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1977 Cleveland Browns season

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1977 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachForrest Gregg
Dick Modzelewski (interim)
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record6–8
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

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

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NFL Draft

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The following were selected in the 1977 NFL draft.

1977 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 17 Robert L. Jackson Linebacker Texas A&M
2 46 Tom Skladany Punter Ohio State
4 102 Oliver Davis Defensive back Tennessee State
4 110 Mickey Sims Defensive tackle South Carolina State
7 173 Kenny Randle Wide receiver SMU
7 184 Blane Smith Linebacker Purdue
7 188 Bob Lingenfelter Offensive tackle Nebraska
8 213 Bill Armstrong Defensive back Wake Forest
9 240 Daryl Brown Defensive back Tufts
10 269 Tom Burkett Offensive tackle North Carolina
11 296 Charles Nash Wide receiver Arizona
12 325 Leo Tierney Center Georgia Tech

[1]

Personnel

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Staff / Coaches

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1977 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator — Dick Modzelewski
  • Linebackers – Walt Corey
  • Secondary / defensive backs – Billy Kinard

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Al Tabor
  • Film Coordinator – Ed Ulinski
  • Athletic Trainer – Leo Murphy



Roster

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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

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Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 August 8 Washington Redskins L 14–16 0–1 32,554
2 August 13 at Minnesota Vikings L 33–34 0–2 45,379
3 August 19 St. Louis Cardinals W 19–10 1–2 31,308
4 August 25 Chicago Bears W 14–7 2–2 36,598
5 September 3 at Green Bay Packers W 19–14 3–2 53,180
6 September 9 at Detroit Lions L 20–24 3–3 49,168

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 18 at Cincinnati Bengals W 13–3 1–0 Riverfront Stadium 52,847 Recap
2 September 26 New England Patriots W 30–27 2–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,418 Recap
3 October 2 Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–28 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,588 Recap
4 October 9 Oakland Raiders L 10–26 2–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,236 Recap
5 October 16 at Houston Oilers W 24–23 3–2 Houston Astrodome 47,888 Recap
6 October 23 at Buffalo Bills W 27–16 4–2 Rich Stadium 60,905 Recap
7 October 30 Kansas City Chiefs W 44–7 5–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 60,381 Recap
8 November 6 Cincinnati Bengals L 7–10 5–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 81,932 Recap
9 November 13 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 31–35 5–4 Three Rivers Stadium 47,055 Recap
10 November 20 at New York Giants W 21–7 6–4 Giants Stadium 72,576 Recap
11 November 27 Los Angeles Rams L 0–9 6–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,352 Recap
12 December 4 at San Diego Chargers L 14–37 6–6 San Diego Stadium 37,312 Recap
13 December 11 Houston Oilers L 15–19 6–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 30,898 Recap
14 December 18 at Seattle Seahawks L 19–20 6–8 Kingdome 61,583 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1

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

Week 1: Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 3 10 0013
Bengals 0 0 303

at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 2

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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 3 vs Steelers

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See also: 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Week Three: Pittsburgh Steelers (1–1) at Cleveland Browns (2–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 7 7728
Browns 7 7 0014

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 5

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The Browns beat the Oilers 24–23 on another Cockroft 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. Cockroft'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

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Scoring their most points in 9 years, the Browns broke 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 rushed for 153 yards. Brian Sipe threw for 200 yards and tight end Gary Parris caught two touchdown passes.

Standings

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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

References

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  1. ^ "1977 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  2. ^ "1977 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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