2003 Cleveland Browns season

The 2003 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 55th season as a professional sports franchise and its 51st season as a member of the National Football League. The Browns were unable to replicate the success from the previous season, and they ended up winning only five games. They failed to return to the playoffs. This season would begin a stretch, which was unbroken until the 2020 season, in which the Browns would not make it to the playoffs in any capacity.[1][2]

2003 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachButch Davis
Home fieldCleveland Browns Stadium
Local radioWTAM · WMMS
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th AFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

Offseason

2003 NFL Draft
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Pick
1 21 Jeff Faine Center Notre Dame
2 52 Chaun Thompson Linebacker West Texas A&M
3 84 Chris Crocker Safety Marshall
4 115 Lee Suggs Running back Virginia Tech
5 142 Ryan Pontbriand Long snapper Rice
5 152 Michael Lehan Cornerback Minnesota
6 195 Antonio Garay Defensive end Boston College

Undrafted free agents
2003 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Leigh Bodden Cornerback Duquesne
Enoch DeMar Guard Indiana
Nate Hybl Quarterback Oklahoma
Israel Idonije Defensive end Manitoba

Personnel
2003 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office
  • Owner and chairman – Randy Lerner
  • President and chief executive officer – Carmen Policy
  • Director of Football Development – Pete Garcia
  • Director of Pro Personnel - Jeremy Green
  • Player Personnel Assistant - Yogi Jones
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Steve Sabo
  • Director of college personnel – Phil Neri

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Buddy Morris
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Phillips

Roster
2003 Cleveland Browns final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 15 inactive, 4 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC West and NFC West according to the NFL’s conference rotation, and played the Colts and Patriots based on 2002 standings in their respective AFC divisions.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance Venue Time (EST) Network Recap
1 September 7 Indianapolis Colts L 6–9 0–1 73,358 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
2 September 14 at Baltimore Ravens L 13–33 0–2 69,473 M&T Bank Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
3 September 21 at San Francisco 49ers W 13–12 1–2 67,412 3Com Park 4:15 p.m. CBS Recap
4 September 28 Cincinnati Bengals L 14–21 1–3 73,428 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
5 October 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 33–13 2–3 64,595 Heinz Field 8:30 p.m. ESPN Recap
6 October 12 Oakland Raiders W 13–7 3–3 73,318 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
7 October 19 San Diego Chargers L 20–26 3–4 73,238 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
8 October 26 at New England Patriots L 3–9 3–5 68,436 Gillette Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
9 Bye
10 November 9 at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–41 3–6 78,560 Arrowhead Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
11 November 16 Arizona Cardinals W 44–6 4–6 72,908 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX Recap
12 November 23 Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–13 4–7 73,658 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
13 November 30 at Seattle Seahawks L 7–34 4–8 64,680 Seahawks Stadium 4:15 p.m. CBS Recap
14 December 8 St. Louis Rams L 20–26 4–9 73,108 Cleveland Browns Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC Recap
15 December 14 at Denver Broncos L 20–23 4–10 75,358 Invesco Field at Mile High 4:05 p.m. CBS Recap
16 December 21 Baltimore Ravens L 0–35 4–11 72,548 Cleveland Browns Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
17 December 28 at Cincinnati Bengals W 22–14 5–11 65,362 Paul Brown Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS Recap
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(4) Baltimore Ravens 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 391 281 W2
Cincinnati Bengals 8 8 0 .500 3–3 6–6 346 384 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 5–7 300 327 L1
Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 .313 2–4 3–9 254 322 W1

Game summaries

Week 2: at Baltimore
Week 2: Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens  – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 3 10013
Ravens 10 6 01733

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

  • Date: September 14
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 75 °F (23.9 °C), relative humidity 83%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
  • Game attendance: 69,473
  • Referee: Tom White
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Brando (play–by–play), Spencer Tillman (color commentator)

Browns linebacker Andra Davis telephoned Ravens running back Jamal Lewis before the game and stated he wanted Lewis to carry the ball at least thirty times in their upcoming matchup. “If that happens, it's going to be a career day’, Lewis replied. Lewis then erupted to 295 rushing yards, breaking the record previously held by Corey Dillon in 2000 as the Browns fell 33–13.

Week 11: vs. Arizona
Week 11: Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 3 306
Browns 10 10 141044

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland

  • Date: November 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 43 °F (6.1 °C), relative humidity 89%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • Game attendance: 72,908
  • Referee: Ron Winter
  • TV announcers (Fox): Scott Graham (play–by–play), Dale Hellestrae (color commentator) and Tony Rizzo (sideline reporter)
Game information

References
  1. "2003 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. "2003 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.


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