1982 Cleveland Browns season

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1982 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachSam Rutigliano
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record4–5
Division place8th AFC
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Raiders) 10–27
Pro BowlersLB Chip Banks

The 1982 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 33rd season with the National Football League.

The Browns were among eight teams that qualified for the playoffs during this strike shortened season, and became one of only six teams to ever qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing record.[1][2][3] The Browns and the Detroit Lions from the same year are the only two teams with a losing record to qualify as wildcards. In the first round of the NFL playoffs, Cleveland lost to the Los Angeles Raiders 27–10.

The Browns' first round draft pick, rookie sensation linebacker Chip Banks earned 6.5 sacks in just nine games.

NFL draft[edit]

The following were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft.

1982 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 3 Chip Banks Linebacker USC
2 31 Keith Baldwin Defensive end Texas A&M
4 87 Dwight Walker Running back Nicholls State
5 115 Mike Baab Center Texas
6 162 Mike Whitwell Defensive back Texas A&M
8 199 Mark Kafentzis Defensive back Hawaii
8 204 Van Heflin Tight end Vanderbilt
8 211 Bill Jackson Defensive back North Carolina
9 227 Milton Baker Tight end West Texas A&M
10 255 Ricky Floyd Running back Southern Miss
11 282 Steve Michuta Quarterback Grand Valley State
12 310 Scott Nicolas Linebacker Miami

[4]

Personnel[edit]

Staff / Coaches[edit]

1982 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster[edit]

1982 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

Schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 21–7 1–0 Kingdome 55,907
2 September 19 Philadelphia Eagles L 21–24 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,830
September 27 Cincinnati Bengals canceled Cleveland Municipal Stadium
October 3 at Washington Redskins RFK Stadium
October 10 at Los Angeles Raiders Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
October 17 Baltimore Colts Cleveland Municipal Stadium
October 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers postponed Three Rivers Stadium
October 31 Houston Oilers canceled Cleveland Municipal Stadium
November 7 New York Giants Cleveland Municipal Stadium
November 14 at Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl
3 November 21 New England Patriots W 10–7 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 51,781
4 November 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–31 2–2 Texas Stadium 46,267
5 December 5 San Diego Chargers L 13–30 2–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 54,064
6 December 12 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–23 2–4 Riverfront Stadium 54,305
7 December 19 Pittsburgh Steelers W 10–9 3–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 67,139
8 December 26 at Houston Oilers W 20–14 4–4 Houston Astrodome 36,559
9 January 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–37 4–5 Three Rivers Stadium 52,312
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season Highlights[edit]

Week 1 at Seattle[edit]

Less than nine months after closing the 1981 season in Seattle, the Browns return to the Kingdome and defeat the Seahawks 21–7. Mike Pruitt accounts for 136 of Cleveland's 200 rushing yards and scores two touchdowns. The Browns sack Dave Krieg eight teams, three by rookie linebacker Chip Banks.

Week 3 vs. New England[edit]

In their first game after the 1982 NFL strike that wiped out almost half the regular season, The Browns fight their way through a heavy Cleveland fog and beat New England, 10–7, on Matt Bahr's 24-yard field goal as time expires. Bahr's winner comes three plays after Browns safety Clinton Burrell recovers a fumble by Mark van Eeghen at the Patriots' 20.

Week 5 vs. San Diego[edit]

James Brooks scores two touchdowns and Dan Fouts completes 18-of-23 passes as San Diego pounds the Browns 30–13, at Cleveland. Despite the loss, Brian Sipe completes 14 straight passes and stretches his overall streak to a club-record 33. He also surpasses the 20,000-yard career mark. Tight end Ozzie Newsome catches a career-high 10 passes and extends his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to a club-record 45.

Week 7 vs. Pittsburgh[edit]

Hanford Dixon intercepts three passes and the Browns keep their playoff hopes alive with a 10–9 win over Pittsburgh at rainy, muddy Cleveland Stadium. The poor conditions affect Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw more than Paul McDonald, who starts his first game in place of the slumping Sipe. Nose tackle Bob Golic enjoys a big game with eight tackles and one sack.

Week 8 at Houston[edit]

The Browns escape with a 20–14 win, thanks to critical fumbles by running back Earl Campbell. The first comes at the Cleveland 4 and the second sets up the Browns' winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Dave Logan scores one TD on a 56-yard pass from McDonald and Charles White scores the winner on a 1-yard run.

Postseason[edit]

See also: 1982–83 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Wild Card January 8, 1983 at Los Angeles Raiders (1) L 10–27 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 56,555 Recap

Standings[edit]

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals(3) 7 2 0 .778 3–1 6–2 232 177 W2
Pittsburgh Steelers(4) 6 3 0 .667 3–1 5–3 204 146 W2
Cleveland Browns(8) 4 5 0 .444 2–2 4–3 140 182 L1
Houston Oilers 1 8 0 .111 0–4 1–5 136 245 L7
AFC
# Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1 Los Angeles Raiders 8 1 0 .889 260 200 W5
2[a] Miami Dolphins 7 2 0 .778 198 131 W3
3[a] Cincinnati Bengals 7 2 0 .778 232 177 W2
4[b][c] Pittsburgh Steelers 6 3 0 .667 204 146 W2
5[b][c] San Diego Chargers 6 3 0 .667 288 221 L1
6[c] New York Jets 6 3 0 .667 245 166 L1
7 New England Patriots 5 4 0 .556 143 157 W1
8[d] Cleveland Browns 4 5 0 .444 140 182 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9[d] Buffalo Bills 4 5 0 .444 150 154 L3
10[d] Seattle Seahawks 4 5 0 .444 127 147 W1
11 Kansas City Chiefs 3 6 0 .333 176 184 W1
12 Denver Broncos 2 7 0 .222 148 226 L3
13 Houston Oilers 1 8 0 .111 136 245 L7
14 Baltimore Colts 0 8 1 .056 113 236 L2
Tiebreakers
  1. ^ a b Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2).
  2. ^ a b Pittsburgh finished ahead of San Diego based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Chargers' 2–1). Conference tiebreak was initially used to eliminate New York Jets.
  3. ^ a b c Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3)
  4. ^ a b c Cleveland finished ahead of Buffalo and Buffalo ahead of Seattle based on conference record (4–3 to Buffalo’s 3–3 to Seattle’s 3–5).

References[edit]

  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-7611-2480-1.,
  2. ^ Seahawks defeat Rams 16–6 to win NFC West title, January 2, 2011, retrieved January 3, 2011
  3. ^ "Panthers are fourth team ever to make NFL playoffs with losing record". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  4. ^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009.

External links[edit]

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