2002 Cleveland Browns season
2002 Cleveland Browns season | |
---|---|
Owner | Al Lerner (Until October 2, 2002) Randy Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002) |
Head coach | Butch Davis |
Offensive coordinator | Bruce Arians |
Defensive coordinator | Foge Fazio |
Home field | Cleveland Browns Stadium |
Local radio | WTAM · WMMS |
Results | |
Record | 9–7 |
Division place | 2nd AFC North |
Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36 |
Pro Bowlers | none |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Cleveland_Browns_Vs_Atlanta_Falcons%2C_2002_-_panoramio.jpg/220px-Cleveland_Browns_Vs_Atlanta_Falcons%2C_2002_-_panoramio.jpg)
The 2002 season was the Cleveland Browns' 54th as a professional sports franchise, their 50th as a member of the National Football League, and the second season under head coach Butch Davis.
In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration unaware the play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, per NFL rules, the Chiefs were given one untimed down. Chiefs' kicker Morten Andersen made the 30-yard field goal to win the game.
The Browns made their first playoff appearance since their re-activation. It was only the Browns' fourth year since returning to the league effectively as an expansion team, and their first winning season. The Browns faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round at Heinz Field. Despite a strong start with a 24–7 lead late in the third quarter, the Steelers would ultimately bounce back erasing a 17 point deficit, causing the Browns to lose 36–33. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020, when they would again face the Steelers in the wild card round. The Browns owner Al Lerner stepped down on October 2 and died on October 23, 2002, from brain cancer. His son, Randy Lerner took over the team until 2012. The Browns wore a patch with the initials "AL" for the remainder of the season and became a fixture on their uniforms to commemorate Lerner.
Offseason
[edit]Additions | Subtractions |
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T Ryan Tucker (Rams) | LB Wali Rainer (Jaguars) |
FS Robert Griffith (Vikings) | T Roman Oben (Buccaneers) |
LB Earl Holmes (Steelers) | DE Greg Spires (Buccaneers) |
DE Kenard Lang (Redskins) | DE Keith McKenzie (Bears) |
2002 NFL Draft
[edit]Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | William Green | Running back | Boston College |
2 | 47 | André Davis | Wide receiver | Virginia Tech |
3 | 76 | Melvin Fowler | Center | Maryland |
4 | 101 | Kevin Bentley | Linebacker | Northwestern |
4 | 111 | Ben Taylor | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
4 | 122 | Darnell Sanders | Tight end | Ohio State |
5 | 141 | Andra Davis | Linebacker | Florida |
7 | 227 | Joaquin Gonzalez | Offensive tackle | Miami |
Undrafted free agents
[edit]Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Frisman Jackson | Wide receiver | Western Illinois |
Kalvin Pearson | Safety | Grambling State |
Personnel
[edit] Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
[edit]Regular season
[edit]Schedule
[edit]Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC South and NFC South according to the NFL's new conference rotation, and played the Chiefs and Jets based on 2001 standings with respect to the newly aligned divisions.
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 39–40 | 0–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,938 | ||
2 | September 15 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–7 | 1–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,358 | ||
3 | September 22 | at Tennessee Titans | W 31–28 (OT) | 2–1 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,804 | ||
4 | September 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–16 (OT) | 2–2 | Heinz Field | 62,864 | ||
5 | October 6 | Baltimore Ravens | L 21–26 | 2–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,688 | ||
6 | October 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–17 | 2–4 | Raymond James Stadium | 65,625 | ||
7 | October 20 | Houston Texans | W 34–17 | 3–4 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,248 | ||
8 | October 27 | at New York Jets | W 24–21 | 4–4 | Giants Stadium | 78,502 | ||
9 | November 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–23 | 4–5 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,718 | ||
10 | Bye | |||||||
11 | November 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–20 | 5–5 | Paul Brown Stadium | 64,060 | ||
12 | November 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 24–15 | 6–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,295 | ||
13 | December 1 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–13 | 6–6 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,718 | ||
14 | December 8 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 21–20 | 7–6 | Alltel Stadium | 46,267 | ||
15 | December 15 | Indianapolis Colts | L 23–28 | 7–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,098 | ||
16 | December 22 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 14–13 | 8–7 | M&T Bank Stadium | 68,348 | ||
17 | December 29 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–16 | 9–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,528 |
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
[edit]Week 1: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
[edit]Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiefs | 7 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 40 |
Browns | 6 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 39 |
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Date: September 8
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 86 °F (30 °C)
- Game attendance: 72,938
- Referee: Ron Blum
- TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 8: at New York Jets
[edit]Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 24 |
Jets | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Game time: 1:05 p.m.
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
- Game attendance: 78,502
- Referee: Bob McElwee (95)
- TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Randy Cross, and Beasley Reece
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Standings
[edit]Division
[edit]AFC North | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 390 | 345 | W3 |
(6) Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 344 | 320 | W2 |
Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 316 | 354 | L2 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 279 | 456 | L1 |
Conference
[edit]# | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division leaders | ||||||||||||
1[a] | Oakland Raiders | West | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .529 | .531 | ||
2[a] | Tennessee Titans | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–0 | 9–3 | .479 | .474 | ||
3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | .486 | .451 | ||
4[b] | New York Jets | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .500 | .500 | ||
Wild Cards | ||||||||||||
5 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .479 | .400 | ||
6[c] | Cleveland Browns | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .486 | .413 | ||
Did not qualify for the postseason | ||||||||||||
7[c][d] | Denver Broncos | West | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .527 | .486 | ||
8[b][c][d][e] | New England Patriots | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .525 | .455 | ||
9[b][e] | Miami Dolphins | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .508 | .486 | ||
10[f] | Buffalo Bills | East | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .473 | .352 | ||
11[f][g] | San Diego Chargers | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .492 | .453 | ||
12[g] | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .516 | ||
13 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .506 | .384 | ||
14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .506 | .438 | ||
15 | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .518 | .492 | ||
16 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | .537 | .406 | ||
Tiebreakers[h] | ||||||||||||
|
Postseason
[edit]Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AFC Wild Card | January 5, 2003 | at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 33–36 | 0–1 | Heinz Field | 62,595 | Recap |
Game summaries
[edit]Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 7 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 33 |
Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 36 |
- Date: January 5, 2003
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Light snow, 27 °F (−3 °C)
- Game attendance: 62,595
- Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
- TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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|
References
[edit]- ^ Cleveland Browns 2002 Roster accessed November 28, 2018.
External links
[edit]- 2002 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
- 2002 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
- 2002 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
- 2002 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com