1968 Cleveland Browns season

The 1968 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season with the National Football League. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year thanks to an 8-game winning streak. Quarterback Bill Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

1968 Cleveland Browns season
General managerHarold Sauerbrei
Head coachBlanton Collier
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st NFL Century
Playoff finishWon Eastern Conference Championship Game
(vs. Cowboys) 31–20
Lost NFL Championship
(vs. Colts) 0–34

Veteran wide receiver Paul Warfield had the best season of his entire career catching 50 passes for 1,067 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns.

Season summary

The Browns had enjoyed some recent success, qualifying for the 1965 season NFL Championship Game, in which they lost to the Green Bay Packers 23–12. They finished 9–5 in 1966 and '67, making the playoffs in 1967. The Dallas Cowboys blew them out 52–14 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game. The Browns retooled their roster entered the 1968 season and sought to reestablish themselves as series title contenders. After a slow start in which they lost two of their first three games and three of their first five, the re-tooled Browns won eight in a row before falling 27–16 to the St. Louis Cardinals in a meaningless game in the regular-season finale. The result was a 10–4 mark, the Century Division crown (by the slimmest of margins over the 9–4–1 Cardinals) and a spot in the conference title game again opposite those same Cowboys.

Only this time, the Browns advanced, beating Dallas 31–20 to get to the league title game against the Baltimore Colts. The Colts were returning to Cleveland Stadium, where they were had been stunned by the Browns 27–0 in the championship contest four years before. The Colts got revenge with a shutout victory of their own, 34–0, and advanced to Super Bowl III.

The key to the Browns' turnaround in 1968 was the insertion of Bill Nelsen at quarterback early in the season. Nelsen had been acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He replaced Frank Ryan, who had been the team's starting quarterback since 1963 and lead the team on its playoff run in 1964. By 1968, though, Ryan was struggling with shoulder problems. Nelsen made an impact right away, helping to beat the Colts 30–20 to hand Baltimore its only loss in a 13–1 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1968 NFL Draft.

RoundOverallPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
121Marvin UpshawDefensive endTrinity
247John GarlingtonLinebackerLSU
364Harry OlszewskiGuardClemson
366Reece MorrisonRunning backTexas State
4104Wayne MeylanLinebackerNebraska
5131Mike WempeTackleMissouri
5134Jackie JacksonRunning backClemson
6152Nate JamesDefensive backFlorida A&M
7186Dale BradyRunning backMemphis
8212Tom SchoenDefensive backNotre Dame
9238David PorterDefensive tackleMichigan
10255James GreerDefensive endStephen F. Austin
10267Alvin MitchellDefensive backMorgan State
11293Jim AlcornQuarterbackClarion
12319Tom BeutlerLinebackerToledo
13348Terry SellersDefensive backGeorgia
14374Edgar WhippsRunning backJackson State
15400Bob BaxterFlankerMemphis
16429Dick SievertDefensive endWisconsin-River Falls
17455Wayne McDuffieCenterFlorida State

[1]

Personnel

Roster
1968 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

[2]

Staff/Coaches
1968 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

   Defensive coaches

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

[3]

Exhibition schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 9 at Los Angeles Rams L 21–23 64,020
2 August 18 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 26,801
3 August 24 at New Orleans Saints L 27–40 70,045
4 August 30 at Buffalo Bills W 22–12 45,448
5 September 7 Green Bay Packers L 9–31 84,918

There was a doubleheader on September 7, 1968 Lions vs Jets (AFL) and Packers vs Browns.

Regular season schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 15 at New Orleans Saints W 24–10 1–0 74,215
2 September 22 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–28 1–1 68,733
3 September 29 Los Angeles Rams L 6–24 1–2 82,514
4 October 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–24 2–2 81,865
5 October 13 St. Louis Cardinals L 21–27 2–3 79,349
6 October 20 at Baltimore Colts W 30–20 3–3 60,238
7 October 27 Atlanta Falcons W 30–7 4–3 67,723
8 November 3 at San Francisco 49ers W 33–21 5–3 31,359
9 November 10 New Orleans Saints W 35–17 6–3 71,025
10 November 17 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–24 7–3 41,572
11 November 24 Philadelphia Eagles W 47–13 8–3 62,338
12 December 1 New York Giants W 45–10 9–3 83,193
13 December 8 at Washington Redskins W 24–21 10–3 50,661
14 December 14 at St. Louis Cardinals L 16–27 10–4 39,746

Game summaries

Week 7: vs. Atlanta
Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 077
Browns 7 13 3730

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: October 27
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), relative humidity 63%, round (wind) 17 mph
  • Game attendance: 67,723
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and John Fitzgerald (sideline reporter)
Game information

Playoffs
See also: 1968 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Eastern Conference December 21 Dallas Cowboys W 31–20 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 81,497 Recap
NFL Championship December 29 Baltimore Colts L 0–34 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,628 Recap

Standings
NFL Century
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 10 4 0 .714 4–2 7–3 394 273 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 9 4 1 .692 5–0–1 8–1–1 325 289 W4
New Orleans Saints 4 9 1 .308 2–4 3–7 246 327 W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 11 1 .154 0–5–1 1–8–1 244 397 L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and honors

References
  1. "1968 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  2. "1968 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. "1968 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
  4. "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
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