1968 Cleveland Browns season

1968 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Blanton Collier
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	10–4–0
Division place	1st NFL Century
Playoff finish	Lost NFL Championship

The 1968 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season with the National Football League. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year thanks to an 8-game winning streak and the brilliant play of quarterback Bill Nelsen who replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

Season summary

In a relative sense Browns hadn't done much since 1965, when they lost to the Green Bay Packers 23–12 in the NFL Championship Game. They finished 9–5 in 1966 and '67, but made the playoffs only in the second year. However, it was a short stay, as the Dallas Cowboys blew them out 52–14 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game. So with a retooled roster the Browns headed into the 1968 season, hoping to get back into serious title contention. It worked. After a slow start in which they lost two of their first three games and three of their first five, the re-tooled Browns won eight in a row before falling 27–16 to the St. Louis Cardinals in a meaningless game in the regular-season finale. The result was a 10–4 mark, the Century Division crown (by the slimmest of margins over the 9–4–1 Cardinals) and a spot in the conference title game again opposite those same Cowboys.

Only this time, the Browns advanced, beating Dallas 31–20 to get to the league title game against the Baltimore Colts. The Colts, returning to Cleveland Stadium, where they were stunned by the Browns 27–0 in the championship contest four years before, got revenge with a shutout victory of their own, 34–0.

So it was the Colts and not the Browns who headed to Super Bowl III, where they were stunned once more, this time by the New York Jets, 16–7.

The key to the Browns' turnaround in 1968 was the insertion of Bill Nelsen at quarterback early in the season. Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan, the architect of that victory over the Colts in 1964. By '68, though, he was really banged up, battling shoulder problems. Nelsen had been acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was inspired by going to a team that had a chance to win. At the time, the Steelers were in the midst of a 6-year run without a playoff appearance.

Nelsen made an impact right away, helping to beat the Colts 30–20 to hand Baltimore its only loss in a 13–1 season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1968 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	21	Marvin Upshaw	Defensive end	Trinity
2	47	John Garlington	Linebacker	LSU
3	64	Harry Olszewski	Guard	Clemson
3	66	Reece Morrison	Running back	Texas State
4	104	Wayne Meylan	Linebacker	Nebraska
5	131	Mike Wempe	Tackle	Missouri
5	134	Jackie Jackson	Running back	Clemson
6	152	Nate James	Defensive back	Florida A&M
7	186	Dale Brady	Running back	Memphis
8	212	Tom Schoen	Defensive back	Notre Dame
9	238	David Porter	Defensive tackle	Michigan
10	255	James Greer	Defensive end	Stephen F. Austin
10	267	Alvin Mitchell	Defensive back	Morgan State
11	293	Jim Alcorn	Quarterback	Clarion
12	319	Tom Beutler	Linebacker	Toledo
13	348	Terry Sellers	Defensive back	Georgia
14	374	Edgar Whipps	Running back	Jackson State
15	400	Bob Baxter	Flanker	Memphis
16	429	Dick Sievert	Defensive end	Wisconsin-River Falls
17	455	Wayne McDuffie	Center	Florida State

^[1]

Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 9, 1968	at Los Angeles Rams	L 23–21	64,020
2	August 18, 1968	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–17	26,801
3	August 24, 1968	at New Orleans Saints	L 40–27	70,045
4	August 30, 1968	at Buffalo Bills	W 22–12	45,448
5	September 7, 1968	Green Bay Packers	L 31–9	84,918

Regular season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 15, 1968	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–10	74,215
2	September 22, 1968	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–7	68,733
3	September 29, 1968	Los Angeles Rams	L 24–6	82,514
4	October 5, 1968	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–24	81,865
5	October 13, 1968	St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–21	79,349
6	October 20, 1968	at Baltimore Colts	W 30–20	60,238
7	October 27, 1968	Atlanta Falcons	W 30–7	67,723
8	November 3, 1968	at San Francisco 49ers	W 33–21	31,359
9	November 10, 1968	New Orleans Saints	W 35–17	71,025
10	November 17, 1968	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 45–24	41,572
11	November 24, 1968	Philadelphia Eagles	W 47–13	62,338
12	December 1, 1968	New York Giants	W 45–10	83,193
13	December 8, 1968	at Washington Redskins	W 24–21	50,661
14	December 14, 1968	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–16	39,746

Game summaries

Week 7: vs. Atlanta

Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7
Browns	7	13	3	7	30

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Date: October 27
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 45°F, relative humidity 63%, round (wind) 17 MPH
• Game attendance: 67,723
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and John Fitzgerald (sideline reporter)

Game information

First Quarter CLE – Kelly 5 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Browns 7, Falcons 0 Second Quarter CLE – Kelly 1 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Browns 14, Falcons 0 CLE – Cockroft 25 yard field goal Browns 17, Falcons 0 CLE – Cockroft 42 yard field goal Browns 20, Falcons 0 Third Quarter CLE – Cockroft 34 yard field goal Browns 23, Falcons 0 Fourth Quarter CLE – Warfield 22 yard pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick) Browns 30, Falcons 0 ATL – Donohoe 7 yard pass from Berry (Etter kick) Browns 30, Falcons 7 Top passers ATL – Bob Berry 8/10, 107 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT CLE – Bill Nelsen 18/27, 248 yds, 1 TD Top rushers ATL – Cannonball Butler 13 carr, 73 yds CLE – Leroy Kelly 19 carr, 112 yds, 2 TD Top receivers ATL – Bob Long 4 rec, 73 yds CLE – Milt Morin 5 rec, 98 yds Turnovers ATL – 2 CLE – 0

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Eastern Conference	December 21, 1968	Dallas Cowboys	W 31–20	81,497
NFL Championship	December 29, 1968	Baltimore Colts	L 34–0	80,628

Standings

NFL Century
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–3	394	273	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	1	.692	5–0–1	8–1–1	325	289	W4
New Orleans Saints	4	9	1	.308	2–4	3–7	246	327	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	11	1	.154	0–5–1	1–8–1	244	397	L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and honors

• LeRoy Kelly, Bert Bell Award^[2]

References

1. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1968.htm
2. http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm

External links

• Season summary and stats at Cleveland Browns.com