1977 Cleveland Browns season

1977 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach Forrest Gregg
Dick Modzelewski (interim)
Owner Art Modell
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WHK
Results
Record 6–8
Division place 4th AFC Central
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1977 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 28th season with the National Football League. After a 6-4 start, the Browns lost their final four games of the season, to finish with a disappointing 6-8 record. With one game left in the season, head coach Forrest Gregg was fired and replaced by Dick Modzelewski.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.

RoundOverallPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
117Robert L. JacksonLinebackerTexas A&M
246Tom SkladanyPunterOhio State
4102Oliver DavisDefensive backTennessee State
4110Mickey SimsDefensive tackleSouth Carolina State
7173Kenny RandleWide receiverSMU
7184Blane SmithLinebackerPurdue
7188Bob LingenfelterOffensive tackleNebraska
8213Bill ArmstrongDefensive backWake Forest
9240Daryl BrownDefensive backTufts
10269Tom BurkettOffensive tackleNorth Carolina
11296Charles NashWide receiverArizona
12325Leo TierneyCenterGeorgia Tech

[1]

Exhibition schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 8, 1977 Washington Redskins L 16–14
32,554
2 August 13, 1977 at Minnesota Vikings L 34–33
45,379
3 August 19, 1977 St. Louis Cardinals W 19–10
31,308
4 August 25, 1977 Chicago Bears W 14–7
36,598
5 September 3, 1977 at Green Bay Packers W 19–14
53,180
6 September 9, 1977 at Detroit Lions L 24–20
49,168

Regular season schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 18, 1977 at Cincinnati Bengals W 13–3
52,847
2 September 26, 1977 New England Patriots W 30–27
76,418
3 October 2, 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–14
80,588
4 October 9, 1977 Oakland Raiders L 26–10
80,236
5 October 16, 1977 at Houston Oilers W 24–23
47,888
6 October 23, 1977 at Buffalo Bills W 27–16
60,905
7 October 30, 1977 Kansas City Chiefs W 44–7
60,381
8 November 6, 1977 Cincinnati Bengals L 10–7
81,932
9 November 13, 1977 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 35–31
47,055
10 November 20, 1977 at New York Giants W 21–7
72,576
11 November 27, 1977 Los Angeles Rams L 9–0
70,352
12 December 4, 1977 at San Diego Chargers L 37–14
37,312
13 December 11, 1977 Houston Oilers L 19–15
30,898
14 December 18, 1977 at Seattle Seahawks L 20–19
61,583

Game summaries

Week 1

The 1977 season started with a league rival and an impressive win.

1 234Total
• Browns 3 1000 13
Bengals 0 030 3

[2]

Week 2

The Cleveland Browns had not hosted nor been in a Monday Night Football game since the 1973 season, when they lost at home against the Miami Dolphins. The Cleveland Stadium was sold out that beautiful night along the lakefront and the crowd looked forward to a great game. Indeed, the game went into overtime, and with a little more than 10 minutes left in over time, Don Cockroft kicked a 35-yard field goal to end the game with a win for the Browns. Howard Cosell said that it was one of the most exciting finishes to a Monday Night Football game that he ever witnessed.

Week 5

The Browns beat the Oilers 24-23 on another Crockfort last-second field goal. Toni Fritsch kicks a 37-yarder with 4:28 left to give Houston a 23-21 lead, but running back Greg Pruitt leads the Browns on their final scoring drive with three runs and a 13-yard third-down completion to Cleo Miller. Crockfort's six points lift him past Jim Brown to the no. 2 spot (behind Lou Groza) on the Browns' all-time scoring list.

Week 7

Scoring their most points in 9 years, the Browns break a team record with 34 first downs while rolling up 526 yards (322 rushing) in a rout over The Kansas City Chiefs 44-7. Greg Pruitt rushes for 153 yards. Brian Sipe threw for 200 yards and tight end Gary Parris catches two touchdown passes.

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3) 9 5 0 .643 4–2 7–5 276 243 W1
Houston Oilers 8 6 0 .571 3–3 6–6 299 230 W2
Cincinnati Bengals 8 6 0 .571 3–3 6–5 238 235 L1
Cleveland Browns 6 8 0 .429 2–4 5–7 269 267 L4

Roster

1977 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special Teams

 Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics

[3]

References

  1. ↑ "1977 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1977_roster.htm
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