# 1990 Cleveland Browns season

The 1990 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 41st season with the National Football League.
The season was the second for head coach Bud Carson, but the Browns started the season 2–7. They failed to approach their 9–6–1 record from 1989, finishing 3–13 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1984. Carson was fired one day after a Week Nine shutout loss to the eventual AFC Champion Buffalo Bills. He was replaced by former Browns quarterback Jim Shofner, who finished the season with only one additional win.
The 1990 Browns surrendered 462 points, the largest number scored against any NFL team during the 1990s. Their -234 point differential is the third-worst figure for any 1990s NFL season and even worse than the 1999 Browns expansion team.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1990 Cleveland Browns draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 45 | Leroy Hoard * | Running back | Michigan |
| 3 | 73 | Anthony Pleasant | Defensive end | Tennessee State |
| 4 | 101 | Harlon Barnett | Safety | Michigan State |
| 5 | 129 | Rob Burnett * | Defensive end | Syracuse |
| 6 | 157 | Randy Hilliard | Cornerback | Northwestern State |
| 7 | 178 | Scott Galbraith | Tight end | Southern California |
| 8 | 212 | Jock Jones | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
| 9 | 240 | Eugene Rowell | Wide receiver | Southern Miss |
| 10 | 268 | Michael Wallace | Defensive back | Jackson State |
| 11 | 296 | Clemente Gordon | Quarterback | Grambling State |
| 12 | 323 | Kerry Simien | Wide receiver | Texas A&M–Kingsville |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 9 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 13–3 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,298 |
| 2 | September 16 | at New York Jets | L 21–24 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | 67,354 |
| 3 | September 23 | San Diego Chargers | L 14–24 | 1–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 77,429 |
| 4 | September 30 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 0–34 | 1–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 75,462 |
| 5 | October 8 | at Denver Broncos | W 30–29 | 2–3 | Mile High Stadium | 74,814 |
| 6 | October 14 | at New Orleans Saints | L 20–25 | 2–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,608 |
| 7 | October 22 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–34 | 2–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,567 |
| 8 | October 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–20 | 2–6 | Candlestick Park | 63,672 |
| 9 | November 4 | Buffalo Bills | L 0–42 | 2–7 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,331 |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 18 | Houston Oilers | L 23–35 | 2–8 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,726 |
| 12 | November 25 | Miami Dolphins | L 13–30 | 2–9 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 70,225 |
| 13 | December 2 | Los Angeles Rams | L 23–38 | 2–10 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 61,981 |
| 14 | December 9 | at Houston Oilers | L 14–58 | 2–11 | Houston Astrodome | 54,469 |
| 15 | December 16 | Atlanta Falcons | W 13–10 | 3–11 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 46,536 |
| 16 | December 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–35 | 3–12 | Three Rivers Stadium | 51,665 |
| 17 | December 30 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–21 | 3–13 | Riverfront Stadium | 60,041 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Cincinnati Bengals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 360 | 352 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ Houston Oilers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 405 | 307 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 292 | 240 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 228 | 462 | L2 |

## Game summaries
### Week 15: vs. Atlanta

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Browns | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Date: December 16
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), relative humidity 79%, round (wind) 15 mph (24 km/h), wind chill 30 °F (−1 °C)
* Game attendance: 46,536
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play–by–play) and Dan Jiggetts (color commentator)
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring plays
Second quarter
ATL (6:50) – Davis 30 yard field goal Falcons 3, Browns 0
CLE (13:04) – Mack 5 yard rush (Kauric kick) Browns 7, Falcons 3
CLE (14:58) – Kauric 23 yard field goal Browns 10, Falcons 3
Third quarter
CLE (7:02) – Kauric 41 yard field goal Browns 13, Falcons 3
Fourth quarter
ATL (15:00) – Dixon 11 yard pass from Millen (Davis kick) Browns 13, Falcons 10
Top passers
ATL – Hugh Millen 11/27, 168 yds, 1 TD
CLE – Bernie Kosar 22/37, 217 yds, 1 INT
Top rushers
ATL – Mike Rozier 11 carr, 31 yds
CLE – Kevin Mack 13 carr, 80 yds, 1 TD
Top receivers
ATL – Andre Rison 6 rec, 100 yds
CLE – Reggie Langhorne 5 rec, 70 yds
Turnovers
ATL – 0
CLE – 2 :

### Week 17 at Bengals

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Bengals | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: December 30
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
* Game attendance: 60,041
* Referee: Gene Barth
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
CIN – James Francis 17-yard interception return (Jim Breech kick), 7:10. Bengals 7–0.
CIN – Rodney Holman 22-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick), 2:14. Bengals 14–0. Drive:
Third quarter
CLE – Kevin Mack 2-yard run (Jerry Kauric kick), 13:36. Bengals 14–7. Drive:
CLE – Brian Brennan 16-yard pass from Mike Pagel (Jerry Kauric kick), 10:28. Tie 14–14. Drive:
Fourth quarter
CIN – Eric Ball 48-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick), 8:40. Bengals 21–14. Drive:
Top passers
CLE – Mike Pagel – 14/32, 184 yards, TD, 3 INT
CIN – Boomer Esiason – 10/16, 154 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
CLE – Kevin Mack – 16 rushes, 85 yards, TD
CIN – James Brooks – 17 rushes, 84 yards
Top receivers
CLE – Webster Slaughter – 6 receptions, 115 yards
CIN – Eric Ball – 1 reception, 48 yards, TD :