# 1989 Cleveland Browns season

The 1989 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 40th season with the National Football League.
It was the Browns' first season with head coach Bud Carson, who had been the defensive coordinator of the New York Jets the previous season. The Browns finished with a 9–6–1 record, good enough for a AFC Central Division title. After a 34–30 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns reached their third AFC Championship game in four seasons, and for the third time lost to the Denver Broncos. After two close contests, this time Denver won by a comfortable margin of 37–21.
It would be the Browns' fifth consecutive season making the playoffs, but it would prove their last until 1994. The team has not won a division title since this season, the longest active drought in the NFL. As of 2024, this is their most recent appearance in the AFC Championship game.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1989 Cleveland Browns draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 13 | Eric Metcalf * | Running back | Texas | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 10 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 51–0 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | 57,928 |
| 2 | September 17 | New York Jets | W 38–24 | 2–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 73,516 |
| 3 | September 25 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–21 | 2–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,996 |
| 4 | October 1 | Denver Broncos | W 16–13 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,637 |
| 5 | October 8 | at Miami Dolphins | L 10–13 OT | 3–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 58,444 |
| 6 | October 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–17 | 3–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,840 |
| 7 | October 23 | Chicago Bears | W 27–7 | 4–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,722 |
| 8 | October 29 | Houston Oilers | W 28–17 | 5–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,765 |
| 9 | November 5 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 42–31 | 6–3 | Tampa Stadium | 69,162 |
| 10 | November 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 17–7 | 7–3 | Kingdome | 58,978 |
| 11 | November 19 | Kansas City Chiefs | T 10–10 OT | 7–3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 77,922 |
| 12 | November 23 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–13 | 7–4–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 65,624 |
| 13 | December 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 0–21 | 7–5–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,236 |
| 14 | December 10 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 17–23 OT | 7–6–1 | Hoosier Dome | 58,550 |
| 15 | December 17 | Minnesota Vikings | W 23–17 OT | 8–6–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 70,777 |
| 16 | December 23 | at Houston Oilers | W 24–20 | 9–6–1 | Houston Astrodome | 58,852 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Game summaries
### Week 1

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 17 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 51 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: September 10
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Rain • 73 °F or 22.8 °C • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
* Game attendance: 57,928
* Referee: Johnny Grier
* TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Joe Namath
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information :
Browns
Bernie Kosar 16/25, 207 Yds
Mike Oliphant 6 Rush, 48 Yds, TD
Webster Slaughter 4 Rec, 75 Yds
Steelers
Bubby Brister 10/22, 84 Yds, 3 INT
Tim Worley 10 Rush, 36 Yds
Derek Hill 2 Rec, 28 Yds :
Bud Carson begins his Browns head coaching career with a memorable 51–0 victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. It is the most lopsided victory in the 79-game series between the teams and the Browns' biggest shutout ever. Carson, Pittsburgh's former defensive coordinator, watches his team force eight turnovers, record seven sacks and score three touchdowns (two by linebacker David Grayson).
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CLE | PIT |
| 1 | 5:42 | | | | Browns | Fumble recovery returned 3 yards for touchdown by Matthews, Bahr kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 2:53 | | | | Browns | 27-yard field goal by Bahr | 10 | 0 |
| 1 | 2:31 | | | | Browns | Fumble recovery returned 28 yards for touchdown by Grayson, Bahr kick good | 17 | 0 |
| 2 | 8:54 | | | | Browns | 20-yard field goal by Bahr | 20 | 0 |
| 2 | 3:28 | | | | Browns | Manoa 3-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good | 27 | 0 |
| 2 | 0:39 | | | | Browns | 27-yard field goal by Bahr | 30 | 0 |
| 3 | 12:26 | | | | Browns | Manoa 2-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good | 37 | 0 |
| 3 | 11:14 | | | | Browns | Interception returned 14 yards for touchdown by Grayson, Bahr kick good | 44 | 0 |
| 4 | 11:34 | | | | Browns | Oliphant 21-yard touchdown run, Bahr kick good | | |
| "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. | 51 | 0 |

### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| • Browns | 0 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 38 |

### Week 4

The Browns snap a 10-game losing streak against Denver with a controversial 16–13 win at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was decided by a Matt Bahr 48-yard field goal as time expired – a kick that barely made the crossbar. Bahr's field goal comes after referee Tom Dooley ordered the teams to switch ends of the field, thanks to rowdy Dawg Pound fans who pelt the Broncos with dog biscuits, eggs and other debris. The switch gave the Browns a timely wind advantage.

### Week 7

Wide receiver Webster Slaughter catches eight passes for 186 yards in leading the Browns to a 27–7 win over the Chicago Bears on ABC's Monday Night Football at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. One of the catches is a 96-yard touchdown pass from Kosar – the longest play from scrimmage in Browns history.

### Week 8

For the first time in more than a decade Ozzie Newsome did not catch a pass, but the Browns still beat Houston, 28–17. The Browns explode for 326 second-half yards as Kosar throws touchdown passes of 80 and 77 yards to Slaughter. Newsome's club record streak of 150 consecutive games with a reception ends.

### Week 11

Former coach Marty Schottenheimer, returning to Cleveland with his Chiefs, has to settle for a 10–10 tie as Kansas City kicker Nick Lowery misses three makeable field goal attempts: 45- and 39- yard attempts In the final 10 seconds of regulation and a 47-yard attempt with seven seconds left in overtime. The Browns fumble four times, throw one interception and punt a club-record-tying 12 times. This was the first Browns' tie since the introduction of overtime in regular season games in 1974. The Browns would not record another tie until week 1 of the 2018 season.

### Week 16

With the AFC Central title and a wild-card berth at stake, the Browns blow a 17-point lead before bouncing back to defeat the Oilers, 24–20 at the Astrodome. The Browns march 58 yards with no timeouts and Kevin Mack scores on a 4-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left to save the day.
As of February 2024, the 1989 season marks the last time that the Browns have won a division title. The 35 season drought without a division title is the longest active drought in the NFL.

## Postseason

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| Divisional | January 6, 1990 | Buffalo Bills (3) | W 34–30 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 77,706 | Recap |
| AFC Championship | January 14, 1990 | at Denver Broncos (1) | L 21–37 | Mile High Stadium | 76,005 | Recap |

### AFC divisional playoff

Buffalo Bills (9–7) at Cleveland Browns (9–6–1)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
| Browns | 3 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Game time: Saturday, January 6, 1990. 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 77,706
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen
In a shootout, 33-year-old Browns linebacker Clay Matthews intercepted Bills quarterback Jim Kelly at the Cleveland 1-yard line with three seconds left to preserve a 34–30 victory. Kelly threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns while Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Browns receiver Webster Slaughter had the best postseason performance of his career with three receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
The game was played on a cold icy field that would have a big impact on the game. The Browns took their first drive into Bills territory but came up empty when Matt Bahr slipped while planting his foot on a 45-yard field goal attempt. On Buffalo's second play after the missed kick, Kelly threw a short pass to Andre Reed. Felix Wright slipped while going into coverage, leaving Reed wide open and he ended up taking the ball 72 yards to the end zone. But Cleveland struck back with an 18-yard completion from Kosar to Slaughter on the first play after the kickoff, which led to a 45-yard field goal by Bahr. Then after a punt, the Browns drove 79 yards and scored on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Kosar to Slaughter in the second quarter. Buffalo receiver Don Beebe returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to the 34-yard line. On the next play, Kelly completed a 21-yard pass to James Lofton. The Bills were on the move and did not stop until Kelly finished the drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Lofton that put the Bills back in the lead, 14–10. With less than 5 minutes left in the second quarter, the Browns took advantage of a short 34-yard punt by John Kidd that gave them the ball on their o9-yard line. Fullback Kevin Mack carried the ball 4 times for 31 yards as the team drove to retake the lead with Ron Middleton's 3-yard touchdown catch shortly before the end of the first half.[5] Buffalo responded with a drive to the Browns 40-yard line. But on a 4th and 1 conversion attempt, Cleveland defensive end Carl Hairston sacked Kelly to force a turnover on downs.
On the second drive of the second half, the first turnover of the game occurred when Mark Harper intercepted a pass from Kelly on the Cleveland 46. Kosar then hooked up with Slaughter for another touchdown pass, this one 44 yards, to increase their lead to 24–14. The Bills gave the ball up again on their next drive when Larry Kinnebrew lost a fumble that was recovered on the Browns 25-yard line by defensive back Felix Wright. But on the next play, they took it back as Fred Smerlas forced a fumble from Mack that was recovered by Bills safety Mark Kelso on the 26. A few plays later on 3rd and 8, Kelly completed a 15-yard pass to running back Thurman Thomas on the Browns 4-yard line, setting up his 6-yard touchdown pass to Thomas to make the score 24–21. But Browns running back Eric Metcalf returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 31–21 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Buffalo responded by driving 67 yards, including a 27-yard completion from Kelly to Thomas, to score on Scott Norwood's 30-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 31–24. Cleveland struck back with a 51-yard drive to score a field goal of their own, a 46-yard kick by Bahr, retaking their two-score lead at 34–24 with 6:57 left in the game. Buffalo then drove 77 yards entirely on receptions by Thomas and fellow running back Ronnie Harmon, who hauled in a 22-yard catch on the Browns 3-yard line. On the next play, Kelly's 3-yard touchdown pass to Thomas cut their deficit to 34–30 with 3:56 left in regulation. But Scott Norwood slipped on an icy patch of the field while attempting the extra point, forcing the Bills to attempt to score a touchdown instead of a field goal on their final drive. After Buffalo's defense forced the Browns to go three-and-out, Kelly led the Bills to Cleveland's 11-yard line, converting two fourth downs on the way there. But Harmon dropped a potential game-winning catch in the end zone [6] and Kelly was intercepted by Matthews on the next play.
Metcalf finished with 169 all-purpose yards. Thomas set a playoff record with 13 receptions for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also rushing for 27 yards.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Bills and Browns.[3]

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns$^{(2)}$ | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 3–3 | 6–5–1 | 334 | 254 | W2 |
| Houston Oilers$^{(4)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 365 | 412 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(5)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 1–5 | 6–6 | 265 | 326 | W3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 6–6 | 404 | 285 | L1 |