Cleveland Browns

History

The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1944 when taxicab magnate Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride secured a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference (AAFC). Paul Brown was the team's namesake and first coach. The Browns began play in 1946 in the AAFC. The Browns won each of the league's four championship games before the league dissolved in 1949. The team then moved to the more established National Football League (NFL), where it continued to dominate. Between 1950 and 1955, Cleveland reached the NFL championship game every year, winning three times.

McBride and his partners sold the team to a group of Cleveland businessmen in 1953 for a then-unheard-of $600,000. Eight years later, the team was sold again, this time to a group led by New York advertising executive Art Modell. Modell fired Brown before the 1963 season, but the team continued to win behind fullback Jim Brown. The Browns won the championship in 1964 and reached the title game the following season, losing to the Green Bay Packers.

When the AFL and NFL merged before the 1970 season, Cleveland became part of the new American Football Conference (AFC). While the Browns made it back to the playoffs in 1971 and 1972, they fell into mediocrity through the mid-1970s. A revival of sorts took place in 1979 and 1980, when quarterback Brian Sipe engineered a series of last-minute wins and the Browns came to be called the "Kardiac Kids". Under Sipe, however, the Browns did not make it past the first round of the playoffs. Quarterback Bernie Kosar, whom the Browns drafted in 1985, led the team to three AFC Championship games in the late 1980s, but lost each time to the Denver Broncos.

In 1995, Modell announced he was moving the Browns to Baltimore, drawing a mix of outrage and bitterness from Cleveland's dedicated fan base. Negotiations and legal battles led to an agreement where Modell would be allowed to take his personnel to Baltimore as an expansion franchise, called the Baltimore Ravens, but would leave Cleveland the Browns' colors, logos and heritage for a reactivated Browns franchise that would take the field no later than 1999. Before the 1991 season, the Browns hired Bill Belichick to be the head coach. He led the team one winning season in his five years with the team, which occurred in 1994. The 1994 team defeated the New England Patriots 20–13 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 29–9 in the Divisional Round. After a 5–11 season in 1995, the Browns fired Belichick.

After three years of inactivity while Cleveland Stadium was demolished and Huntington Bank Field, then known as Cleveland Browns Stadium was built on its site, the Browns were reactivated and started play again in 1999 under new owner Al Lerner. Under head coach Chris Palmer, the Browns went 2–14 in 1999 and 3–13 in 2000. The Browns struggled throughout the 2000s and 2010s, posting a record of 101–234–1 (.302) since their 1999 return. The Browns have only posted four winning seasons and three playoff appearances (2002, 2020, 2023) since returning to the NFL. The team's struggles have been magnified since 2012, when the Lerner family sold the team to businessman Jimmy Haslam. In six seasons under Haslam's ownership, the Browns went through four head coaches and four general managers, none of whom had found success.

Butch Davis was named head coach before the 2001 season. In his first season, he led the team to a 7–9 record in 2001. He led the team to a playoff berth with a 9–7 record in 2002. The Browns lost 36–33 to the Steelers in the Wild Card Round. The team regressed to a 5–11 record in the 2003 season. After a 3–8 start to the 2004 season, Davis resigned. Terry Robiskie finished out the season with a 1–4 mark. Before the 2005 season, the team hired Romeo Crennel to be their next head coach. He went 6–10 in 2005 and 4–12 in 2006. He posted a winning 10–6 record that did not qualify for the playoffs in the 2007 season. He went 4–12 in the 2008 season and was fired after the season. Eric Mangini posted consecutive 5–11 seasons as head coach in 2009 and 2010 before getting fired. Pat Shurmur coached the team to a 4–12 record in 2011 and a 5–11 record in 2012 before getting fired. Rob Chudzinski coached the Browns in the 2013 season. He was fired after a 4–12 campaign. Mike Pettine coached the team in 2014 and 2015, going 7–9 and 3–13 before getting fired. In 2016 and 2017 under head coach Hue Jackson, the Browns went 1–31 (.031, including a winless 0–16 season in 2017), the worst two-year stretch in NFL history, and received the number one overall draft pick in both of those years. Those top overall draft picks were used on Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield.

Before the 2019 season, Freddie Kitchens was hired as head coach. Kitchens led the team to a 6–10 record and was fired after the season. Before the 2020 season, the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as their head coach. In 2020, the Browns secured their first playoff berth since 2002 by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 17 and finishing the season 11–5. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 48–37 for their first playoff win since 1994. The Browns saw their season end in a 22–17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round. The 2021 season saw the Browns go 8–9 and miss the postseason. In the following season, the Browns went 7–10 and missed the postseason for the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, the Browns returned to the postseason with an 11–6 mark. The Browns ended their season with a 45–14 loss to the Texans in the Wild Card Round.

Rivalries

The Browns have rivalries with all three of their AFC North opponents. In addition, the team has had historical rivalries with the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Often called the "Turnpike Rivalry", the Browns' biggest rival has long been the Pittsburgh Steelers. Former Browns owner Art Modell scheduled home games against the Steelers on Saturday nights from 1964 to 1970 to help fuel the rivalry. The rivalry has also been fueled by the proximity of the two teams, number of championships both teams have won, players and personnel having played and/or coached for both sides, and personal bitterness. The teams have played twice annually since 1950, making it the oldest rivalry in the AFC and the fifth-oldest rivalry in the NFL. Though the Browns dominated this rivalry early in the series (winning the first eight meetings and posting a 31–9 record in the 1950s and 1960s), the Steelers went 15–5 in the 1970s and 36–9–1 since the Browns returned to the league in 1999. The Steelers have been particularly dominant in Pittsburgh, posting a 44–7 record when hosting the Browns since 1970, including two winning streaks of 16 games (1970–85) and 17 games (2004–20).

The Steelers currently hold a 79–61–1 lead. The Browns and Steelers met in the playoffs in 1994, 2002, and 2020, with the Steelers holding a 2–1 lead in the postseason series. Though the rivalry has cooled in Pittsburgh due to the Modell move as well as the Browns' poor play since 1999, the Steelers still remain the top rival for Cleveland.

Cincinnati Bengals

Originally conceived due to the personal animosity between Paul Brown and Art Modell, the "Battle of Ohio" between the Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals has been fueled by the sociocultural differences between Cincinnati and Cleveland, a shared history between the two teams, and similar team colors, as Brown used the exact shade of orange for the Bengals that he used for the Browns. (Though this has changed since then, as the Bengals now use a brighter shade of orange.) Modell, in fact, moved the Browns to the AFC after the AFL–NFL merger in order to have a rivalry with the Bengals. The rivalry has also produced two of the eleven highest-scoring games in NFL history. Cincinnati has the all-time edge 52–48. While the Bengals have a 28–21 edge since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, this series has been more competitive than the Browns' series with their other division rivals. As of the end of the 2025 season, the Browns have won 9 of the last 11 meetings.

Baltimore Ravens

Created as a result of the Browns' relocation controversy, the rivalry between the Browns and Baltimore Ravens was more directed at Art Modell than the team itself, and is simply considered a divisional game in Baltimore. This matchup is more bitter for Cleveland than the others due to the fact that the draft picks for 1995 to 1998 resulted in the rosters that won the Super Bowl for the Ravens in 2000. Had Modell not moved the team, these teams, drafted by general manager and former Browns tight end Ozzie Newsome, might have given the Browns a title after a 35-year drought. As of the 2023 season, the Ravens lead the overall series 36–14. The two teams have not met in the playoffs.

Detroit Lions

The Browns' rivalry with the Detroit Lions began in the 1950s, when the Browns and Lions played each other in four NFL Championship Games. The Lions won three of those championships, while the Browns won one. This was arguably one of the NFL's best rivalries in the 1950s. Since the AFL–NFL merger of 1970, the teams have met much less frequently with the Browns' move to the AFC. From 2002 to 2014, the two teams played an annual preseason game known as the "Great Lakes Classic". As of the 2023 season, the Lions lead the all-time series 19–6.

Denver Broncos

The Browns had a brief rivalry with the Denver Broncos that arose from three AFC Championship Games from 1986 to 1989. In the 1986 AFC Championship, quarterback John Elway led The Drive to secure a tie in the waning moments at Cleveland Municipal Stadium; the Broncos went on to win in 23–20 in overtime. One year later, the two teams met again in the 1987 AFC Championship game at Mile High Stadium. Denver took a 21–3 lead, but Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar threw four touchdown passes to tie the game at 31–31 halfway through the 4th quarter. After a long drive, John Elway threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to running back Sammy Winder to give Denver a 38–31 lead. Cleveland advanced to Denver's 8-yard line with 1:12 left, but Broncos safety Jeremiah Castille stripped Browns running back Earnest Byner of the football at the 2-yard line—a play that has been called The Fumble by Browns fans. The Broncos recovered it, gave Cleveland an intentional safety, and went on to win 38–33. The two teams met yet again in the 1989 AFC Championship at Mile High Stadium, which the Broncos easily won by a score of 37–21.

This short-lived rivalry also featured a controversial 16–13 Browns win at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the 1989 regular season. The game was decided by a Matt Bahr 48-yard field goal as time expired—a kick that barely cleared the crossbar. Bahr's field goal came after referee Tom Dooley ordered the teams to switch ends of the field midway through the 4th quarter, thanks to rowdy Dawg Pound fans who pelted the Broncos with dog biscuits, eggs, and other debris. The switch gave the Browns a small, timely wind advantage to finish the game.

More recently, the rivalry has cooled off as the Broncos won 11 straight meetings from 1991 to 2015 before Cleveland broke that streak with a narrow 17–16 win in 2018. As of the 2023 season, Denver leads the overall series, 25–7.

San Francisco 49ers

The most competitive team in the AAFC era for the Browns was the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco finished second to the Browns in each of the four seasons that the league played. Two of the Browns' four losses in that era were to the 49ers (including a loss that ended the Browns' 29-game unbeaten streak); the rivalry did not last into the NFL years, particularly after the teams were placed in opposite conferences in 1970. The rivalry has turned into a friendly relationship as many 49ers personnel helped the Browns relaunch in 1999, specifically former 49ers president and CEO Carmen Policy and vice president/director of football operations Dwight Clark, who were hired by the expansion Browns in the same roles. In addition, 49ers owners John York and Denise DeBartolo York reside in Youngstown, 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Cleveland. Long-time Browns placekicker and fan favorite Phil Dawson and backup quarterback Colt McCoy signed with the 49ers in 2014. As of the 2023 season, the Browns lead the all-time series 20–10.

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans

The Browns' rivalry with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans dates back to the Browns and then-Oilers being placed in the AFC Central after the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. As such, the teams played each other twice annually from 1970 until 2002 when divisional realignment placed the Browns in the AFC North and the now-Titans in the AFC South (excluding 1996–98 when the Browns were inactive). The teams have met much less frequently since 2002. The Browns lead the overall series 37–32, and the 69 meetings with the Oilers/Titans are the third-most of any Cleveland opponent, trailing only the Steelers and Bengals.

The height of this rivalry was during the 1980s. Oilers head coach Jerry Glanville and Marty Schottenheimer shared several bitter exchanges during the decade and the Browns and Oilers had their only playoff meeting in the 1988 Wild Card Round, in which the Oilers came away with a narrow 24–23 victory. There have been a few memorable games in recent years. In 2014, the Browns erased a 28–3 deficit to come away with a 29–28 win. In a December 2020 contest with playoff implications for both teams, the Browns jumped to a 38–7 halftime lead, setting a franchise record for points in the first half. However, Tennessee rallied in the second half but came up just short as the Browns hung on for a 41–35 win.