1989 Cleveland Browns season

1989 Cleveland Browns season
1989 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs; (vs. Bills) 34–30; Lost AFC Championship; (at Broncos) 21–37
Pro Bowlers	WR Webster Slaughter; DT Michael Dean Perry; OLB Clay Matthews Jr.; MLB Mike Johnson; CB Frank Minnifield
	← 1988; Browns seasons; 1990 →;

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

AFC Championship game in four seasons,^[b] and for the third time lost to the Denver Broncos

. After two close contests, this time Denver won by a comfortable margin of 37–21.

It would be the Browns' fifth consecutive season making the playoffs, but it would prove their last until 1994. The team has not won a division title since this season, the longest active drought in the NFL. As of 2023, this is their most recent appearance in the AFC Championship game.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1989 Cleveland Browns draft
1	13	Eric Metcalf *	Running back	Texas
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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

^[1]

Roster

**1989 Cleveland Browns roster**

	Quarterbacks 19 Bernie Kosar 10 Mike Pagel Running backs 26 Keith Jones 34 Kevin Mack 42 Tim Manoa FB 21 Eric Metcalf KR 33 Mike Oliphant 35 Barry Redden Wide receivers 86 Brian Brennan 88 Reggie Langhorne 89 Gerald McNeil PR 84 Webster Slaughter 85 Lawyer Tillman Tight ends 87 Ron Middleton 82 Ozzie Newsome		Offensive linemen 68 Ted Banker G 64 Tom Baugh C/LS 77 Rickey Bolden T 74 Paul Farren T 66 Tony Jones T 73 Gregg Rakoczy C 63 Cody Risien T 72 Kevin Robbins T 70 Kevin Simons T Defensive linemen 60 Al Baker DE 97 Robert Banks DE 71 Tom Gibson DE 78 Carl Hairston DT 92 Michael Dean Perry DT 75 Chris Pike DT 96 Andrew Stewart DE		Linebackers 58 Clifford Charlton OLB 56 Dave Grayson OLB 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 59 Mike Johnson ILB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 50 Van Waiters OLB Defensive backs 24 Anthony Blaylock CB 29 Hanford Dixon CB 30 Thane Gash FS 23 Mark Harper CB 40 Kyle Kramer S 49 Robert Lyons S 31 Frank Minnifield CB 22 Felix Wright SS Special teams 9 Matt Bahr K 15 Bryan Wagner P		Reserve lists 36 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 69 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 79 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 93 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 95 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 99 IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 27 Derrick Gainer RB 12 Jeff Graham 62 Ben Jefferson G 80 Vernon Joines WR 54 Kerry Owens LB 90 John Talley TE 47 active, 7 inactive, 6 practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

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

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Cleveland Browns (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	17	13	14	7	51
Steelers	0	0	0	0	0

at

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Date: September 10
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: Rain • 73 °F or 22.8 °C • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
Game attendance: 57,928
Referee: Johnny Grier
TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Joe Namath
Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

Browns

Bernie Kosar
16/25, 207 Yds
Mike Oliphant
6 Rush, 48 Yds, TD
Webster Slaughter
4 Rec, 75 Yds

Steelers

Bubby Brister
10/22, 84 Yds, 3 INT
Tim Worley
10 Rush, 36 Yds
Derek Hill
2 Rec, 28 Yds

Bud Carson begins his Browns head coaching career with a memorable 51–0 victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. It is the most lopsided victory in the 79-game series between the teams and the Browns' biggest shutout ever. Carson, Pittsburgh's former defensive coordinator, watches his team force eight turnovers, record seven sacks and score three touchdowns (two by linebacker David Grayson).

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	CLE	PIT
1	5:42				Browns	Fumble recovery returned 3 yards for touchdown by Matthews, Bahr kick good	7	0
1	2:53				Browns	27-yard field goal by Bahr	10	0
1	2:31				Browns	Fumble recovery returned 28 yards for touchdown by Grayson, Bahr kick good	17	0
2	8:54				Browns	20-yard field goal by Bahr	20	0
2	3:28				Browns	Manoa 3-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good	27	0
2	0:39				Browns	27-yard field goal by Bahr	30	0
3	12:26				Browns	Manoa 2-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good	37	0
3	11:14				Browns	Interception returned 14 yards for touchdown by Grayson, Bahr kick good	44	0
4	11:34				Browns	Oliphant 21-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good
"TOP" = Glossary of American football .							51	0

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	7	10	7	24
• Browns	0	14	14	10	38

Date: September 17
Location:
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Referee: Dale Hamer
TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Trumpy

^[2]

Week 4

The Browns snap a 10-game losing streak against Denver with a controversial 16–13 win at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was decided by a Matt Bahr 48-yard field goal as time expired – a kick that barely made the crossbar. Bahr's field goal comes after referee Tom Dooley ordered the teams to switch ends of the field, thanks to rowdy Dawg Pound fans who pelt the Broncos with dog biscuits, eggs and other debris. The switch gave the Browns a timely wind advantage.

Week 7

Wide receiver Webster Slaughter catches eight passes for 186 yards in leading the Browns to a 27–7 win over the Chicago Bears on ABC's Monday Night Football at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. One of the catches is a 96-yard touchdown pass from Kosar – the longest play from scrimmage in Browns history.

Week 8

For the first time in more than a decade Ozzie Newsome did not catch a pass, but the Browns still beat Houston, 28–17. The Browns explode for 326 second-half yards as Kosar throws touchdown passes of 80 and 77 yards to Slaughter. Newsome's club record streak of 150 consecutive games with a reception ends.

Week 11

Former coach Marty Schottenheimer, returning to Cleveland with his Chiefs, has to settle for a 10–10 tie as Kansas City kicker Nick Lowery misses three makeable field goal attempts: 45- and 39- yard attempts In the final 10 seconds of regulation and a 47-yard attempt with seven seconds left in overtime. The Browns fumble four times, throw one interception and punt a club-record-tying 12 times. This was the first Browns' tie since the introduction of overtime in regular season games in 1974. The Browns would not record another tie until week 1 of the 2018 season.

Week 16

With the AFC Central title and a wild-card berth at stake, the Browns blow a 17-point lead before bouncing back to defeat the Oilers, 24–20 at the Astrodome. The Browns march 58 yards with no timeouts and Kevin Mack scores on a 4-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left to save the day.

As of February 2024, the 1989 season marks the last time that the Browns have won a division title. The 31 season^[c] drought without a division title is the longest active drought in the NFL.

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Divisional	January 6, 1990	Buffalo Bills (3)	W 34–30	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	77,706	Recap
AFC Championship	January 14, 1990	at Denver Broncos (1)	L 21–37	Mile High Stadium	76,005	Recap

AFC divisional playoff

Buffalo Bills (9–7) at Cleveland Browns (9–6–1)

Cleveland Browns 34, Buffalo Bills 30

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	7	7	7	9	30
Browns	3	14	14	3	34

at

Cleveland, Ohio

Game time: Saturday, January 6, 1990. 12:30 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 77,706
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	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

Notes

^ The 1990 Conference Championship game between the Browns and the Broncos marked the third time in four years that John Elway defeated Bernie Kosar and the Browns in the AFC championship game.
^ The Browns had previously reached the AFC Championship game following the 1986 and 1987 seasons.
^ This excludes the three seasons from 1996 to 1998 when the Browns franchise was inactive.

References

^ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.

External links

1989 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
1989 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
1989 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
1989 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com

[1] The 1990 Conference Championship game between the Browns and the Broncos marked the third time in four years that John Elway defeated Bernie Kosar and the Browns in the AFC championship game.

[2] The Browns had previously reached the AFC Championship game following the 1986 and 1987 seasons.

[5] This excludes the three seasons from 1996 to 1998 when the Browns franchise was inactive.

[3] "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.

[4] The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.

[a]

[b]

[1]

[2]

[c]

v t e 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 Cleveland Browns 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	Art Modell Cleveland sports curse Dawg Pound Doug Dieken The Drew Carey Show Draft Day Hot Tub Time Machine Jeff Shreve Paul Brown Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man The Express: The Ernie Davis Story The Fortune Cookie Brownie the Elf
Lore	Bottlegate Kardiac Kids Miracle at the Met Red Right 88 Relocation controversy The Drive The Fumble 0–16
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers
Playoff appearances (30)	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 2023
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 Thomas 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)