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1976 Cleveland Browns season

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1976 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachForrest Gregg
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record9–5
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

The 1976 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 31st as a professional sports franchise and their 27th season as a member of the National Football League. The Browns were coached by second-year coach Forrest Gregg, and ended their season with a record of 9–5, being third in their division. The team's top draft choice was running back Mike Pruitt. Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Mike Phipps injury in the season-opening win against the New 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 quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry 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 the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular-season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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The following were selected in the 1976 NFL Draft.

1976 Cleveland Browns 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

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Staff / Coaches

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1976 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Roster

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1976 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

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Exhibition schedule

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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 at Philadelphia 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 at Buffalo Bills L 10–28 4–2 Rich Stadium
37,951
 Recap

Regular season schedule

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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 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–31 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium 49,169 Recap
3 September 26 at Denver 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 at Atlanta 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 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–21 4–4 Riverfront Stadium 54,776 Recap
9 November 7 at Houston 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 at Tampa 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 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–39 9–5 Arrowhead Stadium 34,340 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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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

Game summaries

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Week 5 vs Steelers

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Week Five: Pittsburgh Steelers (1–3) at Cleveland Browns (1–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 3 0616
Browns 3 3 9318

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Turkey Jones knocked out Terry Bradshaw in this contest.

Week 6: at Atlanta

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Week 6: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 14 0 6020
Falcons 0 14 3017

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta

  • Date: October 17
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C), relative humidity 78%, round (wind) 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 33,364
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph (play–by–play) and Floyd Little (color commentator)
  • [1]
Game information

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "1976 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  2. ^ "1976 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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