1968 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

1968 Cleveland Browns season
General manager Harold Sauerbrei
Head coach Blanton Collier
Home field Cleveland Stadium
Local radio WHK
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st NFL Century
Playoff finishWon Eastern Conference Championship Game
(vs. Cowboys) 31–20
Lost NFL Championship
(vs. Colts) 0–34

The 1968 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season with the National Football League. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year thanks to an 8-game winning streak. Quarterback Bill Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

Contents

Veteran wide receiver Paul Warfield had the best season of his entire career catching 50 passes for 1,067 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns.

Season summary

The Browns had enjoyed some recent success, qualifying for the 1965 season NFL Championship Game, in which they lost to the Green Bay Packers 23–12. They finished 9–5 in 1966 and '67, making the playoffs in 1967. The Dallas Cowboys blew them out 52–14 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game. The Browns retooled their roster entered the 1968 season and sought to reestablish themselves as series title contenders. After a slow start in which they lost two of their first three games and three of their first five, the re-tooled Browns won eight in a row before falling 27–16 to the St. Louis Cardinals in a meaningless game in the regular-season finale. The result was a 10–4 mark, the Century Division crown (by the slimmest of margins over the 9–4–1 Cardinals) and a spot in the conference title game again opposite those same Cowboys.

Only this time, the Browns advanced, beating Dallas 31–20 to get to the league title game against the Baltimore Colts. The Colts were returning to Cleveland Stadium, where they were had been stunned by the Browns 27–0 in the championship contest four years before. The Colts got revenge with a shutout victory of their own, 34–0, and advanced to Super Bowl III.

The key to the Browns' turnaround in 1968 was the insertion of Bill Nelsen at quarterback early in the season. Nelsen had been acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He replaced Frank Ryan, who had been the team's starting quarterback since 1963 and lead the team on its playoff run in 1964. By 1968, though, Ryan was struggling with shoulder problems. Nelsen made an impact right away, helping to beat the Colts 30–20 to hand Baltimore its only loss in a 13–1 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1968 NFL Draft.

1968 Cleveland Browns Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
121 Marvin Upshaw Defensive end Trinity
247 John Garlington Linebacker LSU
364 Harry Olszewski Guard Clemson
366 Reece Morrison Running back Texas State
4104 Wayne Meylan Linebacker Nebraska
5131Mike WempeTackle Missouri
5134Jackie JacksonRunning back Clemson
6152 Nate James Defensive back Florida A&M
7186Dale BradyRunning back Memphis
8212 Tom Schoen Defensive back Notre Dame
9238David PorterDefensive tackle Michigan
10255James GreerDefensive end Stephen F. Austin
10267 Alvin Mitchell Defensive back Morgan State
11293Jim AlcornQuarterback Clarion
12319 Tom Beutler Linebacker Toledo
13348Terry SellersDefensive back Georgia
14374Edgar WhippsRunning back Jackson State
15400Bob BaxterFlanker Memphis
16429Dick SievertDefensive end Wisconsin-River Falls
17455Wayne McDuffieCenter Florida State

[1]

Personnel

Roster

1968 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

[2]

Staff/Coaches

1968 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

[3]

Exhibition schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultAttendance
1August 9at Los Angeles Rams L 21–2364,020
2August 18at San Francisco 49ers W 31–1726,801
3August 24at New Orleans Saints L 27–4070,045
4August 30at Buffalo Bills W 22–1245,448
5September 7 Green Bay Packers L 9–3184,918

There was a doubleheader on September 7, 1968 Lions vs Jets (AFL) and Packers vs Browns.

Regular season schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendance
1September 15at New Orleans Saints W 24–101–074,215
2September 22at Dallas Cowboys L 7–281–168,733
3September 29 Los Angeles Rams L 6–241–282,514
4October 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–242–281,865
5October 13 St. Louis Cardinals L 21–272–379,349
6October 20at Baltimore Colts W 30–203–360,238
7October 27 Atlanta Falcons W 30–74–367,723
8November 3at San Francisco 49ers W 33–215–331,359
9November 10 New Orleans Saints W 35–176–371,025
10November 17at Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–247–341,572
11November 24 Philadelphia Eagles W 47–138–362,338
12December 1 New York Giants W 45–109–383,193
13December 8at Washington Redskins W 24–2110–350,661
14December 14at St. Louis Cardinals L 16–2710–439,746

Game summaries

Week 7: vs. Atlanta

Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period1234Total
Falcons00077
Browns7133730

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: October 27
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), relative humidity 63%, round (wind) 17 mph
  • Game attendance: 67,723
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and John Fitzgerald (sideline reporter)
Game information

Playoffs

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
Eastern ConferenceDecember 21 Dallas Cowboys W 31–201–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 81,497 Recap
NFL Championship December 29 Baltimore Colts L 0–341–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium80,628 Recap

Standings

NFL Century
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 1040.7144–27–3394273L1
St. Louis Cardinals 941.6925–0–18–1–1325289W4
New Orleans Saints 491.3082–43–7246327W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 2111.1540–5–11–8–1244397L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ "1968 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  2. ↑ "1968 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
  3. ↑ "1968 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  4. ↑ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
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