLE Earnest Byner 2-yard run (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 23–21 Q4 CLE Webster Slaughter 22-yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 28–23 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-22. Standings Playoffs AFC wild card game text-align:center; Cleveland Browns Houston Oilers 24, Cleveland Browns 23 Oilers 0 14 0 10 Browns 3 6 7 7 Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio 1:30 p.m. EST NBC Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy Jerry Seeman 74,977 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 External links 1988 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com) 1988 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1988 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com 1988 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland