Many things will be associated with the 1988 Cleveland Browns season. Kosar’s injury, Strock’s touchdown drive and the wild playoff run of the Browns will all be etched in our collective memory. But what else stands out? Take a look at the schedule for this season and remember what you saw. The 1988 Browns season was the most exciting in franchise history. Find out which player had the greatest year. Cleveland was 8-5 in 1988 and won their division.
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Cleveland Browns season
The 1988 Cleveland Browns season saw the team lose twice to the Denver Broncos. They finished the season with a record of 10-six. They had full rosters and had hopes of making the playoffs, but injuries decimated their chances. Marty Schottenheimer, the coach, resigned due anger with Art Modell. The team went through four quarterbacks in one season and finished the season without a winning record.
Marty Schottenheimer’s third season led the team to a 10-6 record and a second-place finish in the AFC Central. However, they lost to the Broncos in the Wild Card round and were relegated to second place in the division. Despite this, they finished the season with a 62% winning percentage. The 1988 Cleveland Browns season was marred by injuries, which caused a team to fall short of a playoff berth.
The defensive line led the league in points allowed, ranking sixth in the NFL. Their offense was also solid, finishing third in the league with a ranked defense. With a 60 percent completion rate, Bernie Kosar was the top quarterback in 1988 with a top-10 yard-per-attempt. Despite these struggles, the Browns were still able to win a week 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 1988 Cleveland Browns were a team that was not known for its quarterbacks. They had a lot of problems early in the season, and Strock had to deal with injuries in the first half of their game against the Cowboys. He was sacked five more times, and he passed for 308 yards with three touchdowns in this game. On the next game, the Browns lost by 23-3 to the Jets.
The Browns faced the Steelers in Week 4. They hadn’t made the playoffs since 1984. They were well on their way to finishing a 5-11 year. In this game, Pagel had a long-range pass for a touchdown to Newsome in the first quarter, but the run game struggled, with only 56 yards passing between Mack and Byner. The Browns went on to lose to the Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals, 24-17.
Kosar’s injury
You might be curious about how Kosar’s 1988 Browns schedule injury affected the team. Continue reading. It was a turning point in the season. The Browns had a promising start but they struggled to stay there and had four starting quarterbacks, Kosar included. Schottenheimer, Art Modell, and the team made it to the playoffs.
After the 1986 preseason, Kosar emerged as the permanent starter and led the Browns to the AFC championship. In the regular season, he threw for 3,854 yards and was second in the NFL with 310 completions. Kosar also set a record for the playoffs with 489 yards against New York Jets. He led the Browns to a win of 23-20.
The injury forced Kosar to sit out the next two games against Buffalo and the Houston Oilers. Kosar was a solid player in those games, but his absence has resulted in injuries. The Browns finished second in their division and will now face the Texans in round one of the Wild Card. If the Browns win the game against the Oilers, Kosar may be back in the starting lineup.
Kosar was replaced by Paul Vieira the following season. The rookie quarterback was named the starter for the following season, but he was sacked five more times in the season opener. The next game, against the Chiefs, was a loss of three points for the Browns. The game was put on hold by Kosar’s injury, but his team won Week 14. Both the offensive and defensive statistics for that season were outstanding. The Browns’ defense ranked second in the NFL in 1987 and the team was 6-3.
Strock’s touchdown drives
If you’ve ever viewed the Browns’ season, then you’ve likely noticed that Strock was responsible for all three of their touchdown drives against Houston. However, Strock’s career ended on the same play. Greg Rakoczy snapped Strock in the second quarter. He attempted to jump on the ball and injured his wrist. Mike Pagel quarterbacked the rest of the game, but Strock didn’t have the last laugh.
The Browns led the game for the second half, but couldn’t score on a fourth quarter field goal. The Oilers were forced to punt three times after Strock made a mistake on the second play. The game was at stake and the Browns used their defense in order to win. While the Oilers averaged 147.5 yards per game, the Browns were forced to punt three consecutively.
Strock was able to throw three interceptions on six of his first passes. However, his next series ended in a sack. Houston capitalized on the turnover to score on the first play after Strock had fumbled. The team had a chance to score again, but Wright picked off Moon’s pass in the end zone. The Browns were unable to take a lead in the second half.
The 1988 Cleveland Browns were a team that was begging for a Super Bowl win. Coach Marty Schottenheimer had suffered three years of postseason heartbreak after losing to the Broncos in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Strock’s injuries and tumbling ended the season early. In 1989, the Browns were a much different team than they were in 1988.
Cleveland’s playoff run
The offense is largely responsible for Cleveland’s 1988 playoff run. The team’s offensive line had problems. Running backs Earnest byner and Kevin Mack averaged less that four yards per run. The receivers also struggled because of problems at quarterback. Despite the poor running, the team still had three solid receivers in Ozzie Newsome, Brian Brennan, as well as Ozzie Newsome. The most productive receiver was Byner, who led the team with 59 catches.
The Cleveland Browns wanted to win the AFC Championship Game. However, Kosar suffered a serious injury in the first game. In the second game against Jets, the Browns had Gary Danielson as their backup quarterback. They had to play Game 4 without Kosar, so they had to turn to Mike Pagel. Kosar was wobbly when he did play. He didn’t show up for the playoffs against Houston Oilers and the team lost the game 24-23.
Jordan made his NBA debut in 1988. The Bulls had lost the series in four previous meetings. The Bulls had never beaten the Cavaliers in the playoffs. Jordan’s shot was crucial in helping the Cavs win the series, their first since 1981. The Bulls took a 107-99 lead in game four before the Chicago Bulls tied the game on a last-second shot by Craig Ehlo.
Marty Schottenheimer’s coaching style also made a huge impact on the 1988 season. The veteran coach had a winning percentage of 62% after the season. Later, he coached the San Diego Chargers. The Cavs made the playoffs three times and posted three consecutive winning seasons. Although the 1988 playoff run was a small blip on the horizon, the Browns’ owners made it a long-term disaster.
The Cleveland Browns were facing the Denver Broncos in AFC championship. The Broncos were led by quarterback John Elway, who passed for 385 yards and three touchdowns. At halftime, the Denver Broncos led by more than twenty percent. However, the Browns did not score again. Despite a strong offensive performance, they failed to score on their final possession, which gave them the chance to advance to the Super Bowl.