The 1982 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 33rd season with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The Browns were among eight teams that qualified for the playoffs during this

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

shortened season, and became one of only five teams to ever qualify for the playoffs despite having a losing record.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 294 The Browns and the Detroit Lions from the same year are the only two teams with a losing record to qualify as wildcards. The Browns' first round draft pick, rookie sensation linebacker

Chip Banks William "Chip" Banks (born September 18, 1959) is a former All-Pro professional American football linebacker. High school and college career Banks graduated from Lucy Craft Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia. He played college football at ...

earned 6.5 sacks in just nine games.

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season Highlights

Week 1 at Seattle

Less than nine months after closing the 1981 season in Seattle, the Browns return to the Kingdome and defeat the Seahawks 21–7.

Mike Pruitt Michael L. Pruitt (born April 3, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1986. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round (se ...

accounts for 136 of Cleveland's 200 rushing yards and scores two touchdowns. The Browns sack

Dave Krieg David Michael Krieg ( ; born October 20, 1958) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Milton College in his home state of Wisconsin and made the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. ...

eight teams, three by rookie linebacker

Week 3 vs. New England

In their first game after the 1982 NFL strike that wiped out almost half the regular season, The Browns fight their way through a heavy Cleveland fog and beat New England, 10–7, on

Matt Bahr Matthew David Bahr (born July 6, 1956) is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League, and professional soccer player in the North American Soccer League. He attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pe ...

's 24-yard field goal as time expires. Bahr's winner comes three plays after Browns safety

Clinton Burrell Clinton Blane Burrell (born September 4, 1956) is a former professional American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He played six seasons for the Cleveland Browns. Burrell attended Louisiana State University prior to b ...

recovers a fumble by Mark van Eeghen at the Patriots' 20.

Week 5 vs. San Diego

James Brooks scores two touchdowns and

Dan Fouts Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973-87). After a relatively undistinguished firs ...

completes 18-of-23 passes as San Diego pounds the Browns 30–13, at Cleveland. Despite the loss,

Brian Sipe Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...

completes 14 straight passes and stretches his overall streak to a club-record 33. He also surpasses the 20,000-yard career mark. Tight end

Ozzie Newsome Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...

catches a career-high 10 passes and extends his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to a club-record 45.

Week 7 vs. Pittsburgh

Hanford Dixon Hanford Dixon (born December 25, 1958) is a former professional American football cornerback who played his entire career (1981–1989) for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Dixon made the Pro Bowl three times, in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He was ...

intercepts three passes and the Browns keep their playoff hopes alive with a 10–9 win over Pittsburgh at rainy, muddy Cleveland Stadium. The poor conditions affect Steelers quarterback

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...

more than Paul McDonald, who starts his first game in place of the slumping Sipe. Nose tackle

Bob Golic Robert Perry Golic (born October 26, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player, television actor, radio personality and sports commentator. Golic played defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 ...

enjoys a big game with eight tackles and one sack.

Week 8 at Houston

The Browns escape with a 20–14 win, thanks to critical fumbles by running back

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Kn ...

. The first comes at the Cleveland 4 and the second sets up the Browns' winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Dave Logan scores one TD on a 56-yard pass from McDonald and Charles White scores the winner on a 1-yard run.

Postseason

Standings

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

Roster

References

External links

Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com

at Pro Football Reference
1982 Cleveland Browns Statistics
at jt-sw.com
1982 Cleveland Browns Schedule
at jt-sw.com

at DatabaseFootball.com

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Cleveland Browns seasons

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