1994 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Bill Belichick
Offensive coordinator	Steve Crosby
Defensive coordinator	Nick Saban
Home stadium	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2ndAFC Central
Playoffs	WonWild Card Playoffs (vs.Patriots) 20–13 LostDivisional Playoffs (atSteelers) 9–29
All-Pros	OTTony Jones(2nd team) DTMichael Dean Perry(2nd team) FSEric Turner(1st team) PREric Metcalf(1st team)
Pro Bowlers	FBLeroy Hoard RBEric Metcalf DERob Burnett DTMichael Dean Perry LBPepper Johnson FSEric Turner
Uniform
← 1993 Browns seasons 1995 →

The 1994Cleveland Browns season was the team's 45th season with theNational Football League and 49th overall. It was the only season that the Browns qualified for the playoffs under head coachBill Belichick. The Browns finished as the NFL's number one defense in terms of points surrendered per game (12.8 points per game). In the playoffs, Belichick got his first playoff victory as a head coach in the AFC wild card game against theNew England Patriots (who would hire him less than a decade later) by a score of 20–13. The Browns would lose to the Steelers 29–9 in the divisional round.

The Browns would not return to the playoffs again until the2002 season. This would be the last time the Browns would win a playoff game until the2020 season.

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Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.

• Week One @Cincinnati

BothVinny Testaverde and falling third-year BengalDavid Klingler were picked off twice. Testaverde got the better of the first round of 1994's Battle Of Ohio as he raced the Browns to a 28–13 lead, enough to absorb a Klingler touchdown in the fourth toDarnay Scott. The Browns won 28–20.

• Week Two vs.Pittsburgh

The Steelers ended a four-game road losing streak to the Browns as they erased a 10–0 Browns lead with 17 unanswered points.Vinny Testaverde was picked off four times in the 17–10 loss.

The Browns hostedBuddy Ryan, now coach of the Cardinals after his tumultuous stay with theOilers. Ryan had to bear witness asVinny Testaverde tossed two touchdowns and ran in a third whileJay Schroeder andJim McMahon combined for just 26 of 58 passes with three interceptions in a 32–0 Browns shutout win.

• Week Four @Indianapolis

In a 21–14 Browns win, Testaverde threw three more touchdowns as the game lead tied or changed on every score. Testaverde's scores offset scores byMarshall Faulk andJim Harbaugh, both destined to be important rivals of Browns coachBill Belichick in the future.

• Week Five vs.New York Jets

Eight years after their infamous playoff meeting, the Jets and Browns renewed acquaintances and the Browns raced to a 27–0 lead beforeJack Trudeau, subbing for regular starterBoomer Esiason, found the endzone from 24 yards out. Trudeau was picked off twice as well in the 27–7 Browns win. The game was the first meeting as head coaches of Jets coachPete Carroll and Browns coachBill Belichick.

• Week Six –BYE WEEK
• Week Seven @Houston

On a rare Thursday Night NFL game, the collapse of the Oilers following their1993 season continued as the Browns clawed out aVinny Testaverde touchdown, a two-point conversion, and a field goal in the second quarter, offsetting a fourth-quarter score fromBilly Joe Tolliver. The 11–8 loss put the Oilers at 1–5 with the Browns now 5–1.

• Week Eight vs. Cincinnati

The winless Bengals clawed to a 13–10 halftime lead, then the Browns exploded to 27 unanswered points en route to a 37–13 rout; one touchdown came off a goalline fumble by the Bengals. FormerRedskins heroMark Rypien came in late and completed three of eleven passes.

• Week Nine @Denver

The Browns remained haunted by the ghost of their two bitter playoff failures toJohn Elway as Elway led a Broncos offense putting up 457 yards of offense and 26 points to offset twoMatt Stover field goals and a touchdown fromMark Rypien. The 26–14 Broncos win was only the third of their season.

• Week 10 vs.New England

Bill Belichick faced his former bossBill Parcells and got the better of Parcells and second-year quarterbackDrew Bledsoe, intercepting him four times asMark Rypien tossed a one-yard score toLeroy Hoard. The 13–6 outcome put the Browns at 7–2 while the Patriots fell to 3–6 awaitingthe Vikings.

• Week 11 @Philadelphia

The 7–2 Eagles were crushed 26–7 asRandall Cunningham was picked off once and held to just 242 yards of offense; the loss began a season-ending spiral for the Eagles and coachRich Kotite.

• Week 12 @Kansas City

Joe Montana managed only 169 passing yards but still got the better of the Browns 20–13 as three different passers for the Browns managed only 152 yards and a pick.

• Week 13 vs. Houston

The Browns completed a season sweep of the Oilers – now under new coachJeff Fisher – 34–10, limiting the Oilers to 182 yards of offense.

• Week 14 vs.New York Giants

Facing his former team,Bill Belichick saw the Giants unable to reach 300 yards of offense yet still win 16–13, picking offVinny Testaverde twice while sacking him four times. The game was a penalty-laden affair with 21 combined fouls for 162 yards.

• Week 15 @Dallas

Once again Testaverde couldn't deliver much yardage – just 118 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception – but he did produce enough for a 19–14 win over the defendingSuper Bowl champions. The Browns picked offTroy Aikman twice while forcing two fumbles.Matt Stover's four field goals were sufficient for the win.

• Week 16 @ Pittsburgh

The measuring stick for the Browns has always been the Steelers and once again the Browns came up short, this time 17–7. Testaverde had one touchdown and two picks whileBarry Foster rushed for 106 yards andNeil O'Donnell had 175 passing yards and a touchdown. The win locked up theAFC Central for the Steelers, but the Browns nonetheless were also in the playoffs.

• Week 17 vs.Seattle

Vinny Testaverde scored three times, once on the ground, as five different Cleveland backs combined for over 100 rushing yards and two additional scores in a 35–7 rout of the Seahawks. With vaunted 1993 rookieRick Mirer faltering, two different Seahawks quarterbacks combined for 229 yards and a pick.

The Browns intercepted three passes from New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe and halted an attempted comeback in the final minutes of the game to clinch the victory.

Aided by quarterback Vinny Testaverde's completions to receivers Michael Jackson and Derrick Alexander for gains of 27 and 23 yards, Cleveland moved the ball 74 yards in eight plays on their opening drive and scored on Matt Stover's 30-yard field goal. They got another chance to score when Louis Riddick returned an interception 16 yards to the Patriots 33, but they could only gain one yard on their next three plays and decided to punt.

In the second quarter,r New England took a 7–3 lead on a 60-yard drive that ended with Bledsoe's 13-yard touchdown pass to running back Leroy Thompson. However, Cleveland tight end Brian Kinchen returned the kickoff 24 yards to Brown's 49-yard line and the team quickly drove 51 yards to retake the lead at 10–7, with Testaverde rushing twice for 14 yards and completing two passes for 29 total yards to Jackson on the way to throwing a 5-yard scoring pass to Mark Carrier. New England responded by driving 71 yards in 17 plays to score on a 23-yard field goal by Matt Bahr, tying the game at 10 going into halftime. The key play of the drive was a fake punt on fourth and 10 on the Browns 43, in which punter Pat O'Neill completed a 21-yard pass to Corwin Brown.

Cleveland started the third quarter with a drive to the Pats 17-yard line but lost the ball on an Eric Metcalf fumble that was recovered by Patriots defensive end Mike Pitts, the Browns' only turnover of the game. After forcing a punt, Cleveland drove 79 yards in nine plays. Testeverde completed a 25-yard pass to fullback Leroy Hoard and a 14-yarder to Jackson, while Hoard eventually finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to put the Browns back in front at 17–10.[6]

New England had some success moving the ball on their next two drives, but both ended with Bledsoe interceptions. On the second one, Eric Turner picked off a pass from Bledsoe and returned the ball 28 yards to the New England 36 with seven minutes left in the game. From there, Cleveland managed to run the clock down to 3:36 before Stover's 21-yard field goal gave them a two-score lead at 20–10. However, New England put together a 63-yard drive to score on Bahr's 33-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining. New England then recovered the ensuing onside kick, but after gaining a first down, Bledsoe threw four straight incompletions and the ball was turned back to Cleveland on downs.

Testaverde finished the game 20/30 for 268 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Jackson, who caught seven passes for 122 yards. This was the last postseason win for the Cleveland Browns until the 2020 season.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Patriots and Browns.[3]

Pittsburgh had defeated Cleveland twice during the season and proved to be more than capable of doing so again. Aided by running back Barry Foster's 133 rushing yards, the Steelers controlled the game by scoring on their first three possessions and holding the ball for 42:27. The Steelers finished the game with 424 yards of offense, including 238 yards on the ground, while holding the Browns to a mere 186 total yards.

On Pittsburgh's opening drive, they moved the ball 65 yards in 13 plays to score on Gary Anderson's 39-yard field goal. Cleveland had to punt on their next drive, and Tom Tupa's kick went just 26 yards to the Steelers' 47-yard line. Pittsburgh then went 53 yards in eight plays, including a 21-yard completion from Neil O'Donnell to Ernie Mills, to go up 10–0 on O'Donnell's 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Green. On the Steelers' next possession, Foster rushed three times for 40 yards as the team drove 74 yards to score on John L. Williams' 26-yard touchdown burst with 9:03 left in the second quarter.

After being completely dominated up to this point, Cleveland finally caught a break when Mark Carrier returned Mark Royals' 43-yard punt 20 yards to the Steelers 30-yard line, leading to Matt Stover's 22-yard field goal to cut the lead to 17–3, but in the closing seconds of the quarter, Steelers cornerback Tim McKyer intercepted a pass from Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde and returned it 21 yards to the Browns 6-yard line. O'Donnell then completed a 9-yard touchdown to wide receiver Yancey Thigpen with 16 seconds left in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Steelers drove 72 yards to go up 27–3 on a 40-yard Anderson field goal. In the final quarter, the Browns took advantage of a 35-yard pass interference penalty on Steelers cornerback Deon Figures, converting it into a score with Testaverde's 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keenan McCardell. But on their next drive, the Cleveland quarterback was sacked in the end zone by Pittsburgh safety Carnell Lake for a safety with 2:45 left in the game.

O'Donnell finished the game 18/23 for 186 yards and two touchdowns. His top receiver was Mills, who caught five passes for 117 yards. This was the first playoff win for Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who had watched his team get eliminated from the playoffs in the first round in each of the past two seasons.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Browns and Steelers.[3]

• 1994 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
• 1994 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1994 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1994 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com

• 1994 NFL season by team
• Cleveland Browns seasons
• 1994 in sports in Ohio

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023