1987 Cleveland Browns season

1987 Cleveland Browns season
1987 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	Ernie Accorsi
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WWWE · WDOK
Results
Record	10–5
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Colts) 38–21; Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 33–38
	← 1986; Browns seasons; 1988 →;

A ticket for the AFC Championship Game between the Browns and the Broncos.

The 1987 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 38th season in the National Football League.

Led by another 3,000-yard season from Bernie Kosar, the Browns captured their third-straight AFC Central crown. In the divisional playoffs, against the Indianapolis Colts at Municipal Stadium, the Browns routed the Colts 38–21 to advance to their second-straight AFC Championship Game. For the second year in a row, the Browns were matched up against the Denver Broncos for a trip to Super Bowl XXII. The Browns fell behind early at Mile High Stadium, as the Broncos roared out to a big halftime lead. However, the Browns scored 30 points in the second half, and drove down the field in the late fourth quarter with a chance to score a game-tying touchdown. With 1:12 left in the game, RB Earnest Byner was stripped of the ball at the 2-yard line by Broncos' defensive back Jeremiah Castille in a play since dubbed The Fumble. Denver ran down the clock and took an intentional safety with 8 seconds left, and the Browns fell 38–33. Denver returned to the Super Bowl for a second straight year at the expense of the Browns.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1987 Cleveland Browns draft
1	5	Mike Junkin	Linebacker	Duke
2	32	Gregg Rakoczy	Center	Miami (FL)
3	80	Tim Manoa	Fullback	Penn State
3	82	Jeff Jaeger *	Kicker	Washington
6	165	Stephen Braggs	Defensive back	Texas
8	220	Steve Bullitt	Linebacker	Texas A&M
10	276	Frank Winters *	Center	Western Illinois
11	303	Larry Brewton	Defensive back	Temple
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1987 Cleveland Browns staff**

	Front office President and Owner – Art Modell Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Ernie Accorsi Director of Player Personnel – Chip Falivene Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Lindy Infante Running backs – Joe Pendry Receivers – Richard Mann Tight ends – Charlie Davis Offensive line – Howard Mudd			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Dave Adolph Defensive line – Tom Pratt Secondary – Bill Cowher Special Assistant/Defense – Darvin Wallis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding

^[1]

NFL replacement players[]

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

1987 Cleveland Browns replacement roster

Quarterbacks

11 Jeff Christensen
-- Homer Jordan
-- Joe Pizzo
-- Karlton Walton

Running backs

47
35 Stacey Driver
--
33 Kirk Jones
-- George Landry
42 Larry Mason
-- Calvin Pierce

Wide receivers

87 Clayton Beauford
-- Terry Bell
-- Stanley Carraway
22 Perry Kemp
-- Mike McDade
28
84 Keith Tinsley
85 David Verser
89
-- Arthur Williams
-- Ray Williams

Tight ends

83
80
81 Derek Tennell

Offensive linemen

-- John Askin
73 Keith Bosley
62
-- Barry Lee
66 Dave Sparenberg
50
71
64 Blake Wingle

Defensive linemen

94
75 Alex Carter
-- Scott Cooper
98 Aaron Moog
-- Morgan Roane
79
91 Darryl Sims

Linebackers

92 Dave Butler
59 James Capers
55
52 David Grayson
58
97 Mike Kovaleski
57
54
53 Tom Polley
-- Dick Teets

Defensive backs

25 Vincent Barnett
36
27
-- Robert Goins
38
-- Steve Lauter
-- Earnest Moore
30 Billy Robinson
23
41 Troy Wilson
-- Stacy Williams

Special teams

Roster[]

**1987 Cleveland Browns roster**

	Quarterbacks 19 Bernie Kosar 18 Gary Danielson 10 Mike Pagel Running backs 44 Earnest Byner 28 Herman Fontenot 42 Tim Manoa FB 34 Kevin Mack 38 George Swarn Wide receivers 86 Brian Brennan 88 Reggie Langhorne 89 Gerald McNeil 84 Webster Slaughter 85 Clarence Weathers 83 Glen Young KR Tight ends 82 Ozzie Newsome 81 Derek Tennell 87 Travis Tucker		Offensive linemen 61 Mike Baab C 77 Rickey Bolden T 74 Paul Farren LT 69 Dan Fike RG 65 Darryl Haley T 73 Gregg Rakoczy C 63 Cody Risien RT 70 Larry Williams LG 64 Frank Winters G Defensive linemen 60 Al Baker DE 96 Reggie Camp DE 91 Sam Clancy DE 79 Bob Golic DT 78 Carl Hairston DE 95 Marlon Jones DE 72 Dave Puzzuoli DT 90 Darryl Sims DE		Linebackers 56 David Grayson OLB 53 Anthony Griggs 94 Rusty Guilbeau 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 59 Mike Johnson MLB 57 Clay Matthews, Jr. OLB 52 Nick Miller 50 Lucius Sanford Defensive backs 36 Stephen Braggs 29 Hanford Dixon CB 24 Ray Ellis SS 27 Al Gross SS 23 Mark Harper CB 31 Frank Minnifield CB 37 Chris Rockins S 22 Felix Wright FS Special teams 9 Matt Bahr K 8 Jeff Jaeger K 11 Lee Johnson P 5 George Winslow P		Reserve lists 54 Mike Junkin ILB (IR) 66 Dave Sparenberg G (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Regular season[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 13	at New Orleans Saints	L 21–28	0–1	Louisiana Superdome	59,900	Recap
2	September 20	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–10	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	79,543	Recap
3	September 28	Denver Broncos	canceled	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	NFL strike
4	October 4	at New England Patriots	W 20–10	2–1	Sullivan Stadium	14,830	Recap
5	October 11	Houston Oilers	L 10–15	2–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	38,927	Recap
6	October 18	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 34–0	3–2	Riverfront Stadium	40,179	Recap
7	October 26	Los Angeles Rams	W 30–17	4–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	76,933	Recap
8	November 1	at San Diego Chargers	L 24–27	4–3	Jack Murphy Stadium	55,381	Recap
9	November 8	Atlanta Falcons	W 38–3	5–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	71,135	Recap
10	November 15	Buffalo Bills	W 27–21	6–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,409	Recap
11	November 22	at Houston Oilers	W 40–7	7–3	Houston Astrodome	51,161	Recap
12	November 29	at San Francisco 49ers	L 24–38	7–4	Candlestick Park	60,248	Recap
13	December 6	Indianapolis Colts	L 7–9	7–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,661	Recap
14	December 13	Cincinnati Bengals	W 38–24	8–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	77,331	Recap
15	December 20	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 24–17	9–5	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	40,275	Recap
16	December 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 19–13	10–5	Three Rivers Stadium	56,394	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game Summaries[]

Week 9: vs. Atlanta[]

Week 9: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	3	0	0	3
Browns	0	14	21	3	38

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Date: November 8
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 54°F, relative humidity 48%, round (wind) 13 MPH
Game attendance: 71,135
TV announcers (CBS): Tim Brant (play–by–play) and Hank Stram (color commentator)
[1]

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays

Second quarter

CLE (6:50) – Slaughter 54 yard pass from Kosar (Jaeger kick)
Browns 7, Falcons 0
CLE (11:04) – Mack 1 yard rush (Jaeger kick)
Browns 14, Falcons 0
ATL (15:00) – Luckhurst 42 yard field goal
Browns 14, Falcons 3

Third quarter

CLE (4:05) – Byner 3 yard rush (Jaeger kick)
Browns 21, Falcons 3
CLE (8:59) – Byner 5 yard rush (Jaeger kick)
Browns 28, Falcons 3
CLE (12:45) – Byner 4 yard pass from Kosar (Jaeger kick)
Browns 35, Falcons 3

Fourth quarter

CLE (9:41) – Jaeger 38 yard field goal
Browns 38, Falcons 3

Top passers

ATL – Scott Campbell 15/22, 169 yds, 1 INT
CLE – Bernie Kosar 13/23, 192 yds, 2 TD

Top rushers

ATL – Gerald Riggs 16 carr, 93 yds
CLE – Kevin Mack 18 carr, 52 yds, 1 TD

Top receivers

ATL – Aubrey Matthews 5 rec, 70 yds
CLE – Earnest Byner 4 rec, 40 yds, 1 TD

Turnovers

ATL – 2
CLE – 1

Postseason[]

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Divisional	January 9, 1988	Indianapolis Colts (3)	W 38–21	1–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,586	Recap
AFC Championship	January 17, 1988	at Denver Broncos (2)	L 33–38	1–1	Mile High Stadium	75,993	Recap

AFC Divisional Game

AFC Divisional Game: Indianapolis Colts at Cleveland Browns – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	7	7	0	7	21
Browns	7	7	7	17	38

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Date: January 9, 1988
Game time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 16°F, relative humidity 71%, round (wind) 5 MPH
TV: NBC
Boxscore [2]

AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game: Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	0	3	21	9	33
Broncos	14	7	10	7	38

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

Date: January 17, 1988
Game time: 4 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 29°F, relative humidity 63%, round (wind) 8 MPH
TV: NBC Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen
Boxscore [3]

Standings[]

AFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns⁽²⁾	10	5	0	.667	5–1	8–3	390	239	W3
Houston Oilers⁽⁴⁾	9	6	0	.600	5–1	7–4	345	349	W2
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	7	0	.533	2–4	6–5	285	299	L2
Cincinnati Bengals	4	11	0	.267	0–6	3–9	285	370	L3

References[]

^ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2011.

[1] "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2011.

[1]

v t Cleveland Browns
Founded in 1946 Based in Cleveland, Ohio Headquartered in Berea, Ohio
Franchise	History Players Head coaches Seasons Logos and uniforms First-round draft picks 1999 expansion draft Starting quarterbacks Pro Bowlers Broadcasters
Stadiums	Cleveland Stadium FirstEnergy Stadium
Key personnel	Owners: Jimmy Haslam Dee Haslam Chief Strategy Officer: Paul DePodesta EVP of Football Ops/GM: Andrew Berry Head coach: Kevin Stefanski
Culture and lore	Art Modell Bottlegate Cleveland sports curse Dawg Pound The Drew Carey Show ("Drew Goes to the Browns' Game") Draft Day Hot Tub Time Machine Kardiac Kids Marty ball Miracle at the Met Paul Brown Red Right 88 Relocation controversy "The Best Man" The Drive The Express: The Ernie Davis Story The Fortune Cookie The Fumble
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers
Playoff appearances (29)	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1958 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1971 1972 1980 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1994 2002 2020
Division championships (12)	1946 1947 1948 1967 1968 1969 1971 1980 1985 1986 1987 1989
Conference championships (11)	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1964 1965 1968 1969
League championships (8)	AAFC: 1946 1947 1948 1949 NFL: 1950 1954 1955 1964
Retired numbers	14 32 45 46 76
Hall of Fame inductees	Players: Brown, J. DeLamielleure Ford Gatski Graham Groza Hickerson Kelly Lavelli McCormack Mitchell Motley Newsome Warfield Willis Coach: Brown, P.
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1950–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: North Division
Former league affiliation	League: All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)