1989 Cleveland Browns season

1989 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Bud Carson
General manager	Ernie Accorsi
Owner	Art Modell
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WDOK · WWWE
Results
Record	9–6–1
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost AFC Conference Championship

The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th season with the National Football League.

It was the Browns' first season with head coach Bud Carson, who had been the defensive coordinator of the New York Jets the previous season. The Browns reached their third AFC Championship Game in four seasons,^[1] and for the third time lost to the Denver Broncos.

It would be the Browns's fifth consecutive season making the playoffs, but it would be their last playoff season until 1994.

Personnel

Staff

1989 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office Owner and President – Art Modell Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Ernie Accorsi Director of Pro Personnel – Michael Lombardi Head coaches Head Coach – Bud Carson Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Marc Trestman Running Backs – George Sefcik Receivers – Richard Mann Special Assistant–Offense/Tight Ends – Lionel Taylor Offensive Line – Hal Hunter			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Dan Radakovich Defensive Line – John Teerlinck Secondary – Jed Hughes Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Paul Lanham Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Stan Jones

^[2]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 51–0	57,928
2	September 17, 1989	New York Jets	W 38–24	73,516
3	September 25, 1989	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 21–14	55,996
4	October 1, 1989	Denver Broncos	W 16–13	78,637
5	October 8, 1989	at Miami Dolphins	L 13–10	58,444
6	October 15, 1989	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–7	78,840
7	October 23, 1989	Chicago Bears	W 27–7	78,722
8	October 29, 1989	Houston Oilers	W 28–17	78,765
9	November 5, 1989	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 42–31	69,162
10	November 12, 1989	at Seattle Seahawks	W 17–7	58,978
11	November 19, 1989	Kansas City Chiefs	T 10–10	77,922
12	November 23, 1989	at Detroit Lions	L 13–10	65,624
13	December 3, 1989	Cincinnati Bengals	L 21–0	76,236
14	December 10, 1989	at Indianapolis Colts	L 23–17	58,550
15	December 17, 1989	Minnesota Vikings	W 23–17	70,777
16	December 23, 1989	at Houston Oilers	W 24–20	58,852

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 17 13 14 7 51 Steelers 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 10 Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game attendance: 57,928 Game weather: 73°F; wind 8

Scoring summary Q1 CLE Clay Matthews 3 yard fumble return (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 7–0 Q1 CLE Matt Bahr 27 yard field goal CLE 10–0 Q1 CLE David Grayson 28 yard fumble return (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 17–0 Q2 CLE Matt Bahr 20 yard field goal CLE 20–0 Q2 CLE Tim Manoa 3 yard run (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 27–0 Q2 CLE Matt Bahr 27 yard field goal CLE 30–0 Q3 CLE Tim Manoa 2 yard run (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 37–0 Q3 CLE David Grayson 14 yard interception return (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 44–0 Q4 CLE Mike Oliphant 21 yard run (Matt Bahr kick) CLE 51–0

^[3]

As of September 2015, the 1989 season marks the last time that the Browns have won a division title. The 22 season drought without a division title is the longest active drought in the NFL.

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	January 6, 1990	Buffalo Bills	W 34–30	77,706
Conference Championship	January 14, 1990	at Denver Broncos	L 21–37	76,005

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns^(2)	9	6	1	.594	3–3	6–5–1	334	254	W2
Houston Oilers^(4)	9	7	0	.563	3–3	6–6	365	412	L2
Pittsburgh Steelers^(5)	9	7	0	.563	1–5	6–6	265	326	W3
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	5–1	6–6	404	285	L1

References

1. The Browns had previously reached the AFC Championship game following the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
2. "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jan-01.