# 1993 Cleveland Browns season

The 1993 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 44th season with the National Football League. This season was notable for coach Bill Belichick deciding to bench, and then ultimately release, longtime starting quarterback Bernie Kosar in favor of Vinny Testaverde. Kosar resurfaced during the season with the Dallas Cowboys, when he was part of the eventual Super Bowl champions as a fill-in for injured quarterback Troy Aikman.
The Browns got off to a 5–2 start despite the quarterback controversy. Prior to the start of the season the Browns signed free agent quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Originally Testaverde was supposed to back-up his former University of Miami teammate Kosar. However, when Testaverde performed better when given the opportunity to play some felt there should be a change at the quarterback position.
However, the Browns went beyond that by unceremoniously releasing Kosar in the middle of the season. The Browns lost their next four games and seven of their last nine to finish with a 7–9 record.

## NFL Draft

* Traded 1x11 to Denver Broncos for 1x14 and 3x83
* 1x14: C Steve Everitt
* 2x42: DE Dan Footman
* Traded 3rd Rounder to Detroit Lions for DT Jerry Ball
* 3x83: LB Mike Caldwell
* Traded 4th Rounder to Chicago Bears for C Jay Hilgenberg
* 5x124: OT Herman Arvie
* 6x153: LB Rich McKenzie
* 7x180: LB Travis Hill
* Traded 8th Rounder to Los Angeles Rams for LB Frank Stams

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–14 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 75,508 |
| 2 | September 13 | San Francisco 49ers | W 23–13 | 2–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,218 |
| 3 | September 19 | at Los Angeles Raiders | W 19–16 | 3–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 48,617 |
| 4 | September 26 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 10–23 | 3–1 | Hoosier Dome | 59,654 |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | October 10 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–24 | 3–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,138 |
| 7 | October 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 28–17 | 4–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,647 |
| 8 | October 24 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–23 | 5–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,118 |
| 9 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 10 | November 7 | Denver Broncos | L 14–29 | 5–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 77,818 |
| 11 | November 14 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 5–22 | 5–4 | Kingdome | 54,622 |
| 12 | November 21 | Houston Oilers | L 20–27 | 5–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 71,668 |
| 13 | November 28 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 14–17 | 5–6 | Georgia Dome | 54,510 |
| 14 | December 5 | New Orleans Saints | W 17–13 | 6–6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 60,388 |
| 15 | December 12 | at Houston Oilers | L 17–19 | 6–7 | Houston Astrodome | 58,720 |
| 16 | December 19 | New England Patriots | L 17–20 | 6–8 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 48,618 |
| 17 | December 26 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 42–14 | 7–8 | Anaheim Stadium | 34,155 |
| 18 | January 2, 1994 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 9–16 | 7–9 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,208 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Season summary
### Week 3 at Raiders

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 |
| Raiders | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
* Date: September 19, 1993
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 48,617
* TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Paul Maguire
* Box Score, Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Browns | Passing | Vinny Testaverde | 10/22, 159 Yds, TD, INT |
| Browns | Rushing | Tommy Vardell | 14 Rush, 104 Yds |
| Browns | Receiving | Mark Carrier | 5 Rec, 73 Yds |
| Raiders | Passing | Jeff Hostetler | 11/25, 94 Yds, TD |
| Raiders | Rushing | Greg Robinson | 18 Rush, 59 Yds |
| Raiders | Receiving | Steve Smith | 4 Rec, 42 Yds |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CLE | LA |
| 1 | 9:22 | | | | Raiders | Andrew Glover 2-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Hostetler, Jeff Jaeger kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 1:07 | | | | Raiders | 24-yard field goal by Jeff Jaeger | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 12:12 | | | | Raiders | 27-yard field goal by Jeff Jaeger | 0 | 13 |
| 4 | 8:23 | | | | Browns | 32-yard field goal by Matt Stover | 3 | 13 |
| 4 | 4:58 | | | | Raiders | 53-yard field goal by Jeff Jaeger | 3 | 16 |
| 4 | 2:26 | | | | Browns | Lawyer Tillman 12-yard touchdown reception from Vinny Testaverde, Matt Stover kick good | 10 | 16 |
| 4 | 1:41 | | | | Raiders | Safety, Jeff Gossett ran out of end zone | 12 | 16 |
| 4 | 0:02 | | | | Browns | Eric Metcalf 1-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good | 19 | 16 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 19 | 16 |

### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 23 |
| • Browns | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Week 13: at Atlanta

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Falcons | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Georgia Dome, Atlanta
* Date: November 28
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: indoors
* Game attendance: 54,510
* TV announcers (NBC): Drew Goodman (play–by–play) and Beasley Reece (color commentator)
Game information :
First quarter
ATL (3:25) – Johnson 51 yard field goal Falcons 3, Browns 0
ATL (14:23) – Rison 14 yard pass from Hebert (Johnson kick) Falcons 10, Browns 0
Second quarter
ATL (10:14) – Pritchard 8 yard pass from Hebert (Johnson kick) Falcons 17, Browns 0
Third quarter
CLE (15:00) – Philcox (Stover kick) Falcons 17, Browns 7
Fourth quarter
CLE (11:29) – Philcox 3 yard rush (Stover kick) Falcons 17, Browns 14
Top passers
CLE – Todd Philcox 14/26, 207 yds, 1 TD
ATL – Bobby Hebert 21/29, 214 yds, 2 TD
Top rushers
CLE – Eric Metcalf 13 carr, 61 yds
ATL – Erric Pegram 22 carr, 58 yds
Top receivers
CLE – Eric Metcalf 5 rec, 43 yds
ATL – Andre Rison 5 rec, 78 yds, 1 TD
Turnovers
CLE – 1
ATL – 1 :

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Houston Oilers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 368 | 238 | W11 |
| $^{(6)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 308 | 281 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 304 | 307 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 187 | 319 | L1 |