The Cleveland Browns were a charter member club of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) when the league was founded in 1946. From 1946 to 1949, the Browns won each of the league’s four championships. While the National Football League (NFL) does not recognize the Browns’ AAFC championships, the Pro Football Hall of Fame does recognize the team’s championships, which is reflected in this list. When the AAFC folded in 1949, the Browns were absorbed into the NFL in 1950. The Browns went on to win three NFL championships, nearly dominating the NFL in the 1950s, and won one more NFL championship in 1964. The team has yet to appear in a Super Bowl, however. Overall, the team has won eight championships: four in the AAFC, and four in the NFL.
In 1995, then-Browns owner Art Modell made the decision to move the team from Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland. An agreement between the city of Cleveland and the NFL kept the team’s history, name and colors in Cleveland, while Modell’s new team would be regarded as an expansion team. The Baltimore Ravens would begin play in 1996, and the Browns would return to the league in 1999. For record-keeping purposes, the Browns are considered to have suspended operations from 1996 to 1998, which is reflected in this list. In 2017, the Cleveland Browns became the second team in NFL history (2008 Detroit Lions) to suffer an 0–16 record. In 2020, the Browns won their first playoff game since their reactivation in 1999, defeating the division champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round.
Seasons
- For a complete team history, see History of the Cleveland Browns.
| AAFC champions (1946–1949) | NFL champions (1950–1969) | Super Bowl champions (1966–present) | Conference champions | Division champions | Wild Card berth |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | W | L | T | ||||||||
| 1946 | 1946 | AAFC | Western | 1st | 12 | 2 | 0 | Won AAFC championship (1) (Yankees) 14–9 | Paul Brown | ||
| 1947 | 1947 | AAFC | Western | 1st | 12 | 1 | 1 | Won AAFC championship (2) (at Yankees) 14–3 | |||
| 1948 | 1948 | AAFC | Western | 1st | 14 | 0 | 0 | Won AAFC championship (3) (Bills) 49–7 | |||
| 1949 | 1949 | AAFC | 1st | 9 | 1 | 2 | Won AAFC playoff game (Bills) 31–21 Won AAFC championship (4) (49ers) 21–7 | Paul Brown (COY) | |||
| 1950 | 1950 | NFL | American | T-1st | 10 | 2 | 0 | Won Conference Playoffs (Giants) 8–3 Won NFL Championship (5) (Rams) 30–28 | |||
| 1951 | 1951 | NFL | American | 1st | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Rams) 17–24 | Paul Brown (COY) Otto Graham (MVP) | ||
| 1952 | 1952 | NFL | American | 1st | 8 | 4 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (Lions) 7–17 | |||
| 1953 | 1953 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 11 | 1 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Lions) 16–17 | Paul Brown (COY) Otto Graham (MVP) | ||
| 1954 | 1954 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 9 | 3 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (6) (Lions) 56–10 | |||
| 1955 | 1955 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 9 | 2 | 1 | Won NFL Championship (7) (at Rams) 38–14 | Otto Graham (MVP) | ||
| 1956 | 1956 | NFL | Eastern | T-4th | 5 | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 1957 | 1957 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 9 | 2 | 1 | Lost NFL Championship (at Lions) 14–59 | Paul Brown (COY) Jim Brown (MVP, ROY) | ||
| 1958 | 1958 | NFL | Eastern | T-1st | 9 | 3 | 0 | Lost Conference Playoff (at Giants) 0–10 | Jim Brown (MVP) | ||
| 1959 | 1959 | NFL | Eastern | T-2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 1960 | 1960 | NFL | Eastern | 2nd | 8 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 1961 | 1961 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 8 | 5 | 1 | ||||
| 1962 | 1962 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||||
| 1963 | 1963 | NFL | Eastern | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Jim Brown (BBA, MVP) | Blanton Collier | ||
| 1964 | 1964 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 10 | 3 | 1 | Won NFL Championship (8) (Colts) 27–0 | |||
| 1965 | 1965 | NFL | Eastern | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Packers) 12–23 | Jim Brown (MVP, MVP) | ||
| 1966 | 1966 | NFL | Eastern | T-2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 1967 | 1967 | NFL | Eastern | Century | 1st | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost Conference Playoffs (at Cowboys) 14–52 | ||
| 1968 | 1968 | NFL | Eastern | Century | 1st | 10 | 4 | 0 | Won Conference Playoffs (Cowboys) 31–20 Lost NFL Championship (Colts) 0–34 | Leroy Kelly (BBA) | |
| 1969 | 1969 | NFL | Eastern | Century | 1st | 10 | 3 | 1 | Won Conference Playoffs (at Cowboys) 38–14 Lost NFL Championship (at Vikings) 7–27 | ||
| 1970 | 1970 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 7 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1971 | 1971 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 9 | 5 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 3–20 | Nick Skorich | |
| 1972 | 1972 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 14–20 | ||
| 1973 | 1973 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 2 | |||
| 1974 | 1974 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 1975 | 1975 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 11 | 0 | Forrest Gregg | ||
| 1976 | 1976 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 9 | 5 | 0 | Forrest Gregg (COY) | ||
| 1977 | 1977 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 6 | 8 | 0 | Forrest Gregg (6–7) Dick Modzelewski (0–1) | ||
| 1978 | 1978 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano | ||
| 1979 | 1979 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano (COY) | ||
| 1980 | 1980 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 12–14 | Sam Rutigliano (COY) Brian Sipe (MVP, MVP, POY) | |
| 1981 | 1981 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1982 | 1982 | NFL | AFC | 8th | 4 | 5 | 0 | Lost First Round Playoffs (at Raiders) 10–27 | Chip Banks (DROY) | ||
| 1983 | 1983 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | |||
| 1984 | 1984 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | Sam Rutigliano (1–7) Marty Schottenheimer (4–4) | ||
| 1985 | 1985 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 8 | 8 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 21–24 | Kevin Mack (ROY) | Marty Schottenheimer |
| 1986 | 1986 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Jets) 23–20 (2 OT) Lost AFC Championship (Broncos) 20–23 (OT) | Marty Schottenheimer (COY) | |
| 1987 | 1987 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 10 | 5 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Colts) 38–21 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 33–38 | ||
| 1988 | 1988 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 23–24 | ||
| 1989 | 1989 | NFL | AFC | Central | 1st | 9 | 6 | 1 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 34–30 Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 21–37 | Michael Dean Perry (DPOY) | Bud Carson |
| 1990 | 1990 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | Bud Carson (2–7) Jim Shofner (1–6) | ||
| 1991 | 1991 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | Bill Belichick | ||
| 1992 | 1992 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1993 | 1993 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 1994 | 1994 | NFL | AFC | Central | 2nd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Patriots) 20–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 9–29 | ||
| 1995 | 1995 | NFL | AFC | Central | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 1996 | Inactive from 1996 to 1998 | ||||||||||
| 1997 | |||||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||||
| 1999 | 1999 | NFL | AFC | Central | 6th | 2 | 14 | 0 | Chris Palmer | ||
| 2000 | 2000 | NFL | AFC | Central | 6th | 3 | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2001 | 2001 | NFL | AFC | Central | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | Butch Davis | ||
| 2002 | 2002 | NFL | AFC | North | 2nd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36 | ||
| 2003 | 2003 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2004 | 2004 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Butch Davis (3–8) Terry Robiskie (1–4) | ||
| 2005 | 2005 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | Romeo Crennel | ||
| 2006 | 2006 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2007 | 2007 | NFL | AFC | North | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2008 | 2008 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2009 | 2009 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | Eric Mangini | ||
| 2010 | 2010 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2011 | 2011 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Pat Shurmur | ||
| 2012 | 2012 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2013 | 2013 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Rob Chudzinski | ||
| 2014 | 2014 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 7 | 9 | 0 | Mike Pettine | ||
| 2015 | 2015 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 2016 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 1 | 15 | 0 | Hue Jackson | ||
| 2017 | 2017 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 2018 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 7 | 8 | 1 | Hue Jackson (2–5–1) Gregg Williams (5–3) | ||
| 2019 | 2019 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | Freddie Kitchens | ||
| 2020 | 2020 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 11 | 5 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 48–37 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 17–22 | Kevin Stefanski (COY) | Kevin Stefanski |
| 2021 | 2021 | NFL | AFC | North | 3rd | 8 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 2022 | NFL | AFC | North | 4th | 7 | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | 2023 | NFL | AFC | North | 2nd | 11 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Texans) 14–45 | Kevin Stefanski (COY) Jim Schwartz (ACOY) Myles Garrett (DPOY) Joe Flacco (CPOY) | |
| Totals 4 AAFC championships 4 NFL championships 12 conference titles 9 NFL division titles | |||||||||||
| 47 | 4 | 3 | All-America Football Conference regular season results | ||||||||
| 5 | 0 | — | AAFC postseason results | ||||||||
| 512 | 530 | 11 | National Football League regular season results | ||||||||
| 12 | 22 | — | NFL postseason results | ||||||||
| 576 | 556 | 14 | AAFC and NFL regular and postseason results | ||||||||
Footnotes
References
- "Year By Year Season Results". Cleveland Browns official Web site. Archived from the original on 2006-12-02. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- "Cleveland Browns (1950 – )". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- "Cleveland Browns History". JT-SW.com. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- "NFL History – Past Standings". National Football League official Web site. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- "Franchise History – Cleveland Browns". Pro Football Hall of Fame official Web site. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- "Cleveland Browns (1946–1995; 1999–Present)". Sports E-Cyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- "Cleveland Browns Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference.com. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- "History of the Cleveland Browns". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. Retrieved 23 April 2012.