# 1984 Cleveland Browns season

The 1984 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th season with the National Football League. At the season's mid-way point, head coach Sam Rutigliano was fired after starting 1–7. He was replaced by defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer, who went 4–4 to finish the season. Schottenheimer would coach the Browns until 1988, guiding the Browns to a .620 winning percentage in his tenure with the team.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 3 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 0–33 | 0–1 | Kingdome | 59,540 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 17–20 | 0–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 43,043 |
| 3 | September 16 | Denver Broncos | L 14–24 | 0–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 61,980 |
| 4 | September 23 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–10 | 1–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 77,312 |
| 5 | September 30 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 6–10 | 1–4 | Arrowhead Stadium | 40,785 |
| 6 | October 7 | New England Patriots | L 16–17 | 1–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 53,036 |
| 7 | October 14 | New York Jets | L 20–24 | 1–6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 55,673 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 9–12 | 1–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 50,667 |
| 9 | October 28 | New Orleans Saints | L 14–16 | 1–8 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 52,489 |
| 10 | November 4 | at Buffalo Bills | W 13–10 | 2–8 | Rich Stadium | 33,343 |
| 11 | November 11 | San Francisco 49ers | L 7–41 | 2–9 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 60,092 |
| 12 | November 18 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 23–7 | 3–9 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 28,280 |
| 13 | November 25 | Houston Oilers | W 27–10 | 4–9 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 46,077 |
| 14 | December 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–20 | 4–10 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 51,774 |
| 15 | December 9 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–23 | 4–11 | Three Rivers Stadium | 55,825 |
| 16 | December 16 | at Houston Oilers | W 27–20 | 5–11 | Houston Astrodome | 33,676 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 387 | 310 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 6–6 | 339 | 339 | W4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 250 | 297 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 240 | 437 | L2 |

## Game summaries
### Week 11 (Sunday, November 11, 1984): vs. San Francisco 49ers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers (10–1) | 6 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 41 |
| Browns (2–9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio
* Date: November 11, 1984
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C); wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
* Game attendance: 60,092
* Referee: Fred Silva
* TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier (play-by-play) and Wayne Walker (color commentator)
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 24/30, 263 YDS, 2 TDs, 1 INT |
| SF | Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 17 CAR, 87 YDS |
| SF | Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 5 REC, 105 YDS, 2 TDs |
| CLE | Passing | Paul McDonald | 13/33, 220 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| CLE | Rushing | Boyce Green | 13 CAR, 38 YDS |
| CLE | Receiving | Bruce Davis | 4 REC, 64 YDS, 1 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SF | CLE |
| 1 | 13:26 | | | | 49ers | 47-yard field goal by Wersching | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 7:16 | | | | 49ers | 26-yard field goal by Wersching | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | 10:56 | | | | 49ers | Craig 20-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good | 13 | 0 |
| 3 | 4:34 | | | | 49ers | Craig 2-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good | 20 | 0 |
| 3 | 0:00 | | | | 49ers | Solomon 60-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good | 27 | 0 |
| 4 | 10:33 | | | | 49ers | Solomon 2-yard touchdown reception from Montana, Wersching kick good | 34 | 0 |
| 4 | 6:56 | | | | 49ers | Ring 5-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good | 41 | 0 |
| 4 | 3:38 | | | | Browns | Davis 18-yard touchdown reception from McDonald, Bahr kick good | 41 | 7 |
| "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. | 41 | 7 |
* Point spread: 49ers by 6
* Over/Under: 35.0 (over)
* Time of Game:
| 49ers | Game Statistics | Browns |
| 23 | First downs | 10 |
| 39–213 | Rushes–yards | 20–43 |
| 263 | Passing yards | 220 |
| 24–30–1 | Passes | 13–33–1 |
| 1–8 | Sacked–yards | 2–12 |
| 255 | Net passing yards | 208 |
| 468 | Total yards | 251 |
| 90 | Return yards | 125 |
| 2–38.5 | Punts | 6–37.0 |
| 1–1 | Fumbles–lost | 5–3 |
| 7–45 | Penalties–yards | 5–32 |
| 35:27 | Time of Possession | 24:33 |

### Week 12: at Atlanta

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 10 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| Falcons | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta
* Date: November 18
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), relative humidity 50%, round (wind) 12 mph (19 km/h)
* Game attendance: 28,280
* Referee: Pat Haggerty
* TV announcers (NBC): Gary Gerould (play–by–play) and Reggie Rucker (color commentator)
Game information :
First quarter
ATL (4:13) – Bailey 20 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) Falcons 7, Browns 0
CLE (11:35) – Davis 33 yard pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) Browns 7, Falcons 7
CLE (14:26) – Bahr 27 yard field goal Browns 10, Falcons 7
Second quarter
CLE (6:51) – Bahr 46 yard field goal Browns 13, Falcons 7
Third quarter
No scoring plays
Fourth quarter
CLE (1:49) – Newsome 16 yard pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) Browns 20, Falcons 7
CLE (9:26) – Bahr 20 yard field goal Browns 23, Falcons 7
Top passers
CLE – Paul McDonald 13/23, 205 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
ATL – Steve Bartkowski 19/28, 191 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Top rushers
CLE – Boyce Green 30 carr, 121 yds
ATL – Gerald Riggs 21 carr, 71 yds
Top receivers
CLE – Ozzie Newsome 5 rec, 97 yds, 1 TD
ATL – Gerald Riggs 6 rec, 41 yds
Turnovers
CLE – 2
ATL – 4 :

### Week 13 at Houston

Paul McDonald threw three touchdown passes, two to Brian Brennan and the Browns defense stifled the Houston offense. The Browns are 3-2 under Marty Schotteheimer and the 27 points were the most their offense has scored this season. "The Browns is a very active team, using all their assets", said Oilers' coach Hugh Campbell.