1977 Cleveland Browns season

The 1977 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 28th season with the National Football League. After a 6–4 start, the Browns lost their final four games of the season, to finish with a disappointing 6–8 record. With one game left in the season, head coach Forrest Gregg was fired and replaced by Dick Modzelewski.

1977 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Forrest Gregg Dick Modzelewski (interim)
Home stadium	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	4th AFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Greg Pruitt
← 1976 Browns seasons 1978 →

Offseason

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1977 NFL draft.

1977 Cleveland Browns draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Robert L. Jackson	Linebacker	Texas A&M
2	46	Tom Skladany	Punter	Ohio State
4	102	Oliver Davis	Defensive back	Tennessee State
4	110	Mickey Sims	Defensive tackle	South Carolina State
7	173	Kenny Randle	Wide receiver	SMU
7	184	Blane Smith	Linebacker	Purdue
7	188	Bob Lingenfelter	Offensive tackle	Nebraska
8	213	Bill Armstrong	Defensive back	Wake Forest
9	240	Daryl Brown	Defensive back	Tufts
10	269	Tom Burkett	Offensive tackle	North Carolina
11	296	Charles Nash	Wide receiver	Arizona
12	325	Leo Tierney	Center	Georgia Tech

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Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1977 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office Owner and president – Art Modell Executive vice president/general manager – Peter Hadhazy Head coaches Head coaches – Forrest Gregg, Dick Modzelewski (interim) Offensive coaches Running backs – George Sefcik Wide receivers – Raymond Berry Offensive line – Rod Humenuik

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator — Dick Modzelewski Linebackers – Walt Corey Secondary / defensive backs – Billy Kinard Special teams coaches Special teams – Al Tabor Film Coordinator – Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer – Leo Murphy

Roster

1977 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks  7 Terry Luck  8 Gary Marangi 10 Dave Mays Running backs 30 Cleo Miller 34 Greg Pruitt 35 Brian Duncan 38 Larry Poole 43 Mike Pruitt Wide receivers 33 Reggie Rucker 42 Paul Warfield 80 Lawrence Williams 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan Tight ends 81 Oscar Roan 84 Gary Parris		Offensive linemen 54 Tom DeLeone C 62 Al Dennis G 63 Barry Darrow T 65 Henry Sheppard G 68 Robert Jackson G 73 Doug Dieken T 75 Bob Lingenfelter T 79 Gerry Sullivan T/C Defensive linemen 64 Joe Jones DE 66 Earl Edwards DT 70 Mack Mitchell DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT 74 Mike St. Clair DE 78 Mickey Sims DT		Linebackers 50 John Garlington OLB 52 Dick Ambrose MLB 55 Dave Graf OLB 58 Mark Johnson OLB 59 Charlie Hall OLB 60 Bob Babich MLB 86 Gerald Irons OLB Defensive backs 20 Tony Peters SS 21 Oliver Davis CB 22 Clarence Scott CB 25 Rolly Woolsey CB 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 48 Ken Ellis CB Special teams  9 Greg Coleman P 12 Don Cockroft K		Reserve lists 69 Pete Adams G (IR) 56 Robert Jackson LB (IR) 47 Ricky Jones S (IR) 17 Brian Sipe QB (IR) 51 Leo Tierney C (IR) rookies in italics

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Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	August 8	Washington Redskins	L 14–16	0–1	32,554
2	August 13	at Minnesota Vikings	L 33–34	0–2	45,379
3	August 19	St. Louis Cardinals	W 19–10	1–2	31,308
4	August 25	Chicago Bears	W 14–7	2–2	36,598
5	September 3	at Green Bay Packers	W 19–14	3–2	53,180
6	September 9	at Detroit Lions	L 20–24	3–3	49,168

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 18	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 13–3	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	52,847	Recap
2	September 26	New England Patriots	W 30–27	2–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	76,418	Recap
3	October 2	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–28	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,588	Recap
4	October 9	Oakland Raiders	L 10–26	2–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,236	Recap
5	October 16	at Houston Oilers	W 24–23	3–2	Houston Astrodome	47,888	Recap
6	October 23	at Buffalo Bills	W 27–16	4–2	Rich Stadium	60,905	Recap
7	October 30	Kansas City Chiefs	W 44–7	5–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	60,381	Recap
8	November 6	Cincinnati Bengals	L 7–10	5–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	81,932	Recap
9	November 13	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 31–35	5–4	Three Rivers Stadium	47,055	Recap
10	November 20	at New York Giants	W 21–7	6–4	Giants Stadium	72,576	Recap
11	November 27	Los Angeles Rams	L 0–9	6–5	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,352	Recap
12	December 4	at San Diego Chargers	L 14–37	6–6	San Diego Stadium	37,312	Recap
13	December 11	Houston Oilers	L 15–19	6–7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	30,898	Recap
14	December 18	at Seattle Seahawks	L 19–20	6–8	Kingdome	61,583	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

The 1977 season started with a league rival and an impressive win.

Week 1: Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	3	10	0	0	13
Bengals	0	0	3	0	3

at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

• Date: September 18, 1977
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
• Game attendance: 52,847
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and John Brodie
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Browns Bengals

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP CLE CIN 1 Browns 41-yard field goal by Cockroft 3 0 2 Browns 25-yard field goal by Cockroft 6 0 2 Browns Poole 12-yard touchdown run, Cockroft kick good 13 0 3 Bengals 25-yard field goal by Bahr 13 3 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 3

Week 2

The Cleveland Browns had not hosted nor been in a Monday Night Football game since the 1973 season, when they lost at home against the Miami Dolphins. The Cleveland Stadium was sold out that beautiful night along the lakefront and the crowd looked forward to a great game. Indeed, the game went into overtime, and with a little more than 10 minutes left in over time, Don Cockroft kicked a 35-yard field goal to end the game with a win for the Browns. Howard Cosell said that it was one of the most exciting finishes to a Monday Night Football game that he ever witnessed.

Week 3 vs Steelers

See also: 1977 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Week Three: Pittsburgh Steelers (1–1) at Cleveland Browns (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	7	7	7	7	28
Browns	7	7	0	0	14

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Date: October 2
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 80,588
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Merlin Olsen
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter PIT – Lynn Swann 5-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 7–0. Drive: CLE – Dave Logan 22-yard pass from Brian Sipe (Don Cockroft kick). Tie 7–7. Drive: Second quarter CLE – Cleo Miller 1-yard run (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 14–7. Drive: PIT – Frank Lewis 65-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Tie 14–14. Drive: Third quarter PIT – Lynn Swann 14-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 21–14. Drive: Fourth quarter PIT – Terry Bradshaw 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 28–14. Drive: Top passers PIT – Terry Bradshaw — 10/17, 143 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT CLE – Brian Sipe — 9/20, 81 yards, TD, INT Top rushers PIT – Franco Harris — 22 rushes, 72 yards CLE – Cleo Miller — 11 rushes, 49 yards, TD Top receivers PIT – Lynn Swann — 7 receptions, 71 yards, 2 TD CLE – Oscar Roan — 3 receptions, 43 yards

Week 5

The Browns beat the Oilers 24–23 on another Cockroft last-second field goal. Toni Fritsch kicks a 37-yarder with 4:28 left to give Houston a 23–21 lead, but running back Greg Pruitt leads the Browns on their final scoring drive with three runs and a 13-yard third-down completion to Cleo Miller. Cockroft's six points lift him past Jim Brown to the no. 2 spot (behind Lou Groza) on the Browns' all-time scoring list.

Week 7

Scoring their most points in 9 years, the Browns broke a team record with 34 first downs while rolling up 526 yards (322 rushing) in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs 44-7. Greg Pruitt rushed for 153 yards. Brian Sipe threw for 200 yards and tight end Gary Parris caught two touchdown passes.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3)	9	5	0	.643	4–2	7–5	276	243	W1
Houston Oilers	8	6	0	.571	3–3	6–6	299	230	W2
Cincinnati Bengals	8	6	0	.571	3–3	6–5	238	235	L1
Cleveland Browns	6	8	0	.429	2–4	5–7	269	267	L4