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1987 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season

1987 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season

FieldValue
teamCleveland Browns
year1987
coachMarty Schottenheimer
general managerErnie Accorsi
ownerArt Modell
stadiumCleveland Municipal Stadium
record10–5
division_place1st AFC Central
playoffs**Won [Divisional Playoffs](1987-88-nfl-playoffs)**
(vs. [Colts](1987-indianapolis-colts-season)) 38–21
Lost [AFC Championship](1987-88-nfl-playoffs)
(at [Broncos](1987-denver-broncos-season)) 33–38
pro_bowlers**T** Cody Risien
**QB** Bernie Kosar
**FB** Kevin Mack
**NT** Bob Golic
**OLB** Clay Matthews, Jr.
**CB** Frank Minnifield
**CB** Hanford Dixon
**RS** Gerald McNeil
shortnavlinkBrowns seasons

(vs. Colts) 38–21 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 33–38 QB Bernie Kosar FB Kevin Mack NT Bob Golic OLB Clay Matthews, Jr. CB Frank Minnifield CB Hanford Dixon RS Gerald McNeil

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

Main article: 1987 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

  • President and owner – Art Modell

  • Executive vice-president of football operations – Ernie Accorsi

  • Director of player personnel – Chip Falivene

  • Head coach – Marty Schottenheimer

  • Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Lindy Infante

  • Running backs – Joe Pendry

  • Receivers – Richard Mann

  • Tight ends – Charlie Davis

  • Offensive line – Howard Mudd

  • Defensive coordinator – Dave Adolph

  • Defensive line – Tom Pratt

  • Secondary – Bill Cowher

  • Special Assistant/Defense – Darvin Wallis

  • Special teams – Kurt Schottenheimer

  • Strength and conditioning – Dave Redding

NFL replacement players

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

Cleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}};"1987 Cleveland Browns replacement roster

Roster

  • Clay Matthews OLB

Schedule

Regular season

Cleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"WeekCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"DateCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"OpponentCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"ResultCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"RecordCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"VenueCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"AttendanceCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"Recap12345678910111213141516
September 13at [New Orleans Saints](1987-new-orleans-saints-season)**L** 21–280–1Louisiana Superdome59,900[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198709130nor.htm)
September 20**[Pittsburgh Steelers](1987-pittsburgh-steelers-season)****W** 34–101–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium79,543[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198709200cle.htm)
September 28[Denver Broncos](1987-denver-broncos-season)canceled1–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium*[NFL strike](1987-nfl-strike)*
October 4at [New England Patriots](1987-new-england-patriots-season)**W** 20–102–1Sullivan Stadium14,830[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198710040nwe.htm)
October 11**[Houston Oilers](1987-houston-oilers-season)****L** 10–152–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium38,927[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198710110cle.htm)
October 18at **[Cincinnati Bengals](1987-cincinnati-bengals-season)****W** 34–03–2Riverfront Stadium40,179[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198710180cin.htm)
[Los Angeles Rams](1987-los-angeles-rams-season)**W** 30–174–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium76,933[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198710260cle.htm)
November 1at [San Diego Chargers](1987-san-diego-chargers-season)**L** 24–274–3Jack Murphy Stadium55,381[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711010sdg.htm)
November 8[Atlanta Falcons](1987-atlanta-falcons-season)**W** 38–35–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium71,135[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711080cle.htm)
November 15[Buffalo Bills](1987-buffalo-bills-season)**W** 27–216–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,409[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711150cle.htm)
November 22at **[Houston Oilers](1987-houston-oilers-season)****W** 40–77–3Houston Astrodome51,161[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711220oti.htm)
November 29at [San Francisco 49ers](1987-san-francisco-49ers-season)**L** 24–387–4Candlestick Park60,248[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198711290sfo.htm)
December 6[Indianapolis Colts](1987-indianapolis-colts-season)**L** 7–97–5Cleveland Municipal Stadium70,661[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198712060cle.htm)
December 13**[Cincinnati Bengals](1987-cincinnati-bengals-season)****W** 38–248–5Cleveland Municipal Stadium77,331[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198712130cle.htm)
December 20at [Los Angeles Raiders](1987-los-angeles-raiders-season)**W** 24–179–5Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum40,275[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198712200rai.htm)
at **[Pittsburgh Steelers](1987-pittsburgh-steelers-season)****W** 19–1310–5Three Rivers Stadium56,394[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198712260pit.htm)

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 9: vs. [[1987 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta]]

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

Cleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"RoundCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"DateCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"Opponent (seed)Cleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"ResultCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"RecordCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"VenueCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"AttendanceCleveland Brownsyear=1987border=2}}"RecapDivisionalAFC Championship
January 9, 1988[Indianapolis Colts](1987-indianapolis-colts-season) (3)**W** 38–211–0Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,586[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198801090cle.htm)
January 17, 1988at [Denver Broncos](1987-denver-broncos-season) (2)**L** 33–381–1Mile High Stadium75,993[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198801170den.htm)

AFC Divisional Game

AFC Championship game

Standings

References

References

  1. "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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