2002 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

2002 Cleveland Browns season
1975-1995 Browns Script.PNG
Owner Al Lerner (Until October 2, 2002)
Randy Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002)
Head coach Butch Davis
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians
Defensive coordinator Foge Fazio
Home field Cleveland Browns Stadium
Local radio WTAM  · WMMS
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC North
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Steelers) 33–36
Pro Bowlers none
Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons, 2002 Cleveland Browns Vs Atlanta Falcons, 2002 - panoramio.jpg
Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons, 2002

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.

Contents

In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration unaware the play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, per NFL rules, the Chiefs were given 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 faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round at Heinz Field. Despite a strong start with a 24–7 lead late in the third quarter, the Steelers would ultimately bounce back erasing a 17 point deficit, causing the Browns to lose 36–33. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020, when they would again face the Steelers in the wild card round. The Browns owner Al Lerner stepped down on October 2 and died on October 23, 2002, from brain cancer. His son, Randy Lerner took over the team until 2012. The Browns wore a patch with the initials "AL" for the remainder of the season and became a fixture on their uniforms to commemorate Lerner. After 2013 the initials were removed from the uniforms when Jimmy Haslam became owner of the franchise.

Offseason

AdditionsSubtractions
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

2002 Cleveland Browns Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
116 William Green Running back Boston College
247 André Davis Wide receiver Virginia Tech
376 Melvin Fowler Center Maryland
4101 Kevin Bentley Linebacker Northwestern
4111 Ben Taylor Linebacker Virginia Tech
4122 Darnell Sanders Tight end Ohio State
5141 Andra Davis Linebacker Florida
7227 Joaquin Gonzalez Offensive tackle Miami

Undrafted free agents

2002 undrafted free agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Frisman Jackson Wide receiver Western Illinois
Kalvin Pearson Safety Grambling State

Personnel

2002 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

  • Owner and chairman – Randy Lerner
  • President and chief executive officer – Carmen Policy
  • Director of Football Development – Pete Garcia
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Jeremy Green
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Steve Sabo
  • Director of college personnel – Phil Neri

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Phillips


Roster

2002 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
52 active, 14 reserve, 5 practice squad

[1]

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.

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 39–400–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,938
2September 15 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–71–1Cleveland Browns Stadium73,358
3September 22at Tennessee Titans W 31–28 (OT)2–1 Adelphia Coliseum 68,804
4September 29at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 (OT)2–2 Heinz Field 62,864
5October 6 Baltimore Ravens L 21–262–3Cleveland Browns Stadium73,688
6October 13at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–172–4 Raymond James Stadium 65,625
7October 20 Houston Texans W 34–173–4Cleveland Browns Stadium73,248
8October 27at New York Jets W 24–214–4 Giants Stadium 78,502
9November 3 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–234–5Cleveland Browns Stadium73,718
10Bye
11November 17at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–205–5 Paul Brown Stadium 64,060
12November 24at New Orleans Saints W 24–156–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,295
13December 1 Carolina Panthers L 6–136–6Cleveland Browns Stadium72,718
14December 8at Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–207–6 Alltel Stadium 46,267
15December 15 Indianapolis Colts L 23–287–7Cleveland Browns Stadium73,098
16December 22at Baltimore Ravens W 14–138–7 M&T Bank Stadium 68,348
17December 29 Atlanta Falcons W 24–169–7Cleveland Browns Stadium73,528

Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Chiefs7732340
Browns61471239

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 8: at New York Jets

Week 8: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Browns3315324
Jets1470021

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Standings

Division

AFC North
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 1051.6566–08–4390345W3
(6) Cleveland Browns 970.5633–37–5344320W2
Baltimore Ravens 790.4383–37–5316354L2
Cincinnati Bengals 2140.1250–61–11279456L1

Conference

AFC
#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOV
Division leaders
1 [a] Oakland Raiders West1150.6884–29–3.529.531
2 [a] Tennessee Titans South1150.6886–09–3.479.474
3 Pittsburgh Steelers North1051.6566–08–4.486.451
4 [b] New York Jets East970.5634–26–6.500.500
Wild Cards
5 Indianapolis Colts South1060.6254–28–4.479.400
6 [c] Cleveland Browns North970.5633–37–5.486.413
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 [c] [d] Denver Broncos West970.5633–35–7.527.486
8 [b] [c] [d] [e] New England Patriots East970.5634–26–6.525.455
9 [b] [e] Miami Dolphins East970.5632–47–5.508.486
10 [f] Buffalo Bills East880.5002–45–7.473.352
11 [f] [g] San Diego Chargers West880.5003–36–6.492.453
12 [g] Kansas City Chiefs West880.5002–46–6.527.516
13 Baltimore Ravens North790.4383–37–5.506.384
14 Jacksonville Jaguars South6100.3751–54–8.506.438
15 Houston Texans South4120.2501–52–10.518.492
16 Cincinnati Bengals North2140.1250–61–11.537.406
Tiebreakers [h]
  1. 1 2 Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory.
  2. 1 2 3 N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games (8–4 to 7–5) and Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  3. 1 2 3 Cleveland finished ahead of Denver and New England based on conference record (7–5 vs 5–7/6–6)
  4. 1 2 Denver finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory.
  5. 1 2 New England finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  6. 1 2 Buffalo finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory.
  7. 1 2 San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City based on division record (3–3 to 2–4).
  8. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
AFC Wild CardJanuary 5, 2003at Pittsburgh Steelers (3)L 33–360–1 Heinz Field 62,595 Recap

Game summaries

AFC Wild Card: (#6) Cleveland Browns at (#3) Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Browns7107933
Steelers0772236

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Game information

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References

  1. ↑ Cleveland Browns 2002 Roster accessed November 28, 2018.
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