1979 Cleveland Browns season

The 1979 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 30th season with the National Football League.

1979 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachSam Rutigliano
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

Season summary

In a season which could be titled "The Birth of The Kardiac Kids" the Browns, who finished 9–7, nearly made the playoffs while involved in a number of close games. They won their first three contests, all by three points, over the New York Jets in overtime 25–22, Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 and Baltimore Colts 13–10. They lost to the Washington Redskins by four points, 13–9, midway through the season, then beat the Cincinnati Bengals by one, 28–27, the following Sunday and the Philadelphia Eagles by five, 24–19, two weeks later. The Browns proceeded to lose to the Seattle Seahawks by five points, 29–24, beat the Miami Dolphins by six, 30–24, in overtime and lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers by three, 33–30, again in OT. That was the last of the Browns three overtime games that season. Then came a virtual "blowout" – a seven-point victory over the Houston Oilers, 14–7 – followed by two "one-sided" losses, by five points to the Oakland Raiders, 19–14, and by four to the Bengals, 16–12, to end the year. Add it all up, and 12 of the Browns' 16 games were decided by seven points or less. The club went just 7–5 in those games, though, which was the difference in that season from 1980, when the Browns were 10–2 in 12 contests decided by seven points or less.

How tight was the 1979 season overall for the Browns? So much so that they outscored their foes by just seven points all year. The Browns moved to 4–0 – their fastest start since 1963 – by stunning heavily favored Dallas 26–7 on Monday Night Football. The Browns gave up 51 points at home to the Steelers, who would go on to win their second straight Super Bowl and fourth in six years, yet scored 35 on the vaunted Steel Curtain defense and lost by 16. The game was shown on national TV, but NBC cut away to another contest, leaving only the Pittsburgh and Cleveland markets watching, after the Steelers vaulted to a 27–0 lead.

RB Mike Pruitt rushed for 1,294 yards and nine TDs, while wideout Dave Logan led the team in catches with 59 and missed getting 1,000 receiving yards by just 18. Logan, TE Ozzie Newsome and veteran WR Reggie Rucker combined for 22 TD catches.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1979 NFL Draft.

RoundOverallPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
120Willis AdamsWide receiverHouston
240Lawrence JohnsonDefensive backWisconsin
247Sam ClaphanOffensive tackleOklahoma
370Jim RameyDefensive endKentucky
495Matt MillerOffensive tackleColorado
5124Rich DimlerDefensive tackleUSC
6151Clinton BurrellDefensive backLSU
6163Jim RonanDefensive tackleMinnesota
7183Cody RisienOffensive tackleTexas A&M
8204Kent PerkovDefensive endSan Diego State
9234Carl McGeeLinebackerDuke
9241Curtis WeathersLinebackerMississippi
10261John Henry SmithWide receiverTennessee State
11287Randy PoeschlDefensive endNebraska
12315Dee MethvinCenterTulane

[1]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 2 at New York Jets W 25–22 (OT) 1–0 Shea Stadium 48,272 Recap
2 September 9 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–24 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 42,181 Recap
3 September 16 Baltimore Colts W 13–10 3–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,070 Recap
4 September 24 Dallas Cowboys W 26–7 4–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,123 Recap
5 September 30 at Houston Oilers L 10–31 4–1 Houston Astrodome 48,915 Recap
6 October 7 Pittsburgh Steelers L 35–51 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 81,260 Recap
7 October 14 Washington Redskins L 9–13 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 63,323 Recap
8 October 21 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–27 5–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,119 Recap
9 October 28 at St. Louis Cardinals W 38–20 6–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,845 Recap
10 November 4 at Philadelphia Eagles W 24–19 7–3 Veterans Stadium 69,019 Recap
11 November 11 Seattle Seahawks L 24–29 7–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,440 Recap
12 November 18 Miami Dolphins W 30–24 (OT) 8–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,374 Recap
13 November 25 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 30–33 (OT) 8–5 Three Rivers Stadium 49,112 Recap
14 December 2 Houston Oilers W 14–7 9–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 69,112 Recap
15 December 9 at Oakland Raiders L 14–19 9–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,641 Recap
16 December 16 at Cincinnati Bengals L 12–16 9–7 Riverfront Stadium 42,183 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(2) 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 416 262 W1
Houston Oilers(4) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 9–3 362 331 L1
Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 2–4 6–6 359 352 L2
Cincinnati Bengals 4 12 0 .250 2–4 2–10 337 421 W1

Staff / Coaches
1979 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster
1979 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • —- Sam Clapham T
  • 34 Greg Pruitt RB (IR)
  • -- Kent Perkov DE (IR)

rookies in italics

Awards and records
  • Brian Sipe, NFL Leader, Touchdown Passes (28), Tied with another player

References
  1. "1979 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
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