| 1988 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Art Modell |
| General manager | Ernie Accorsi |
| Head coach | Marty Schottenheimer |
| Home field | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| Local radio | WWWE · WDOK |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Oilers) 23–24 |
| Pro Bowlers | OLB Clay Matthews Jr. CB Hanford Dixon CB Frank Minnifield |
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 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 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.
| 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 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 | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
47 active, 9 inactive
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| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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.
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 24 | Houston Oilers (5) | L 23–24 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap |
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| 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 |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| Browns | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
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.
Martin Edward Schottenheimer was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for 10 seasons, the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers for five each, and the Washington Redskins for one. Eighth in career wins at 205 and seventh in regular season wins at 200, Schottenheimer has the most wins of an NFL head coach to not win a championship. After coaching in the NFL, he won a 2011 championship in his one season with the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League (UFL). He was inducted to the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2010.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1988 season began on December 24, 1988. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, 20–16, on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida.
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The 1982 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 33rd season with the National Football League.
The 1983 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 34th season with the National Football League.
The 1984 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th season with the National Football League. At the season's mid-way point, head coach Sam Rutigliano was fired after starting 1–7. He was replaced by defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer, who went 4–4 to finish the season.
The 1985 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 36th season with the National Football League.
The 1986 Cleveland Browns season was the team’s 37th season with the National Football League. The death of Don Rogers, a promising young defensive back who was preparing to enter his third season in the NFL, cast a black cloud over the team as it prepared for the 1986 season.
The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th season with the National Football League.
The 1975 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 26th season with the National Football League. The Browns lost their first nine games—again, a team record—en route to going 3–11 in Forrest Gregg's first year as head coach after having been promoted from offensive line coach following the offseason firing of Nick Skorich.
The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th overall, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. The 1980 Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. Also, for the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
The 1967 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 18th season with the National Football League. The Browns were back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. They finished 9–5, the same as in 1966, but this time, it was good enough for them to get in as they won the Century Division championship in the first year of play after the NFL split the Eastern and Western conferences into two divisions each. The division race was not close, as the Browns finished two games ahead of the runner-up New York Giants (7–7), their old arch rival in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The 1990 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 21st season in the National Football League (NFL) and its 31st overall. After a 1–4 start, the Chargers recovered to 5–5, only half a game out of the playoff places. Five losses in their final six games, however, saw them finish with a 6–10 record for the third consecutive season. Only one of San Diego's six victories came against a team with a winning record, and none were against eventual playoff teams. As had been the case in 1989, close finishes were a problem—the Chargers were 0–5 in games decided by seven points or fewer.
The 1989 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 30th overall and the first season under head coach Dan Henning, whose predecessor, Al Saunders, had been fired shortly after the previous season.
The 1987 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 18th season in the National Football League and the 28th overall. The Oilers came into the season looking to improve on their 5–11 record from 1986, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1980. The 1987 NFL season was affected by a players strike that took place in week 3 of the season, which canceled all week 3 games. As a result, the Oilers canceled there was-to-be week 3 game against the Los Angeles Raiders. The Oilers began the season 3–1, their best start to a season since 1980. After the Oilers lost at home to the Patriots 21–7 in week 5, the Oilers defeated the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals to give them a 5–2 start to the season. After the Oilers lost to the 49ers on the road, they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, 23–3, for their first win in Pittsburgh since 1978. The Oilers would then play 2 disastrous games against the Browns and the Colts, as they allowed 40+ points in each game, losing 40–7 to Cleveland at home and losing 51–27 to the Colts in Indianapolis. The Oilers would defeat the Chargers the next week, rebounding from those 2 bad losses. The Oilers would clinch a playoff spot in the season's final week with a 21–17 win over Cincinnati, thus ending their 6-year playoff drought. This was the first of seven consecutive playoff appearances for the Oilers. In the playoffs, they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 23–20 in overtime on a Tony Zendejas field goal. However, the next week, they lost to the Broncos 34–10 in the Divisional Round, ending their season.
The 1988 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 19th season in the National Football League and the 29th overall. The franchise scored 424 points, which was second in the AFC and second overall in the NFL. The defense gave up 365 points. Their record of 10 wins and 6 losses resulted in a third-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared once on Monday Night Football and appeared in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Warren Moon would be selected for the Pro Bowl. In the playoffs, they defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-23 in the Wild Card game. However, in the divisional playoffs, they lost 17-10 to the Bills.
The 1992 Houston Oilers season was the team's 33rd season and their 23rd in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1989 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 30th overall season as a football team and the 20th in the National Football League. The Bills finished in first place in the AFC East and finished the National Football League's 1989 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses. Although Buffalo won the division and qualified for the postseason, their record was a drop off from their 12–4 mark in 1988.
On January 14, 2007, the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers played an AFC Divisional Playoff game at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game is remembered for a play that occurred midway through the 4th quarter. On 4th and 5 with 6:25 remaining and the Chargers leading 21–13, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was intercepted at the Chargers' 30-yard line by safety Marlon McCree, only for McCree to be stripped of the ball shortly thereafter by wide receiver Troy Brown. Fellow wide receiver Reche Caldwell recovered the fumble, securing a new set of downs for the Patriots. The Patriots' reborn drive would end in a touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion, and the Patriots went on to win 24–21 after Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding missed a last-second 54-yard field goal.
