| 1969 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Harold Sauerbrei |
| Head coach | Blanton Collier |
| Home stadium | Cleveland Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | 1stNFL Century |
| Playoffs | WonEastern Conference Championship Game (atCowboys) 38–14 LostNFL Championship (atVikings) 7–27 |
| Pro Bowlers | Bill Nelsen, QB Walter Johnson, DT Fred Hoaglin, C Jim Houston, LB Jack Gregory, DB Leroy Kelly, RB Paul Warfield, WR Gene Hickerson, G |
The1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with theNational Football League and their 24th overall in professional football and the last before the 1970AFL-NFL Merger.
The Browns made it to the1969 NFL Championship Game, where they fell to theMinnesota Vikings 27–7. The 1969 season would be the last year that Cleveland would win a postseason game until1986. In addition, that victory overDallas would also be the last time the Browns won a postseason game on the road until the2020–21 playoffs. This was also the last season in which the Browns made it to the league championship game, as they have failed to reach the Super Bowl after the merger.
The following were selected in the1969 NFL/AFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Ron Johnson | Running back | Michigan | |
| 3 | 55 | Al Jenkins | Guard | Tulsa | |
| 3 | 72 | Chip Glass | Tight end | Florida State | |
| 4 | 98 | Freddie Summers | Defensive back | Wake Forest | |
| 5 | 124 | Fair Hooker | Wide receiver | Arizona State | |
| 6 | 145 | Larry Adams | Defensive tackle | Texas Christian University | |
| 6 | 150 | Joe Righetti | Defensive tackle | Waynesburg | |
| 7 | 176 | Walt Sumner | Defensive back | Florida State | |
| 8 | 202 | Chuck Reynolds | Center | Tulsa | |
| 9 | 228 | Ron Kamzelski | Defensive tackle | Minnesota | |
| 10 | 254 | Greg Shelly | Guard | Virginia | |
| 11 | 280 | Dave Jones | Wide receiver | Kansas State | |
| 12 | 306 | Dick Davis | Running back | Nebraska | |
| 13 | 332 | Tommy Boutwell | Wide receiver | Southern Miss | |
| 14 | 358 | Jiggy Smaha | Defensive tackle | Georgia | |
| 15 | 384 | Joel Stevenson | Tight end | Georgia Tech | |
| 16 | 410 | James Lowe | Flanker | Tuskegee | |
| 17 | 436 | Bob Oliver | Defensive end | Abilene Christian |
| 1969 Cleveland Browns staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching Staff
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams
Strength & Conditioning
| |||||
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL)
| Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST)
| Practice squad
Reserve
Rookies in italics |
On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Chicago Bears (with All-Pro running backGale Sayers) played the AFL's Buffalo Bills (with rookie running backO. J. Simpson), while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.[3]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10 | vs.San Francisco 49ers atSeattle | W 24–19 | 32,219 |
| 2 | August 16 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 10–3 | 54,937 |
| 3 | August 23 | atSan Diego Chargers | T 19–19 | 36,005 |
| 4 | August 30 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–27 | 85,532 |
| 5 | September 6 | atWashington Redskins | W 20–10 | 45,994 |
| 6 | September 13 | vs.Minnesota Vikings atAkron | L 16–23 | 28,561 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 27–20 | 1–0 | 60,658 |
| 2 | September 28 | Washington Redskins | W 27–23 | 2–0 | 82,581 |
| 3 | October 5 | Detroit Lions | L 21–28 | 2–1 | 82,933 |
| 4 | October 12 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 27–17 | 3–1 | 71,274 |
| 5 | October 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 42–31 | 4–1 | 84,078 |
| 6 | October 26 | St. Louis Cardinals | T 21–21 | 4–1–1 | 81,186 |
| 7 | November 2 | Dallas Cowboys | W 42–10 | 5–1–1 | 84,850 |
| 8 | November 9 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 3–51 | 5–2–1 | 47,700 |
| 9 | November 16 | atPittsburgh Steelers | W 24–3 | 6–2–1 | 47,670 |
| 10 | November 23 | New York Giants | W 28–17 | 7–2–1 | 80,595 |
| 11 | November 30 | atChicago Bears | W 28–24 | 8–2–1 | 45,050 |
| 12 | December 7 | Green Bay Packers | W 20–7 | 9–2–1 | 82,137 |
| 13 | December 14 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | W 27–21 | 10–2–1 | 44,924 |
| 14 | December 21 | atNew York Giants | L 14–27 | 10–3–1 | 62,966 |
| NFL Century | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 4–1–1 | 8–1–1 | 351 | 300 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 4–2 | 4–6 | 264 | 298 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 3–2–1 | 3–6–1 | 314 | 389 | L3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0–6 | 0–10 | 218 | 404 | L13 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | December 27 | atDallas Cowboys | W 38–14 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 69,321 | Recap |
| NFL Championship | January 4, 1970 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 7–27 | 1–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 | Recap |
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