The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th 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 ...

. It was the Browns' first season with head coach

Bud Carson Leon H. "Bud" Carson (April 28, 1930 – December 7, 2005) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1967 to 1971, compiling a record of 27–27. Carson then co ...

, who had been the defensive coordinator of the New York Jets the previous season. The Browns finished with a 9-6-1 record, good enough for a division title and the second seed in the playoffs, and reached their third AFC Championship Game in four seasons, and for the third time lost to the Denver Broncos. It would be the Browns’ fifth consecutive season making the playoffs, but it would prove their last until

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

. The team hasn't won a division title since this season, the longest active drought in the NFL.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Bud Carson begins his Browns head coaching career with a memorable 51–0 victory over the Steelers in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. It is the most lopsided victory in the 79-game series between the teams and the Browns' biggest shutout ever. Carson, Pittsburgh's former defensive coordinator, watches his team force eight turnovers, record seven sacks and score three touchdowns (two by linebacker David Grayson).

Week 2

The Football Database
Retrieved 2018-Sep-23.

Week 4

The Browns snap a 10-game losing streak against

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

with a controversial 16–13 win at

Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball a ...

. The game was decided by a Matt Bahr 48-yard field goal as time expired – a kick that barely made the crossbar. Bahr's field goal comes after referee Tom Dooley ordered the teams to switch ends of the field, thanks to rowdy Dawg Pound fans who pelt the Broncos with dog biscuits, eggs and other debris. The switch gave the Browns a timely wind advantage.

Week 7

Wide receiver Webster Slaughter catches eight passes for 186 yards in leading the Browns to a 27–7 win over

the Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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's ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

'' at

. One of the catches is a 96-yard touchdown pass from Kosar – the longest play from scrimmage in Browns history.

Week 8

For the first time in more than a decade Ozzie Newsome did not catch a pass, but the Browns still beat

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 28–17. The Browns explode for 326 second-half yards as Kosar throws touchdown passes of 80 and 77 yards to Slaughter. Newsome's club record streak of 150 consecutive games with a reception ends.

Week 11

Former coach

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

, returning to Cleveland with his Chiefs, has to settle for a 10–10 tie as Kansas City kicker

Nick Lowery Dominic Gerald Lowery (born May 27, 1956) is a former American football placekicker. In his career he played for the New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Jets. He played in college at Dartmouth College. Lowery was selected to th ...

misses three makeable field goal attempts: 45- and 39- yard attempts In the final 10 seconds of regulation and a 47-yard attempt with seven seconds left in overtime. The Browns fumble four times, throw one interception and punt a club-record-tying 12 times. This was the first Browns' tie since the introduction of overtime in regular season games in 1974. The Browns would not record another tie until Week 1 of the 2018 season.

Week 16

With the AFC Central title and a wild-card berth at stake, the Browns blow a 17-point lead before bouncing back to defeat the Oilers, 24–20 at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

. The Browns march 58 yards with no timeouts and Kevin Mack scores on a 4-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left to save the day. As of February 2022, the 1989 season marks the last time that the Browns have won a division title. The 30 season drought without a division title is the longest active drought in the NFL.

Postseason

Standings

Notes

References

External links

1989 Cleveland Browns
at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
1989 Cleveland Browns Statistics
at jt-sw.com
1989 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 AFC Central championship seasons

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