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1983 Cleveland Browns season

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1983 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachSam Rutigliano
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersLB Chip Banks

The 1983 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 34th season with the National Football League.

Season summary

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In a season which was eerily similar to the 1979 campaign, which was arguably the beginning of "The Kardiac Kids" period, seven contests were decided by seven points or less, with the Browns going 4–3. Like the '79 and '80 seasons, the Browns scored often and gave up almost as many points, with the Browns scoring 356 to their opponents' 342. Quarterback Brian Sipe, in his last season with the Browns before jumping to the USFL, had 26 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions, nearly the same ratio (28-to-26) he had had in 1979. It was a good way to go out for Sipe, who had lost his starting job to Paul McDonald late in the 1982 season and then re-gained it in the '83 training camp. Fullback Mike Pruitt, in his last great season with the Browns, rushed for 1,184 yards. And finally, in his last season in Cleveland before being traded to the Denver Broncos, wide receiver Dave Logan was second on the team in receptions with 37, but that was far behind the team-record 89 hauled in by Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome in a season that could be dubbed "The Kardiac Kids' Last Hurrah".[1]

Offseason

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NFL draft

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The following were selected in the 1983 NFL draft.

1983 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
2 41 Ron Brown Wide receiver Arizona State
3 68 Reggie Camp Defensive end California
5 122 Bill Contz Offensive tackle Penn State
6 145 Tim Stracka Tight end Wisconsin
6 149 Dave Puzzuoli Nose tackle Pittsburgh
7 176 Rocky Belk Wide receiver Miami
8 209 Mike McClearn Guard Temple
10 262 Thomas Hopkins Offensive tackle Alabama A&M
11 288 Boyce Green Running back Carson Newman College
11 305 Howard McAdoo Linebacker Michigan State
12 316 Paul Farren Offensive tackle Boston University

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Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 4 Minnesota Vikings L 21–27 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,087 Recap
2 September 11 at Detroit Lions W 31–26 1–1 Pontiac Silverdome 60,095 Recap
3 September 15 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–7 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,700 Recap
4 September 25 at San Diego Chargers W 30–24 3–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 49,482 Recap
5 October 2 Seattle Seahawks L 9–24 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,446 Recap
6 October 9 New York Jets W 10–7 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,235 Recap
7 October 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–44 4–3 Three Rivers Stadium 59,263 Recap
8 October 23 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–28 4–4 Riverfront Stadium 50,047 Recap
9 October 30 Houston Oilers W 25–19 5–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,851 Recap
10 November 6 at Green Bay Packers L 21–35 5–5 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,089 Recap
11 November 13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–0 6–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 56,091 Recap
12 November 20 at New England Patriots W 30–0 7–5 Sullivan Stadium 40,987 Recap
13 November 27 Baltimore Colts W 41–23 8–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,812 Recap
14 December 4 at Denver Broncos L 6–27 8–6 Mile High Stadium 70,912 Recap
15 December 11 at Houston Oilers L 27–34 8–7 Houston Astrodome 29,746 Recap
16 December 18 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–17 9–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,313 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 2

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Brian Sipe throws four touchdowns to lead the Browns to a 31-26 win at Detroit. Sipe becomes Cleveland's career leader, raising his TD total to 135 (surpassing Frank Ryan) with throws to Ricky Feacher, Mike Pruitt, Ozzie Newsome and Dave Logan. Pruitt also rushes for 137 yards.

Week 4

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Harry Holt, a 25-year-old NFL rookie, catches a 48-yard touchdown pass from Sipe on Cleveland's fourth play of overtime as The Browns beat The Chargers, 30-24, at San Diego. Holt catches his first NFL touchdown after Matt Bahr forces overtime with a 32-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Week 6

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Linebacker Tom Cousineau records 15 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery while leading Cleveland to a 10-7 win over the New York Jets. His interception stops a Jets drive at the Browns' 5-yard line and his fumble recovery stops New York at the Cleveland 9. The Browns' only touchdown is scored by wide receiver Bobby Jones on a 32-yard pass from Sipe.

Week 8

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The Browns lose a tough one at Cincinnati, 28-21, when Bengals' cornerback Ken Riley intercepts a Sipe pass and returns it 42 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Riley's 60th career interception spoils a three-TD pass performance by Sipe.

Week 12

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After going eight seasons without a shutout, the Browns made it two straight with a 30-0 rout of the Patriots at Foxboro. One week after posting a 20-0 win over Tampa Bay, Pruitt runs for 136 yards and Matt Bahr kicks three field goals. The defensive star is linebacker Chip Banks, who returns an interception 65 yards for a touchdown and records two sacks. Cousineau and Hanford Dixon each intercept two passes.

Standings

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AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 355 303 L1
Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 356 342 W1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 9 0 .438 4–2 4–8 346 302 L1
Houston Oilers 2 14 0 .125 1–5 1–11 288 460 L1

Personnel

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Staff / Coaches

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1983 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


Roster

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1983 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

Awards and records

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  • Brian Sipe, NFL Leader, Touchdown Passes (26), Tied with another player

References

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  1. ^ "Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com". Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  2. ^ "1983 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
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