2002 Cleveland Browns season

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2002 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerAlfred Lerner (Until October 2, 2002)
Randolph Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002)
Head coachButch Davis
Home fieldCleveland Browns Stadium
Local radioWTAM · WMMS
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC North
Playoff finishLost Wild Card playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36
Pro Bowlersnone

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.

In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration while a play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, the Chiefs had 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 then lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020.

Offseason[]

Additions Subtractions
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
Round Selection Player Position College
1 16 William Green Running back Boston College
2 47 André Davis Wide receiver Virginia Tech
3 76 Melvin Fowler Offensive lineman Maryland
4 101 Kevin Bentley Linebacker Northwestern
4 111 Ben Taylor Linebacker Virginia Tech
4 122 Darnell Sanders Tight end Ohio State
5 141 Andra Davis Linebacker Florida
7 227 Joaquin Gonzalez Offensive lineman Miami

Undrafted free agents[]

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Frisman Jackson Wide receiver Western Illinois
Kalvin Pearson Safety Grambling State

Roster[]

2002 Cleveland Browns final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

[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.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 39–40 0–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,938
2 September 15 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–7 1–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,358
3 September 22 at Tennessee Titans W 31–28 (OT) 2–1 Adelphia Coliseum 68,804
4 September 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 (OT) 2–2 Heinz Field 62,864
5 October 6 Baltimore Ravens L 21–26 2–3 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,688
6 October 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–17 2–4 Raymond James Stadium 65,625
7 October 20 Houston Texans W 34–17 3–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,248
8 October 27 at New York Jets W 24–21 4–4 Giants Stadium 78,502
9 November 3 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–23 4–5 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,718
10 Bye
11 November 17 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–20 5–5 Paul Brown Stadium 64,060
12 November 24 at New Orleans Saints W 24–15 6–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,295
13 December 1 Carolina Panthers L 6–13 6–6 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,718
14 December 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–20 7–6 Alltel Stadium 46,267
15 December 15 Indianapolis Colts L 23–28 7–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,098
16 December 22 at Baltimore Ravens W 14–13 8–7 M&T Bank Stadium 68,348
17 December 29 Atlanta Falcons W 24–16 9–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,528

Game summaries[]

Week 8: at New York Jets[]

Week 8: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Browns 3 3 15324
Jets 14 7 0021

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Game time: 1:05 p.m.
  • Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
  • Game attendance: 78,502
  • Referee: Bob McElwee (95)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross, and Beasley Reece
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings[]

AFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 5 1 .656 6–0 8–4 390 345 W3
(6) Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 344 320 W5
Baltimore Ravens 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 316 354 L2
Cincinnati Bengals 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 279 456 L1

Postseason[]

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
AFC Wild Card January 5, 2003 at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) L 33–36 0–1 Heinz Field 62,595 Recap

Game summaries[]

AFC Wild Card: (#6) Cleveland Browns at (#3) Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Browns 7 10 7933
Steelers 0 7 72236

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

  • Date: January 5, 2003
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Light snow, 27 °F (−3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 62,595
  • Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

References[]

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