1979 Cleveland Browns season

The 1979 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 30th season with the National Football League.

Script logo from 1976-1995

1979 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	C Tom De Leone FB Mike Pruitt
AP All-Pros	TE Ozzie Newsome {2nd Team) QB Brian Sipe {2nd Team) FS Thom Darden {2nd Team)

Season summary

In a season which could be titled "The Birth of The Kardiac Kids" the Browns, who finished 9–7, nearly made the playoffs while involved in a number of close games. They won their first three contests, all by three points, over the New York Jets in overtime 25–22, Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 and Baltimore Colts 13–10. They lost to the Washington Redskins by four points, 13–9, midway through the season, then beat the Cincinnati Bengals by one, 28–27, the following Sunday and the Philadelphia Eagles by five, 24–19, two weeks later. The Browns proceeded to lose to the Seattle Seahawks by five points, 29–24, beat the Miami Dolphins by six, 30–24, in overtime and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers by three, 33–30, again in OT. That was the last of the Browns three overtime games that season. Then came a virtual "blowout" – a seven-point victory over the Houston Oilers, 14–7. Followed by two "one-sided" losses, by five points to the Oakland Raiders, 19–14, and by four to the Bengals, 16–12, to end the year. Add it all up, and 12 of the Browns' 16 games were decided by seven points or less. The club went just 7–5 in those games, though, which was the difference in that season from 1980, when the Browns were 10–2 in 12 contests decided by seven points or less.

How tight was the 1979 season overall for the Browns? So much so that they outscored their foes by just seven points all year. The Browns moved to 4–0 – their fastest start since 1963 – by stunning heavily favored Dallas 26–7 on Monday Night Football. The Browns gave up 51 points at home to the Steelers, who would go on to win their second straight Super Bowl and fourth in six years, yet scored 35 on the vaunted Steel Curtain defense and lost by 16. The game was shown on national TV, but NBC cut away to another contest, leaving only the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets watching, after the Steelers vaulted to a 27–0 lead.

RB Mike Pruitt rushed for 1,294 yards and nine TDs, while wideout Dave Logan led the team in catches with 59 and missed getting 1,000 receiving yards by just 18. Logan, TE Ozzie Newsome and veteran WR Reggie Rucker combined for 22 TD catches.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1979 NFL draft.

1979 Cleveland Browns Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	20	Willis Adams	Wide receiver	Houston
2	40	Lawrence Johnson	Defensive back	Wisconsin
2	47	Sam Claphan	Offensive tackle	Oklahoma
3	70	Jim Ramey	Defensive end	Kentucky
4	95	Matt Miller	Offensive tackle	Colorado
5	124	Rich Dimler	Defensive tackle	USC
6	151	Clinton Burrell	Defensive back	LSU
6	163	Jim Ronan	Defensive tackle	Minnesota
7	183	Cody Risien	Offensive tackle	Texas A&M
8	204	Kent Perkov	Defensive end	San Diego State
9	234	Carl McGee	Linebacker	Duke
9	241	Curtis Weathers	Linebacker	Mississippi
10	261	John Henry Smith	Wide receiver	Tennessee State
11	287	Randy Poeschl	Defensive end	Nebraska
12	315	Dee Methvin	Center	Tulane

Staff / Coaches

1979 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office President and owner – Art Modell Assistant to the president – Peter Hadhazy Head coaches Head coach – Sam Rutigliano Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Jim Shofner Running backs – Jim Garrett Receivers – Rich Kotite Offensive line – Rod Humenuik

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Marty Schottenheimer Defensive line – Dick Modzelewski Linebackers – Dave Adolph Special teams coaches Special teams – Al Tabor & John Petercuskie Strength and conditioning Director of Pro Personnel - Allan Webb Film Coordinator - Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy

Roster

1979 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 15 Mark Miller 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 20 Doug Dennison 25 Pat Moriarty 30 Cleo Miller FB 35 Calvin Hill 43 Mike Pruitt FB Wide receivers 33 Reggie Rucker 80 Willis Adams 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan 88 John H. Smith 89 Keith Wright KR/PR Tight ends 82 Ozzie Newsome 87 Curtis Weathers LB		Offensive linemen 54 Tom DeLeone C 63 Cody Risien G 64 George Buehler G 65 Henry Sheppard T 68 Robert E. Jackson G 71 Matt Miller T 73 Doug Dieken T 79 Gerry Sullivan T/C Defensive linemen 72 Jerry Sherk DT 74 Mike St. Clair DT 77 Lyle Alzado DE 78 Mickey Sims DT 81 Jack Gregory DE 91 Henry Bradley DT 92 Rich Dimler DT		Linebackers 47 Ricky Jones 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 55 Dave Graf 56 Robert L. Jackson ILB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 59 Charlie Hall OLB 86 Gerald Irons OLB Defensive backs 21 Oliver Davis CB 22 Clarence Scott SS 24 Randy Rich S 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 49 Clinton Burrell CB Special teams  8 Johnny Evans P/QB 12 Don Cockroft K 26 Dino Hall KR		Reserve lists -- Rickey Anderson RB (IR) —- Sam Clapham T 34 Greg Pruitt RB (IR) -- Kent Perkov DE (IR) -- Jim Ronan DT (IR) rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 2	at New York Jets	W 25–22 (OT)	1–0	Shea Stadium	48,272	Recap
2	September 9	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–24	2–0	Arrowhead Stadium	42,181	Recap
3	September 16	Baltimore Colts	W 13–10	3–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	72,070	Recap
4	September 24	Dallas Cowboys	W 26–7	4–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,123	Recap
5	September 30	at Houston Oilers	L 10–31	4–1	Houston Astrodome	48,915	Recap
6	October 7	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 35–51	4–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	81,260	Recap
7	October 14	Washington Redskins	L 9–13	4–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	63,323	Recap
8	October 21	Cincinnati Bengals	W 28–27	5–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	75,119	Recap
9	October 28	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 38–20	6–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,845	Recap
10	November 4	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–19	7–3	Veterans Stadium	69,019	Recap
11	November 11	Seattle Seahawks	L 24–29	7–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	72,440	Recap
12	November 18	Miami Dolphins	W 30–24 (OT)	8–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,374	Recap
13	November 25	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 30–33 (OT)	8–5	Three Rivers Stadium	49,112	Recap
14	December 2	Houston Oilers	W 14–7	9–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	69,112	Recap
15	December 9	at Oakland Raiders	L 14–19	9–6	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,641	Recap
16	December 16	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 12–16	9–7	Riverfront Stadium	42,183	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(2)	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	416	262	W1
Houston Oilers(4)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	362	331	L1
Cleveland Browns	9	7	0	.563	2–4	6–6	359	352	L2
Cincinnati Bengals	4	12	0	.250	2–4	2–10	337	421	W1

Awards and records

• Brian Sipe: NFL Co-Leader, Touchdown Passes (28)

External links

• 1979 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1979 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1979 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1979 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com