1979 Cleveland Browns season

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Script logo from 1976-1995 1975-1995 Browns Script.PNG
Script logo from 1976-1995

1979 Cleveland Browns season
Owner Art Modell
Head coach Sam Rutigliano
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WHK
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers C Tom De Leone
FB Mike Pruitt [1]
AP All-Pros TE Ozzie Newsome {2nd Team)
QB Brian Sipe {2nd Team)
FS Thom Darden {2nd Team) [2]

The 1979 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 30th season with the National Football League.

Contents

Season summary

In a season which could be titled "The Birth of The Kardiac Kids" the Browns, who finished 9–7, nearly made the playoffs while involved in a number of close games. They won their first three contests, all by three points, over the New York Jets in overtime 25–22, Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 and Baltimore Colts 13–10. They lost to the Washington Redskins by four points, 13–9, midway through the season, then beat the Cincinnati Bengals by one, 28–27, the following Sunday and the Philadelphia Eagles by five, 24–19, two weeks later. The Browns proceeded to lose to the Seattle Seahawks by five points, 29–24, beat the Miami Dolphins by six, 30–24, in overtime and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers by three, 33–30, again in OT. That was the last of the Browns three overtime games that season. Then came a virtual "blowout" – a seven-point victory over the Houston Oilers, 14–7. Followed by two "one-sided" losses, by five points to the Oakland Raiders, 19–14, and by four to the Bengals, 16–12, to end the year. Add it all up, and 12 of the Browns' 16 games were decided by seven points or less. The club went just 7–5 in those games, though, which was the difference in that season from 1980, when the Browns were 10–2 in 12 contests decided by seven points or less.

How tight was the 1979 season overall for the Browns? So much so that they outscored their foes by just seven points all year. The Browns moved to 4–0 – their fastest start since 1963 – by stunning heavily favored Dallas 26–7 on Monday Night Football. The Browns gave up 51 points at home to the Steelers, who would go on to win their second straight Super Bowl and fourth in six years, yet scored 35 on the vaunted Steel Curtain defense and lost by 16. The game was shown on national TV, but NBC cut away to another contest, leaving only the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets watching, after the Steelers vaulted to a 27–0 lead.

RB Mike Pruitt rushed for 1,294 yards and nine TDs, while wideout Dave Logan led the team in catches with 59 and missed getting 1,000 receiving yards by just 18. Logan, TE Ozzie Newsome and veteran WR Reggie Rucker combined for 22 TD catches.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1979 NFL draft.

1979 Cleveland Browns Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
120 Willis Adams Wide receiver Houston
240 Lawrence Johnson Defensive back Wisconsin
247 Sam Claphan Offensive tackle Oklahoma
370 Jim Ramey Defensive end Kentucky
495 Matt Miller Offensive tackle Colorado
5124 Rich Dimler Defensive tackle USC
6151 Clinton Burrell Defensive back LSU
6163Jim RonanDefensive tackle Minnesota
7183 Cody Risien Offensive tackle Texas A&M
8204Kent PerkovDefensive end San Diego State
9234 Carl McGee Linebacker Duke
9241 Curtis Weathers Linebacker Mississippi
10261John Henry SmithWide receiver Tennessee State
11287Randy PoeschlDefensive end Nebraska
12315Dee MethvinCenter Tulane

[3]

Staff / Coaches

1979 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1979 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 2at New York Jets W 25–22 (OT)1–0 Shea Stadium 48,272 Recap
2September 9at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–242–0 Arrowhead Stadium 42,181 Recap
3September 16 Baltimore Colts W 13–103–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium72,070 Recap
4September 24 Dallas Cowboys W 26–74–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium80,123 Recap
5September 30at Houston Oilers L 10–314–1 Houston Astrodome 48,915 Recap
6October 7 Pittsburgh Steelers L 35–514–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium81,260 Recap
7October 14 Washington Redskins L 9–134–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium63,323 Recap
8October 21 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–275–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium75,119 Recap
9October 28at St. Louis Cardinals W 38–206–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,845 Recap
10November 4at Philadelphia Eagles W 24–197–3 Veterans Stadium 69,019 Recap
11November 11 Seattle Seahawks L 24–297–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium72,440 Recap
12November 18 Miami Dolphins W 30–24 (OT)8–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium80,374 Recap
13November 25at Pittsburgh Steelers L 30–33 (OT)8–5 Three Rivers Stadium 49,112 Recap
14December 2 Houston Oilers W 14–79–5Cleveland Municipal Stadium69,112 Recap
15December 9at Oakland Raiders L 14–199–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,641 Recap
16December 16at Cincinnati Bengals L 12–169–7 Riverfront Stadium 42,183 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Pittsburgh Steelers (2)1240.7504–29–3416262W1
Houston Oilers (4)1150.6884–29–3362331L1
Cleveland Browns 970.5632–46–6359352L2
Cincinnati Bengals 4120.2502–42–10337421W1

Awards and records

Notes

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References

  1. "1979 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  2. "1979 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. "1979 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.