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2002 Cleveland Browns season

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The 2002 season was the Cleveland Browns' 54th as a professional sports franchise, their 50th as a member of the National Football League, and the second season under head coach Butch Davis.

2002 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerAl Lerner (Until October 2, 2002)
Randy Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002)
Head coachButch Davis
Offensive coordinatorBruce Arians
Defensive coordinatorFoge Fazio
Home fieldCleveland Browns Stadium
Local radioWTAM · WMMS
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC North
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Steelers) 33–36
Pro Bowlersnone
Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons, 2002

In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration unaware the play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, per NFL rules, the Chiefs were given one untimed down. Chiefs' kicker Morten Andersen made the 30-yard field goal to win the game.

The Browns made their first playoff appearance since their re-activation. It was only the Browns' fourth year since returning to the league effectively as an expansion team, and their first winning season. The Browns faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round at Heinz Field. Despite a strong start with a 24–7 lead late in the third quarter, the Steelers would ultimately bounce back erasing a 17 point deficit, causing the Browns to lose 36–33. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020, when they would again face the Steelers in the wild card round. The Browns owner Al Lerner stepped down on October 2 and died on October 23, 2002, from brain cancer. His son, Randy Lerner took over the team until 2012. The Browns wore a patch with the initials "AL" for the remainder of the season and became a fixture on their uniforms to commemorate Lerner. After 2013 the initials were removed from the uniforms when Jimmy Haslam became owner of the franchise.

Offseason

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Additions Subtractions
T Ryan Tucker (Rams) LB Wali Rainer (Jaguars)
FS Robert Griffith (Vikings) T Roman Oben (Buccaneers)
LB Earl Holmes (Steelers) DE Greg Spires (Buccaneers)
DE Kenard Lang (Redskins) DE Keith McKenzie (Bears)

2002 NFL draft

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2002 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 16 William Green Running back Boston College
2 47 André Davis Wide receiver Virginia Tech
3 76 Melvin Fowler Center Maryland
4 101 Kevin Bentley Linebacker Northwestern
4 111 Ben Taylor Linebacker Virginia Tech
4 122 Darnell Sanders Tight end Ohio State
5 141 Andra Davis Linebacker Florida
7 227 Joaquin Gonzalez Offensive tackle Miami

Undrafted free agents

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2002 undrafted free agents of note
Player Position College
Frisman Jackson Wide receiver Western Illinois
Kalvin Pearson Safety Grambling State

Personnel

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2002 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

  • Owner and chairman – Randy Lerner
  • President and chief executive officer – Carmen Policy
  • Director of Football Development – Pete Garcia
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Jeremy Green
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Steve Sabo
  • Director of college personnel – Phil Neri

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head strength and conditioning – Tim Jorgensen
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Rob Phillips


Roster

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2002 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
52 active, 14 reserve, 5 practice squad

[1]

Regular season

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Schedule

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Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC South and NFC South according to the NFL's new conference rotation, and played the Chiefs and Jets based on 2001 standings with respect to the newly aligned divisions.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 39–40 0–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,938
2 September 15 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–7 1–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,358
3 September 22 at Tennessee Titans W 31–28 (OT) 2–1 Adelphia Coliseum 68,804
4 September 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 (OT) 2–2 Heinz Field 62,864
5 October 6 Baltimore Ravens L 21–26 2–3 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,688
6 October 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–17 2–4 Raymond James Stadium 65,625
7 October 20 Houston Texans W 34–17 3–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,248
8 October 27 at New York Jets W 24–21 4–4 Giants Stadium 78,502
9 November 3 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–23 4–5 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,718
10 Bye
11 November 17 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–20 5–5 Paul Brown Stadium 64,060
12 November 24 at New Orleans Saints W 24–15 6–5 Louisiana Superdome 68,295
13 December 1 Carolina Panthers L 6–13 6–6 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,718
14 December 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–20 7–6 Alltel Stadium 46,267
15 December 15 Indianapolis Colts L 23–28 7–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,098
16 December 22 at Baltimore Ravens W 14–13 8–7 M&T Bank Stadium 68,348
17 December 29 Atlanta Falcons W 24–16 9–7 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,528

Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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Week 1: Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 7 32340
Browns 6 14 71239

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 8: at New York Jets

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Week 8: Cleveland Browns at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 3 3 15324
Jets 14 7 0021

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

Standings

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Division

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AFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Pittsburgh Steelers 10 5 1 .656 6–0 8–4 390 345 W3
(6) Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 344 320 W2
Baltimore Ravens 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 316 354 L2
Cincinnati Bengals 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 279 456 L1

Conference

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AFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV
Division leaders
1[a] Oakland Raiders West 11 5 0 .688 4–2 9–3 .529 .531
2[a] Tennessee Titans South 11 5 0 .688 6–0 9–3 .479 .474
3 Pittsburgh Steelers North 10 5 1 .656 6–0 8–4 .486 .451
4[b] New York Jets East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 6–6 .500 .500
Wild Cards
5 Indianapolis Colts South 10 6 0 .625 4–2 8–4 .479 .400
6[c] Cleveland Browns North 9 7 0 .563 3–3 7–5 .486 .413
Did not qualify for the postseason
7[c][d] Denver Broncos West 9 7 0 .563 3–3 5–7 .527 .486
8[b][c][d][e] New England Patriots East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 6–6 .525 .455
9[b][e] Miami Dolphins East 9 7 0 .563 2–4 7–5 .508 .486
10[f] Buffalo Bills East 8 8 0 .500 2–4 5–7 .473 .352
11[f][g] San Diego Chargers West 8 8 0 .500 3–3 6–6 .492 .453
12[g] Kansas City Chiefs West 8 8 0 .500 2–4 6–6 .527 .516
13 Baltimore Ravens North 7 9 0 .438 3–3 7–5 .506 .384
14 Jacksonville Jaguars South 6 10 0 .375 1–5 4–8 .506 .438
15 Houston Texans South 4 12 0 .250 1–5 2–10 .518 .492
16 Cincinnati Bengals North 2 14 0 .125 0–6 1–11 .537 .406
Tiebreakers[h]
  1. ^ a b Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory.
  2. ^ a b c N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games (8–4 to 7–5) and Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  3. ^ a b c Cleveland finished ahead of Denver and New England based on conference record (7–5 vs 5–7/6–6)
  4. ^ a b Denver finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory.
  5. ^ a b New England finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  6. ^ a b Buffalo finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory.
  7. ^ a b San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City based on division record (3–3 to 2–4).
  8. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Postseason

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See also: 2002–03 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
AFC Wild Card January 5, 2003 at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) L 33–36 0–1 Heinz Field 62,595 Recap

Game summaries

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AFC Wild Card: (#6) Cleveland Browns at (#3) Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Browns 7 10 7933
Steelers 0 7 72236

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh

Game information

References

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  1. ^ Cleveland Browns 2002 Roster accessed November 28, 2018.
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