The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the North division of the American Football Conference (AFC). Founded in 1946, they were a charter member club of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).
The Browns have won four NFL championships, all of which pre-date the existence of the Super Bowl. The Browns' four championships are tied for the tenth most total championships amongst all 32 NFL franchises. [1] They are one of four current teams to have never played in the Super Bowl. [2] Two of these teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans, are expansion teams in the AFC that began play in 1995 and 2002 respectively. [3]
In 1995, then-Browns owner Art Modell made the decision to move the team from Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland. An agreement between the city of Cleveland and the NFL kept the team's history, name and colors in Cleveland, while Modell's new team would be regarded as an expansion team. The Baltimore Ravens would begin play in 1996, and the Browns would return to the league in 1999. For record-keeping purposes, the Browns are considered to have suspended operations from 1996 to 1998, which is reflected in this list. In 2017, the Cleveland Browns became the second team in NFL history (2008 Detroit Lions) to suffer an 0–16 record. In 2020, the Browns won their first playoff game since their reactivation in 1999, defeating the division champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round.
Legend | |
---|---|
(#) | The order of league championship won by the franchise |
Finish | Final position in league, division, or conference |
T–# | Finished tied in that position with one or more teams |
Pct | The team's winning percentage for the season |
~ | AAFC champions (1946–1949) [upper-alpha 1] |
† | NFL champions (1920–1969) |
‡ | Super Bowl champions (1970–present) |
* | Conference champions |
^ | Division champions |
§ | Wild Card berth |
° | One-game playoff berth |
Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coach | Refs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | W | L | T | |||||||||
1946 | 1946 | AAFC ~ | Western^ | 1st^ | 12 | 2 | 0 | Won AAFC championship (1) (Yankees) 14–9 | Paul Brown | [4] | ||
1947 | 1947 | AAFC~ | Western^ | 1st^ | 12 | 1 | 1 | Won AAFC championship (2) (at Yankees) 14–3 | [5] | |||
1948 | 1948 | AAFC~ | Western^ | 1st^ | 14 | 0 | 0 | Won AAFC championship (3) (Bills) 49–7 | [6] | |||
1949 | 1949 | AAFC~ | 1st^ | 9 | 1 | 2 | Won AAFC playoff game (Bills) 31–21 Won AAFC championship (4) (49ers) 21–7 | Paul Brown (COY) | [7] | |||
1950 | 1950 | NFL † | American* | T–1st° [upper-alpha 2] | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won Conference Playoffs (Giants) 8–3 Won NFL Championship (5) (Rams) 30–28 | [8] | |||
1951 | 1951 | NFL | American* | 1st* | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Rams) 17–24 | Paul Brown (COY) Otto Graham (MVP) | [9] | ||
1952 | 1952 | NFL | American* | 1st* | 8 | 4 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (Lions) 7–17 | [10] | |||
1953 | 1953 | NFL | Eastern* | 1st* | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Lions) 16–17 | Paul Brown (COY) Otto Graham (MVP) | [11] | ||
1954 | 1954 | NFL† | Eastern* | 1st* | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (6) (Lions) 56–10 | [12] | |||
1955 | 1955 | NFL† | Eastern* | 1st* | 9 | 2 | 1 | Won NFL Championship (7) (at Rams) 38–14 | Otto Graham (MVP) | [13] | ||
1956 | 1956 | NFL | Eastern | T–4th | 5 | 7 | 0 | [14] | ||||
1957 | 1957 | NFL | Eastern* | 1st* | 9 | 2 | 1 | Lost NFL Championship (at Lions) 14–59 | Paul Brown (COY) Jim Brown (MVP) | [15] [16] | ||
1958 | 1958 | NFL | Eastern | T–1st° [upper-alpha 3] | 9 | 3 | 0 | Lost Conference Playoff (at Giants) 0–10 | Jim Brown (MVP) | [17] [16] | ||
1959 | 1959 | NFL | Eastern | T–2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | [18] | ||||
1960 | 1960 | NFL | Eastern | 2nd | 8 | 3 | 1 | [19] | ||||
1961 | 1961 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 8 | 5 | 1 | [20] [upper-alpha 4] | ||||
1962 | 1962 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 7 | 6 | 1 | [22] | ||||
1963 | 1963 | NFL | Eastern | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Jim Brown (MVP) | Blanton Collier | [23] [16] | ||
1964 | 1964 | NFL† | Eastern* | 1st* | 10 | 3 | 1 | Won NFL Championship (8) (Colts) 27–0 | [24] | |||
1965 | 1965 | NFL | Eastern* | 1st* | 11 | 3 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Packers) 12–23 | Jim Brown (MVP) | [25] [16] | ||
1966 | 1966 | NFL | Eastern | T–2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | [26] | ||||
1967 | 1967 | NFL | Eastern | Century ^ [upper-alpha 5] | 1st^ | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost Conference Playoffs (at Cowboys) 14–52 | [28] | ||
1968 | 1968 | NFL | Eastern* | Century^ | 1st^ | 10 | 4 | 0 | Won Conference Playoffs (Cowboys) 31–20 Lost NFL Championship (Colts) 0–34 | [29] | ||
1969 | 1969 | NFL | Eastern* | Century^ | 1st^ | 10 | 3 | 1 | Won Conference Playoffs (at Cowboys) 38–14 Lost NFL Championship (at Vikings) 7–27 | [30] | ||
1970 | 1970 | NFL | AFC [upper-alpha 6] | Central [upper-alpha 6] | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | [33] | |||
1971 | 1971 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 3–20 | Nick Skorich | [34] | |
1972 | 1972 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd§ | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 14–20 | [35] | ||
1973 | 1973 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 2 | [36] | |||
1974 | 1974 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | [37] | |||
1975 | 1975 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 11 | 0 | Forrest Gregg | [38] | ||
1976 | 1976 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | Forrest Gregg (COY) | [39] | ||
1977 | 1977 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 6 | 8 | 0 | Forrest Gregg (6–7) Dick Modzelewski (0–1) | [40] | ||
1978 | 1978 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano | [41] [upper-alpha 7] | ||
1979 | 1979 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano (COY) | [43] | ||
1980 | 1980 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 12–14 | Sam Rutigliano (COY) Brian Sipe (MVP) | [44] | |
1981 | 1981 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | [45] | |||
1982 | 1982 | NFL | AFC | — [upper-alpha 8] | 8th§ [upper-alpha 8] | 4 | 5 | 0 | Lost First Round Playoffs (at Raiders) 10–27 | Chip Banks (DROY) | [47] | |
1983 | 1983 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | [48] | |||
1984 | 1984 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano (1–7) Marty Schottenheimer (4–4) | [49] | ||
1985 | 1985 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 8 | 8 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 21–24 | Kevin Mack (ROY) | Marty Schottenheimer | [50] |
1986 | 1986 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Jets) 23–20 (2 OT) Lost AFC Championship (Broncos) 20–23 (OT) | Marty Schottenheimer (COY) | [51] | |
1987 | 1987 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 10 | 5 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 38–21 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 33–38 | [52] [upper-alpha 9] | ||
1988 | 1988 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd§ | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 23–24 | [54] | ||
1989 | 1989 | NFL | AFC | Central^ | 1st^ | 9 | 6 | 1 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 34–30 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 21–37 | Michael Dean Perry (DPOY) | Bud Carson | [55] |
1990 | 1990 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | Bud Carson (2–7) Jim Shofner (1–6) | [56] | ||
1991 | 1991 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | Bill Belichick | [57] | ||
1992 | 1992 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | [58] | |||
1993 | 1993 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | [59] | |||
1994 | 1994 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd§ | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 20–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 9–29 | [60] | ||
1995 | 1995 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | [61] | |||
1996 | Inactive from 1996 to 1998 | |||||||||||
1997 | ||||||||||||
1998 | ||||||||||||
1999 | 1999 | NFL | AFC | Central | 6th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Chris Palmer | [62] | ||
2000 | 2000 | NFL | AFC | Central | 6th | 3 | 13 | 0 | [63] | |||
2001 | 2001 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Butch Davis | [64] | ||
2002 | 2002 | NFL | AFC | North [upper-alpha 10] | 2nd§ | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36 | [66] | ||
2003 | 2003 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | [67] | |||
2004 | 2004 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Butch Davis (3–8) Terry Robiskie (1–4) | [68] | ||
2005 | 2005 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | Romeo Crennel | [69] | ||
2006 | 2006 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | [70] | |||
2007 | 2007 | NFL | AFC | North | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | [71] | |||
2008 | 2008 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | [72] | |||
2009 | 2009 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Eric Mangini | [73] | ||
2010 | 2010 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | [74] | |||
2011 | 2011 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Pat Shurmur | [75] | ||
2012 | 2012 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | [76] | |||
2013 | 2013 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Rob Chudzinski | [77] | ||
2014 | 2014 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Mike Pettine | [78] | ||
2015 | 2015 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | [79] | |||
2016 | 2016 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 1 | 15 | 0 | Hue Jackson | [80] | ||
2017 | 2017 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 0 | 16 | 0 | [81] | |||
2018 | 2018 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 7 | 8 | 1 | Hue Jackson (2–5–1) Gregg Williams (5–3) | [82] | ||
2019 | 2019 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | Freddie Kitchens | [83] | ||
2020 | 2020 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd§ | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 48–37 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 17–22 | Kevin Stefanski (COY) | Kevin Stefanski | [84] [85] |
2021 | 2021 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 8 | 9 | 0 | [86] [upper-alpha 11] | |||
2022 | 2022 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 7 | 10 | 0 | [88] | |||
2023 | 2023 | NFL | AFC | North | 2nd§ | 11 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Texans) 14–45 | Joe Flacco (CPOY) Myles Garrett (DPOY) Jim Schwartz (ACOY) Kevin Stefanski (COY) | [89] [85] | |
Totals 4 AAFC championships 4 NFL championships 12 conference titles 9 NFL division titles | ||||||||||||
47 | 4 | 3 | All-America Football Conference regular season results | [90] | ||||||||
5 | 0 | — | AAFC postseason results | |||||||||
512 | 530 | 11 | National Football League regular season results | [90] | ||||||||
12 | 22 | — | NFL postseason results | [90] | ||||||||
576 | 556 | 14 | AAFC and NFL regular and postseason results |
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