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1986 Cleveland Browns season

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1986 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
General managerErnie Accorsi
Head coachMarty Schottenheimer
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWWWE
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Jets) 23–20 (2OT)
Lost AFC Championship
(vs. Broncos) 20–23 (OT)
Pro BowlersT Cody Risien
NT Bob Golic
OLB Chip Banks
CB Frank Minnifield
CB Hanford Dixon

The 1986 Cleveland Browns season was the team’s 37th season with the National Football League. The death of Don Rogers, a promising young defensive back who was preparing to enter his third season in the NFL, cast a black cloud over the team as it prepared for the 1986 season.

Cleveland won their first postseason game since 1969, and for the first time in franchise history, the Browns reached the AFC Championship Game, where they would eventually fall to the Denver Broncos, in the game famous for “The Drive.” It would be the first of three AFC Championship games that the Browns would reach in four seasons, all losses to Denver.

Season Summary

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The 1986 Browns finished 12–4 to not only win the division again, but also set a franchise record for regular-season victories in the NFL in addition to securing home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

In one of the most pulsating games in club history, the Browns edged the New York Jets 23–20 in double-overtime in the divisional playoffs. Then, in maybe the most disappointing contest in team annals, the Browns lost to the Denver Broncos by that same score in OT in the AFC Championship Game as quarterback John Elway orchestrated what has become known as The Drive. The Browns were involved in six contests decided by three points or less, and eight decided by six points or less. There were two OT games – in consecutive weeks, no less – when the Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 37–31 and the Houston Oilers 13–10, both in Cleveland. That win started the Browns on a five-game winning streak to end the season, and it was also part of a stretch in which they won eight of nine contests.

There were several other big games in addition to the two OT affairs. The Browns beat the Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium for the first time in 16 tries, 27–24. They defeated Miami 26–16 on Monday Night Football, extracting some revenge for their loss to the Dolphins in the divisional playoffs the year before. They wound up clinching the AFC Central crown by going to Cincinnati in the next-to-last game and winning soundly, 34–3. The Bengals finished in second place at 10–6 but did not make the playoffs.

Kosar's career really took off in 1986, as he threw for 3,854 yards and seventeen touchdowns with just ten interceptions for an 83.8 quarterback rating. Wide receiver Brian Brennan, who led the way with 55 receptions and six scores, was one of seven Browns to catch 28 or more passes. The backfield combo of FB Kevin Mack and HB Earnest Byner battled injuries for much of the year. That, along with the increased emphasis on passing, caused the rushing numbers to go way down. As a team, the Browns got just 1,650 yards, with Mack rushing for a team-leading 665. He did, however, run for ten scores.

Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield were among the top cornerbacks in the league, leading a defense that excelled down the stretch, limiting the last four opponents to 17 or fewer points.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1986 NFL Draft
1986 Cleveland Browns draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 43 Webster Slaughter *  Wide receiver San Diego State
5 127 Nick Miller  Linebacker Arkansas
7 167 Jim Meyer  Offensive tackle Illinois State
7 174 Mike Norseth  Quarterback Kansas
9 238 Danny Taylor  Defensive back UTEP
10 265 Willie Smith  Tight end Miami (FL)
11 292 Randy Dausin  Running back Texas A&M
12 319 King Simmons  Defensive back Texas Tech
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

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Staff

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1986 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


[1]

Roster

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1986 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Cleveland opened the regular season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears. While the Browns played well in scoring 31 points against the feared Chicago defense, they surrendered a season-high 41 points in a losing effort. The team responded well and won four of the next five games, including wins against divisional rivals Houston and Pittsburgh. The win against Pittsburgh snapped a losing streak for the Browns of sixteen games at Three Rivers Stadium.

After a week seven loss at home against the Green Bay Packers, the Browns won eight of their last nine regular season games to capture the AFC Central division title and finish the year with a franchise-record 12 wins (against 4 losses).

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 7 at Chicago Bears L 31–41 0–1 Soldier Field 66,030 Recap
2 September 14 at Houston Oilers W 23–20 1–1 Houston Astrodome 46,049 Recap
3 September 18 Cincinnati Bengals L 13–30 1–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,779 Recap
4 September 28 Detroit Lions W 24–21 2–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,029 Recap
5 October 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–24 3–2 Three Rivers Stadium 57,327 Recap
6 October 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–7 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 71,278 Recap
7 October 19 Green Bay Packers L 14–17 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,438 Recap
8 October 26 at Minnesota Vikings W 23–20 5–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 59,133 Recap
9 November 2 at Indianapolis Colts W 24–9 6–3 Hoosier Dome 57,962 Recap
10 November 10 Miami Dolphins W 26–16 7–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,949 Recap
11 November 16 at Los Angeles Raiders L 14–27 7–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 65,461 Recap
12 November 23 Pittsburgh Steelers W 37–31 (OT) 8–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,452 Recap
13 November 30 Houston Oilers W 13–10 9–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,309 Recap
14 December 7 at Buffalo Bills W 21–17 10–4 Rich Stadium 42,213 Recap
15 December 14 at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–3 11–4 Riverfront Stadium 58,062 Recap
16 December 21 San Diego Chargers W 47–17 12–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,505 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 8 at Vikings

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Week Eight: Cleveland Browns (4–3) at Minnesota Vikings (5–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 3 0 71323
Vikings 3 14 3020

at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Game information

Week 15

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1 234Total
• Browns 14 3143 34
Bengals 3 000 3
Scoring summary
1CLEKevin Mack 1 yard run (Mark Moseley kick)Browns 7–0
1CINJim Breech 23 yard field goalBrowns 7–3
1CLEWebster Slaughter 47 yard pass from Bernie Kosar (Mark Moseley kick)Browns 14–3
2CLEMark Moseley 39 yard field goalBrowns 17–3
3CLEKevin Mack 1 yard run (Mark Moseley kick)Browns 24–3
3CLEWebster Slaughter recovered fumble in end zone (Mark Moseley kick)Browns 31–3
4CLEMark Moseley 19 yard field goalBrowns 34–3

[2]

Standings

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AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(1) 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 391 310 W5
Cincinnati Bengals 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 409 394 W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 4–8 307 336 L1
Houston Oilers 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 274 329 W2

Best Performances

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  • Bernie Kosar, November 10, 1986, 401 passing yards vs. Miami Dolphins[3]
  • Bernie Kosar, November 23, 1986, 414 passing yards vs. Pittsburgh Steelers[3]

Postseason

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See also: 1986–87 NFL playoffs

The first round opponent for the Browns in the playoffs was the New York Jets. In a marathon game that lasted over four hours, the Browns won their first playoff game in 18 years, 23–20, on a 27-yard Mark Moseley field goal in double overtime.

Eight days later, the Browns hosted the Denver Broncos to determine the AFC Championship and a trip to Pasadena, California to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. In a repeat of the Browns' playoff game from the previous week, the game was, once again, undecided at the end of regulation with both teams having scored 20 points. Even though the Browns had star defensive players like Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield, the Broncos offense would not give up. The Broncos forced overtime on a 98-yard possession at the end of the fourth quarter that culminated in a game-tying touchdown and later became known simply as "The Drive". The Browns received the ball to begin the overtime period, but were forced to punt after running only three plays. The Broncos then took possession and ultimately scored the game winning points on a 33-yard field goal by Rich Karlis to send Denver to the Super Bowl.

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Division January 3, 1987 New York Jets (4) W 23–20 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap
AFC Championship January 11, 1987 Denver Broncos (2) L 20–23 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap

AFC Divisional Playoffs

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Cleveland Browns 23, New York Jets 20 (2OT)
Quarter 1 2 34OT2OTTotal
Jets 7 3 370020
Browns 7 3 0100323

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

AFC Championship Game

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Denver Broncos 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (OT)
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Broncos 0 10 37323
Browns 7 3 010020

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

This game is best remembered for "The Drive", during which when the Broncos drove 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation, and Denver kicker Rich Karlis made the game-winning 33-yard field goal 5:38 into overtime.

More than 30 years later, an article in The Athletic stated that “The Drive” was still an open wound for Browns players and fans of this era.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-7611-2480-1, p. 439
  4. ^ “The Comeback, No. 19: John Elway engineers The Drive,” The Athletic, Lindsay Jones and Mike Sando, Aug. 21, 2020.
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