2003 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

2003 Cleveland Browns season
Owner Randy Lerner
Head coach Butch Davis
Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians
Defensive coordinator Dave Campo
Home stadium Cleveland Browns Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th AFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers None

The 2003 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 55th season as a professional sports franchise and its 51st season as a member of the National Football League. The Browns were unable to replicate the success from the previous season, and they ended up winning only five games. They failed to return to the playoffs. This season would begin a stretch, which was unbroken until the 2020 season, in which the Browns would not make it to the playoffs in any capacity. [1] [2]

Contents

Offseason

2003 NFL Draft

Draft orderPlayer namePositionCollege
RoundPick
121 Jeff Faine Center Notre Dame
252 Chaun Thompson Linebacker West Texas A&M
384 Chris Crocker Safety Marshall
4115 Lee Suggs Running back Virginia Tech
5142 Ryan Pontbriand Long snapper Rice
5152 Michael Lehan Cornerback Minnesota
6195 Antonio Garay Defensive end Boston College

Undrafted free agents

2003 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Leigh Bodden Cornerback Duquesne
Enoch DeMar Guard Indiana
Nate Hybl Quarterback Oklahoma
Israel Idonije Defensive end Manitoba

Personnel

2003 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

  • Owner and chairman – Randy Lerner
  • President and chief executive officer – Carmen Policy
  • Director of Football Development – Pete Garcia
  • Director of Pro Personnel - Jeremy Green
  • Player Personnel Assistant - Yogi Jones
  • 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 – Buddy Morris
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Phillips

Roster

2003 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 (ST)

 Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 15 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC West and NFC West according to the NFL’s conference rotation, and played the Colts and Patriots based on 2002 standings in their respective AFC divisions.

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordAttendanceVenueRecap
1September 7 Indianapolis Colts L 6–90–173,358 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
2September 14at Baltimore Ravens L 13–330–269,473 M&T Bank Stadium Recap
3September 21at San Francisco 49ers W 13–121–267,412 3Com Park Recap
4September 28 Cincinnati Bengals L 14–211–373,428 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
5October 5at Pittsburgh Steelers W 33–132–364,595 Heinz Field Recap
6October 12 Oakland Raiders W 13–73–373,318 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
7October 19 San Diego Chargers L 20–263–473,238 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
8October 26at New England Patriots L 3–93–568,436 Gillette Stadium Recap
9Bye
10November 9at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–413–678,560 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
11November 16 Arizona Cardinals W 44–64–672,908 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
12November 23 Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–134–773,658 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
13November 30at Seattle Seahawks L 7–344–864,680 Seahawks Stadium Recap
14December 8 St. Louis Rams L 20–264–973,108 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
15December 14at Denver Broncos L 20–234–1075,358 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap
16December 21 Baltimore Ravens L 0–354–1172,548 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap
17December 28at Cincinnati Bengals W 22–145–1165,362 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC North
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(4) Baltimore Ravens 1060.6254–27–5391281W2
Cincinnati Bengals 880.5003–36–6346384L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 6100.3753–35–7300327L1
Cleveland Browns 5110.3132–43–9254322W1

Game summaries

Week 2: at Baltimore

Week 2: Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens  – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Browns0310013
Ravens10601733

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

  • Date: September 14
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 75 °F (23.9 °C), relative humidity 83%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Game attendance: 69,473
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Brando (play–by–play), Spencer Tillman (color commentator)

Browns linebacker Andra Davis telephoned Ravens running back Jamal Lewis before the game and stated he wanted Lewis to carry the ball at least thirty times in their upcoming matchup. “If that happens, it's going to be a career day’, Lewis replied. Lewis then erupted to 295 rushing yards, breaking the record previously held by Corey Dillon in 2000 as the Browns fell 33–13.

Week 11: vs. Arizona

Week 11: Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Cardinals03306
Browns1010141044

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland

  • Date: November 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C), relative humidity 89%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • Game attendance: 72,908
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV announcers (Fox): Scott Graham (play–by–play), Dale Hellestrae (color commentator) and Tony Rizzo (sideline reporter)
Game information

References

  1. ↑ "2003 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
  2. ↑ "2003 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
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