1988 Cleveland Browns season

Primay script logo used by the Cleveland Browns, 1975-1995

Primay script logo used by the Cleveland Browns, 1975-1995

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 year, 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. (Schottenheimer would later go through a similar scenario with the San Diego Chargers: they fired him after the 2006 season, during which the Chargers posted a 14–2 record and then lost their first playoff game.) The Browns finished the season with a 10–6 record, tied for second place in the AFC Central with the Houston Oilers. The Browns were awarded second place by posting a better division record than the Oilers. The Browns clinched a playoff berth for the 4th straight season. In the playoffs, they lost to the Oilers in the Wild Card game, 24–23. As of 2023, this remains the last time the Browns swept the Steelers.

Regular season

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
1	September 4	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 6–3	1–0	Arrowhead Stadium	55,654	Recap
2	September 11	New York Jets	L 3–23	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,434	Recap
3	Template:Dow tooltip	Indianapolis Colts	W 23–17	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	75,148	Recap
4	September 25	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–24	2–2	Riverfront Stadium	54,943	Recap
5	October 2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–9	3–2	Three Rivers Stadium	56,410	Recap
6	October 9	Seattle Seahawks	L 10–16	3–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,605	Recap
7	October 16	Philadelphia Eagles	W 19–3	4–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,787	Recap
8	October 23	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 29–21	5–3	Sun Devil Stadium	61,261	Recap
9	October 30	Cincinnati Bengals	W 23–16	6–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	79,147	Recap
10	Template:Dow tooltip	at Houston Oilers	L 17–24	6–4	Houston Astrodome	51,467	Recap
11	November 13	at Denver Broncos	L 7–30	6–5	Mile High Stadium	75,806	Recap
12	November 20	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–7	7–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	77,131	Recap
13	November 27	at Washington Redskins	W 17–13	8–5	RFK Stadium	51,604	Recap
14	December 4	Dallas Cowboys	W 24–21	9–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	77,683	Recap
15	Template:Dow tooltip	at Miami Dolphins	L 31–38	9–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	61,884	Recap
16	December 18	Houston Oilers	W 28–23	10–6	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,610	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Round	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent (seed)	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
Wild Card	December 24	Houston Oilers (5)	L 23–24	0–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	Recap

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: ; wind Referee: Jim Tunney Television network: NBC Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 10 3 3 16 • Browns 3 7 10 3 23 Date: October 30 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: ; wind Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary Q1 CLE Bahr 34-yard field goal CLE 3–0 Q2 CIN Fulcher 16-yard interception return (Breech kick) CIN 7–3 Q2 CLE Manoa 2-yard run (Bahr kick) CLE 10–7 Q2 CIN Breech 19-yard field goal Tie 10–10 Q3 CLE Bahr 39-yard field goal CLE 13–10 Q3 CLE Fontenot 1 yard blocked punt return (Bahr kick) CLE 20–10 Q3 CIN Breech 32-yard field goal CLE 20–13 Q4 CLE Bahr 29-yard field goal CLE 23–13 Q4 CIN Breech 22-yard field goal CLE 23–16

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: ; wind Referee: Jerry Seeman TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Kenny Stabler Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

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; ; wind Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Playoffs

AFC wild card game

Houston Oilers 24, Cleveland Browns 23

Quarter	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.

External links

• 1988 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
• 1988 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1988 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1988 Cleveland BrownsTemplate:Category handler at DatabaseFootball.com