1988 Cleveland Browns season

1988 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
General manager	Ernie Accorsi
Owner	Art Modell
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	T-2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost AFC Wild Card Playoffs

The 1988 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 39th season with the National Football League.

Despite taking the Browns to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, head coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired at the end of the 1988 season. He left the Browns having compiled a record of 44–27 (a 62% winning percentage) with the team.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1988 Cleveland Browns draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	21	Clifford Charlton	OLB	Florida
	50	Michael Dean Perry *	DT	Clemson
	77	Van Waiters	OLB	Indiana
	103	Anthony Blaylock	CB	Winston-Salem
	188	Thane Gash	DB	East Tennessee State
	216	J.J. Birden	WR	Oregon
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office President and Owner – Art Modell Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Ernie Accorsi Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Marc Trestman Running Backs – Joe Pendry Receivers – Richard Mann Tight Ends – Ray Braun 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]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1988	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 6–3	55,654
2	September 11, 1988	New York Jets	L 23–3	74,434
3	September 19, 1988	Indianapolis Colts	W 23–17	75,148
4	September 25, 1988	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 24–17	54,943
5	October 2, 1988	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–9	56,410
6	October 9, 1988	Seattle Seahawks	L 16–10	78,605
7	October 16, 1988	Philadelphia Eagles	W 19–3	78,787
8	October 23, 1988	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 29–21	61,261
9	October 30, 1988	Cincinnati Bengals	W 23–16	79,147
10	November 7, 1988	at Houston Oilers	L 24–17	51,467
11	November 13, 1988	at Denver Broncos	L 30–7	75,806
12	November 20, 1988	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–7	77,131
13	November 27, 1988	at Washington Redskins	W 17–13	51,604
14	December 4, 1988	Dallas Cowboys	W 24–21	77,683
15	December 12, 1988	at Miami Dolphins	L 38–31	61,884
16	December 18, 1988	Houston Oilers	W 28–23	74,610

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
Wild Card	December 24, 1988	Houston Oilers	L 24–23

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 0 3 0 3 6 Chiefs 0 3 0 0 3 Date: September 4 Location: Arrowhead Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 55,654 Game weather: 65°F; wind 13

Scoring summary Q2 KC Lowery 33 yard field goal KC 3–0 Q2 CLE Bahr 19 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q4 CLE Bahr 38 yard field goal CLE 6–3

^[2]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 14 0 7 21 • Browns 7 3 0 14 24 Date: December 4 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 77,683 Game weather: 35°F; wind 16

Scoring summary Q1 CLE Langhorne 73 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 7–0 Q2 DAL Clack 7 yard pass from Pelluer (Ruzek kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 CLE Bahr 25 yard field goal CLE 10–7 Q2 DAL Folsom 5 yard pass from Peuller (Ruzek kick) DAL 14–10 Q4 CLE Fontenot 14 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 17–14 Q4 CLE Weathers 36 yard pass from Kosar (Bahr kick) CLE 24–14 Q4 DAL Walker 4 yard run (Ruzek kick) CLE 24–21

^[3]

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 10 6 7 0 23 • Browns 0 7 7 14 28 Date: December 18 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 74,610 Game weather: Snow; 20°F; wind 13 TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

Scoring summary Q1 HOU Tony Zendejas 39 yard field goal HOU 3–0 Q1 HOU Domingo Bryant 36 yard interception return (Tony Zendejas kick) HOU 10–0 Q2 CLE Michael Dean Perry 10 yard fumble return (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 10–7 Q2 HOU Tony Zendejas 42 yard field goal HOU 13–7 Q2 HOU Tony Zendejas 35 yard field goal HOU 16–7 Q3 HOU Haywood Jeffries 7 yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick) HOU 23–7 Q3 CLE Earnest Byner 2 yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 23–14 Q4 CLE Earnest Byner 2 yard run (Matt Bahr kick) HOU 23–21 Q4 CLE Webster Slaughter 22 yard pass from Don Strock (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 28–23

^[4]

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cincinnati Bengals^(1)	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	448	329	W1
Cleveland Browns^(4)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	6–6	304	288	W1
Houston Oilers^(5)	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	424	365	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	336	421	W1

Playoffs

AFC Wild Card Game

Houston Oilers 24, Cleveland Browns 23

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	0	14	0	10	24
Browns	3	6	7	7	23

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 74,977
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

Oilers cornerback Richard Johnson's interception set up kicker Tony Zendejas' game-clinching 49-yard field goal with 1:54 left in the game. After the Browns scored first on a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, Houston marched 91 yards to score on quarterback Warren Moon's 14-yard touchdown pass to running back Allen Pinkett. Then on Cleveland's next drive, Oilers defensive lineman Richard Byrd recovered quarterback Don Strock's fumble to set up Pinkett's 16-yard touchdown run. Bahr later made two field goals to cut Houston's lead, 14–9, before halftime. In the third quarter, backup quarterback Mike Pagel, who replaced an injured Strock, threw a 14-yard touchdown completion to wide receiver Webster Slaughter to put the Browns ahead, 16–14. However, the Oilers marched on a 76-yard drive that was capped with running back Lorenzo White's 1-yard rushing touchdown. After Johnson's interception and Zendejas' subsequent game-clinching 49-yard field goal, Slaughter caught a 2-yard touchdown reception to close out the scoring.

References

1. "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-12.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Jan-31.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-22.