| 1976 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Art Modell |
| Head coach | Forrest Gregg |
| Home stadium | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 3rdAFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | RBGreg Pruitt DTJerry Sherk |
The1976 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 31st as a professional sports franchise and their 27th season as a member of theNational Football League. The Browns were coached by second-year coachForrest Gregg, and ended their season with a record of 9–5, being third in their division. The team's top draft choice was running backMike Pruitt.
Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after aMike Phipps injury in the season-opening win against theNew York Jets on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterbackDave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive endJoe "Turkey" Jones' pile-driving sack of quarterbackTerry Bradshaw fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to theKansas City Chiefs in the regular-season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running backGreg Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight 1,000-yard season.
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Carl Barisich | Defensive tackle | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | John Demarie | Guard | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | J. K. McKay | Wide receiver | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
The following were selected in the1976 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mike Pruitt | Running back | Purdue | |
| 3 | 65 | Dave Logan | Wide receiver | Colorado | |
| 4 | 97 | Gene Swick | Quarterback | Toledo | |
| 4 | 99 | Mike St. Clair | Defensive end | Grambling | |
| 5 | 130 | Henry Sheppard | Guard | SMU | |
| 7 | 189 | Steve Cassidy | Defensive tackle | LSU | |
| 9 | 242 | James Reed | Running back | Mississippi | |
| 9 | 261 | Craig Nagel | Quarterback | Purdue | |
| 10 | 271 | Doug Kleber | Offensive tackle | Illinois | |
| 11 | 297 | Doug Celek | Defensive end | Kent State | |
| 13 | 354 | Brian Murray | Offensive tackle | Arizona | |
| 14 | 381 | Joe Smalzer | Tight end | Illinois | |
| 15 | 408 | Luther Philyaw | Defensive back | Loyola Marymount | |
| 16 | 438 | Chris Lorenzen | Defensive tackle | Arizona State | |
| 17 | 464 | Tom Fleming | Wide receiver | Dartmouth |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
| 1976 Cleveland Browns roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
rookies in italics | ||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 31 | vs.Baltimore Colts | L 0–21 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium (Lincoln) | 20,304 | Recap |
| 2 | August 7 | vs.Atlanta Falcons | W 31–7 | 1–1 | Lewis Field | 24,227 | Recap |
| 3 | August 16 | Minnesota Vikings | W 31–7 | 2–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 44,336 | Recap |
| 4 | August 23 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 21–17 | 3–1 | Veterans Stadium | 20,600 | Recap |
| 5 | August 30 | New England Patriots | W 30–27 | 4–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 36,016 | Recap |
| 6 | September 3 | atBuffalo Bills | L 10–28 | 4–2 | Rich Stadium | 37,951 | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | New York Jets | W 38–17 | 1–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 67,496 | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | atPittsburgh Steelers | L 14–31 | 1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,169 | Recap |
| 3 | September 26 | atDenver Broncos | L 13–44 | 1–2 | Mile High Stadium | 62,775 | Recap |
| 4 | October 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–45 | 1–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 75,817 | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 18–16 | 2–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 76,411 | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | atAtlanta Falcons | W 20–17 | 3–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 33,364 | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | San Diego Chargers | W 21–17 | 4–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 60,018 | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | atCincinnati Bengals | L 6–21 | 4–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 54,776 | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | atHouston Oilers | W 21–7 | 5–4 | Astrodome | 39,828 | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–3 | 6–4 | Cleveland Stadium | 62,120 | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | atTampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–7 | 7–4 | Tampa Stadium | 36,930 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Miami Dolphins | W 17–13 | 8–4 | Cleveland Stadium | 74,715 | Recap |
| 13 | December 5 | Houston Oilers | W 13–10 | 9–4 | Cleveland Stadium | 56,025 | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | atKansas City Chiefs | L 14–39 | 9–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 34,340 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(3) | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 342 | 138 | W9 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 335 | 210 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 267 | 287 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0–6 | 3–9 | 222 | 273 | L2 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
| Browns | 3 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 18 |
atCleveland Municipal Stadium,Cleveland, Ohio
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Turkey Jones knocked outTerry Bradshaw in this contest.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| Falcons | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium,Atlanta
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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