1982 Cleveland Browns season

1982 Cleveland Browns season
1982 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	4–5
Division place	8th AFC
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (at Raiders) 10–27
Pro Bowlers	LB Chip Banks
	← 1981; Browns seasons; 1983 →;

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

The following were selected in the 1982 NFL draft.

1982 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
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

Staff / Coaches

**1982 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 – Paul Hackett Running backs – Jim Garrett Receivers – Rich Kotite Offensive line – Rod Humenuik			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Marty Schottenheimer Defensive line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Dave Adolph Defensive Backs - Len Fontes Special teams coaches Special teams – John Petercuskie Special Assistant - Darvin Wallis Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Dave Redding Director of Pro Personnel - Allan Webb Film Coordinator - Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy

Roster

1982 Cleveland Browns roster

Quarterbacks

16 Paul McDonald
17 Brian Sipe

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

82 Ozzie Newsome
84 McDonald Oden

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

75 Mark Buben NT
79 Bob Golic NT
90 Marshall Harris DE
91 Henry Bradley NT
92 Mike Robinson DE
94 Elvis Franks DE
99 Keith Baldwin DE

Linebackers

50 Tom Cousineau ILB
51 Eddie Johnson ILB
52 Dick Ambrose ILB
53 Bill Cowher OLB
55 Curtis Weathers OLB
56 Chip Banks OLB
57 Clay Matthews OLB
58 Scott Nicolas ILB
59 Kevin Turner ILB

Defensive backs

Special teams

9 Matt Bahr K
15 Steve Cox P
26 Dino Hall KR/PR

rookies in italics

Schedule

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

Week 1 at Seattle

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

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

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

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

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

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

AFC Central
view talk edit	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 v t e
#	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
^ ^a ^b Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2). ^ ^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. ^ ^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) ^ ^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

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-7611-2480-1.,
^ Seahawks defeat Rams 16–6 to win NFC West title, January 2, 2011, retrieved January 3, 2011
^ "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.
^ "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

Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com
1982 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
1982 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
1982 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
1982 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com

[7–2-5] Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2).

[6–3a-6] 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.

[6–3b-7] Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3)

[4–5-8] 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).

[nfl-book-1] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-7611-2480-1.,

[seahawks-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.

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