2009 Cleveland Browns season The 2009 Cleveland Browns season was the team ' s 63rd season as a professional sports franchise and its 59th season as a member of the National Football League ( NFL ) . The team placed fourth in the AFC North with a record of 5 – 11 , improving upon its 2008 record of 4 – 12 . This season marked George Kokinis and Eric Mangini ' s first seasons as the team ' s general manager and head coach , respectively ; however , Kokinis was fired on November 2 during the team ' s Week 9 bye week . The Browns played all of their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland , Ohio . The Browns missed the playoffs for the seventh straight season , tying a record set between 1973 – 79 . Offseason . Personnel changes . On December 29 , 2008 , the Cleveland Browns announced that the team had fired general manager Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel after spending four seasons together in Cleveland . Crennel , who joined the Browns with Savage in 2005 , left Cleveland with a record of 24 – 40 ( . 375 ) and an 0 – 8 record against the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers . The team ' s best record under Crennel was 10 – 6 during the 2007 season . On January 7 , 2009 , the Browns announced that the team had found its replacement for Crennel and that it had reached a contractual agreement with former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini , who was fired after three seasons in New York . Mangini , who joined the Jets in 2006 , left New York with a record of 23 – 25 ( . 479 ) , including a 10 – 6 record and a playoff appearance in his first season . On January 14 , the Browns announced that Mangini had named his coordinators : Brian Daboll was hired as the offensive coordinator ; Rob Ryan as the defensive coordinator ; and Brad Seely as the special teams coordinator and assistant head coach . Daboll was most recently the quarterbacks coach for the Jets from 2007 – 2008 ; Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders from 2004 – 2008 ; and Seely was the special teams coach for the New England Patriots from 1999 – 2008 . All three worked with Mangini from 2000 – 2003 as members of New England . Daboll , Ryan , and Seely replace Rob Chudzinski , Mel Tucker , and Ted Daisher , respectively . On January 22 , the Browns hired five assistant coaches : Bryan Cox was hired as the defensive line coach ; Andy Dickerson as the defensive quality control coach ; Jerome Henderson as the defensive backs coach ; Rick Lyle as an assistant strength - and - conditioning coach ; and Carl Smith as the quarterbacks coach . Cox , Dickerson , Henderson , and Lyle spent the past three seasons with Mangini in New York . Smith was the Browns ' quarterbacks coach from 2001 – 2003 and was most recently the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2005 – 2006 . On January 25 , the Browns hired former Baltimore Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis as general manager . Kokinis spent five seasons in the Browns ' scouting department from 1991 – 1995 , and after the team moved to Baltimore , he was a member of the Ravens ' scouting department from 1996 – 1999 . He was the Ravens ' assistant director of pro personnel from 2000 – 2002 and was the director of pro personnel from 2003 – 2008 . On February 4 , the Browns hired three more assistant coaches : Alan DeGennaro was hired as an assistant strength - and - conditioning coach ; Tom Myslinski as the strength - and - conditioning coach ; and George Warhop as the offensive line coach . On February 11 , the Browns hired George McDonald as the offensive quality control coach . On February 17 , the Browns hired Gary Brown as the running backs coach and Steve Hagen as the tight ends coach . On February 22 , the Browns hired Matt Eberflus as the linebackers coach . On May 6 , the Browns promoted McDonald to wide receivers coach . Roster changes . Trades . On February 27 , the Browns traded tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for its second - round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft ( 50th overall , used to select Mohamed Massaquoi ) and its fifth - round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft . Winslow was selected sixth overall by the Browns in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and played five seasons with the team . During his career with the Browns , he accumulated 219 receptions for 2 , 459 yards ( 11 . 2 YPC ) and had eleven touchdown receptions . On April 25 , during the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft , the team traded its first - round selection ( 5th overall ) to the Jets for its first - ( 17th overall ) and second - round ( 52nd overall ) selections , defensive end Kenyon Coleman , safety Abram Elam , and quarterback Brett Ratliff . 2009 draft class . The Browns did not have third - , fifth - , or seventh - round selections in the draft . Legal troubles for WR Stallworth . On March 14 , Browns wide receiver Donté Stallworth was involved in a fatal accident in which he struck and killed pedestrian Mario Reyes with his car in the early morning in Miami , Florida . Stallworth then stopped his vehicle and called 9 – 1 – 1 . Reports showed that Stallworth was driving under the influence ; his blood - alcohol level was 0 . 12 % , above Florida ' s legal limit of 0 . 08 % . He was charged with DUI manslaughter and a warrant was issued for his arrest on April 1 and he surrendered to police on April 2 . On June 16 , Stallworth pleaded guilty . He was sentenced to 30 days in prison , two years ' house arrest , and eight years probation . Many believed that the sentence Stallworth received was too lenient as he could have served up to 15 years in jail . Stallworth also reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the victim ' s family . On June 18 , the NFL suspended Stallworth indefinitely On August 13 , the NFL officially suspended Stallworth for the entire 2009 season , and made plans to reinstate him after the Super Bowl . Uniform changes . In 2009 , the Cleveland Browns are wearing brown pants for games in which they wear white jerseys . These were worn in the 2008 pre - season . New additions to this uniform combination are striped socks . Preseason . Releases . On September 4 and 5 , the Browns released the following players to get down to the 53 - player limit : S Hamza Abdullah , FB Charles Ali , CB Brandon Anderson , QB Richard Bartel , CB Tra Battle , LB Beau Bell , T Branndon Braxton , LB Titus Brown , C Dustin Fry , RB Noah Herron , DT Adam Hoppel , WR Paul Hubbard , CB Corey Ivy , RB Chris Jennings , WR Lance Leggett , G Pat Murray , WR Jordan Norwood , WR David Patten , G Kurt Quarterman , DE Brian Schaefering , G Isaac Sowells , DE Santonio Thomas , and TE Aaron Walker . Captains selected . On September 9 , the team elected six players to be captains . RB Jamal Lewis and T Joe Thomas were chosen as offensive captains , LB D ' Qwell Jackson and LB Eric Barton as defensive captains , and KR Josh Cribbs and K Phil Dawson as special teams captains . Regular season . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . Minnesota Vikings . The Browns opened their season at home against the Minnesota Vikings trying to improve on their 4 – 12 record from last season . After trading field goals in the first quarter , RB Adrian Peterson scored the first touchdown of the game , giving Minnesota a 10 – 3 lead . But K Phil Dawson kicked his second field goal and WR Josh Cribbs returned a punt for a touchdown and the Browns took a 13 – 10 lead into halftime . However , the second half was controlled completely by the Vikings , with QB Brett Favre connecting with WR Percy Harvin for Favre ' s first touchdown pass as a Viking . In the 4th quarter , QB Brady Quinn completed a touchdown pass to TE Robert Royal , the first touchdown by Cleveland ' s offense since the 4th quarter of Week 11 in 2008 , ending a span of 416 offensive plays without a touchdown . With the loss , Cleveland fell to 0 – 1 . Week 2 : at Denver Broncos . Hoping to rebound from their home loss to the Vikings , the Browns flew to Invesco Field at Mile High for a Week 2 duel with the Denver Broncos . After recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff , the Browns started with a short field but couldn ' t capitalize , settling for a 22 - yard field goal by kicker Phil Dawson . Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton would complete a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Scheffler for the game ' s first touchdown , and after a 47 - yard field goal by Cleveland , the game was 7 – 6 after the first quarter . However , Cleveland ' s offensive struggles continued . Meanwhile , in the second and third quarter , kicker Matt Prater gave Denver a 23 - yard and a 38 - yard field goal . Afterwards , in the fourth quarter , the Broncos took control with touchdown runs by Peyton Hillis and Correll Buckhalter . With the loss , the Browns fell to 0 – 2 . Week 3 : at Baltimore Ravens . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Broncos , the Browns flew to M & T Bank Stadium for a Week 3 AFC North duel with the Baltimore Ravens . Cleveland would trail early in the first quarter as Ravens running back Willis McGahee got a 7 - yard touchdown run , followed by kicker Steven Hauschka getting a 36 - yard field goal . The Browns ' deficit would increase in the second quarter as Hauschka nailed a 33 - yard field goal , while McGahee got a 15 - yard touchdown run . In the third quarter , things continued to get worse for the Browns as running back Ray Rice got a 9 - yard touchdown run . In thr fourth quarter , Cleveland would manage to get on the board as kicker Billy Cundiff made a 29 - yard field goal . Afterwards , Baltimore closed out the game as quarterback Joe Flacco completed a 72 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Derrick Mason . With the loss , the Browns fell to 0 – 3 . Starting quarterback Brady Quinn ( 6 of 8 , 34 yards , 1 INT ) was benched after a dismal first half performance , while Derek Anderson ( 11 of 19 , 92 yards , 3 INTs ) did not perform much better . Week 4 : vs . Cincinnati Bengals . Still looking for their first win of the season , the Browns went home for a Week 4 AFC North duel with the Cincinnati Bengals in Round 1 of 2009 ' s Battle of Ohio . Due to quarterback Brady Quinn ' s poor performance in the season thus far , head coach Eric Mangini named quarterback Derek Anderson the starter . Cleveland would trail early in the first quarter as Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer completed a 5 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chad Ochocinco . The Browns would continue to struggle in the second quarter as defensive end Robert Geathers returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown . Cleveland would respond with Anderson completing a 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Heiden . The Browns would tie the game in the third quarter with Anderson ' s 1 - yard touchdown run . Afterwards , Cleveland would take the lead in the fourth quarter with a 26 - yard and a 31 - yard field goal from kicker Billy Cundiff . However , Cincinnati answered with Palmer hooking up with Ochocinco again on a 2 - yard touchdown run ( with a blocked PAT ) . In overtime , both teams went back and forth with their possessions . In the end , the Bengals emerged victorious with kicker Shayne Graham kicking the game - winning 31 - yard field goal . With the loss , the Browns fell to 0 – 4 . WR Edwards traded . On October 7 , the Browns traded WR Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets for WR Chansi Stuckey , LB Jason Trusnik , and third - and fifth - round selections in the 2010 NFL Draft . The third - round selection would have become a second - round selection based on Edwards met certain performance criteria with the Jets this season , but he did not meet those criteria . Week 5 : at Buffalo Bills . After a heartbreaking loss to the Bengals , the Browns headed to Buffalo , the site of their last win in Week 11 of the 2008 season , and trying to avoid tying a franchise record 11 straight losses . In very windy conditions , the Browns ' hero was punter Dave Zastudil who pinned the Bills within their 5 yard line 3 times . After trading field goals in the 2nd and 3rd quarters , the Browns recovered a fumble on a punt return by WR Roscoe Parrish , and kicker Billy Cundiff secured the victory with a short field goal . The Browns won despite QB Derek Anderson completing only 2 of 17 passes ( 11 . 8 % ) for 23 yards , setting a record for lowest completion percentage in a win since the AFL - NFL merger . This also marked Eric Mangini ' s first win as head coach of the Browns . With the win , the Browns improved to 1 – 4 . Zastudil was named the AFC special teams player of the week . Week 6 : at Pittsburgh Steelers . After securing their first win of the season , the Browns went on the road to take on their archrival Pittsburgh Steelers . The Browns came into the game having lost their last 11 games against the Steelers . The Steelers struck first with two touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger in the 2nd quarter . Josh Cribbs ran a kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown , and got the Browns within 7 . However , the Browns could never close the gap , and fell to the Steelers , 27 – 14 . With the loss , the Browns fell to 1 – 5 . Week 7 : vs . Green Bay Packers . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Steelers , the Browns went home for a Week 7 interconference duel with the Green Bay Packers . After a scoreless first quarter , Cleveland began the second quarter with kicker Billy Cundiff ' s 22 - yard field goal . However , the Packers would take charge with quarterback Aaron Rodgers completing a 45 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Spencer Havner and a 71 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Donald Driver , followed by a 1 - yard touchdown run by running back Ryan Grant . Afterwards , Green Bay pulled away in the second half with kicker Mason Crosby booting an 18 - yard field goal in the third quarter and Rodgers finding wide receiver James Jones on a 5 - yard touchdown pass . With the loss , the Browns stumbled to 1 – 6 . Week 8 : at Chicago Bears . Trying to snap a two - game losing streak , the Browns flew to Soldier Field for a Week 8 interconference duel with the Chicago Bears . The Browns ' defense held up well early , limiting the Bears to three field goals by kicker Robbie Gould ( a 37 - yard & a 29 - yard in the first quarter and a 32 - yard in the second ) . However , the Browns could not manage to get on the board and Chicago RB Matt Forté scored on a 1 - yard run , putting the Browns down 16 at the half . The Browns struck first in the third quarter on a one yard run by QB Derek Anderson , but the PAT was blocked . Forté scored again in the third with a 10 - yard touchdown run and the Bears put the Browns away with a 21 - yard interception return for a touchdown by CB Charles Tillman in the fourth quarter . Late in the fourth , Derek Anderson was benched for Brady Quinn after going 6 of 17 ( 35 . 2 % ) for 76 yards and 2 interceptions . With the loss , the Browns went into their bye week at 1 – 7 . GM Kokinis fired . On November 2 , the Browns fired general manager George Kokinis after getting off to a disappointing 1 – 7 start . The Browns ' statement said that Kokinis " is no longer actively involved with the organization . " Owner Randy Lerner reportedly asked for his resignation , and when Kokinis refused , sought a dismissal " for cause . " Head coach Eric Mangini was told by Lerner that his job was safe for the moment . Week 10 : vs . Baltimore Ravens . The Browns came out of their bye week with Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback again and looking to turn around their disappointing season . They hosted the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football . Both teams played a scoreless first half , the first scoreless half in the NFL this season and only the ninth ever in 620 Monday Night Football games . The Ravens took over in the third with two touchdowns in 15 seconds ( a 13 - yard touchdown run from running back Ray Rice and safety Dawan Landry ' s 48 - yard interception return for a touchdown ) . Kicker Steven Hauschka would add a 44 - yard field goal , and the Browns could not score . This was the Browns ' first shutout of the year . With the loss , the Browns fell to 1 – 8 . Week 11 : at Detroit Lions . Looking to snap a four - game losing streak , the Browns flew to Ford Field for a Week 11 interconference duel with the Detroit Lions . Both teams began the game with field goals , as Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson made a 44 - yard field goal while Lions kicker Jason Hanson got a 31 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Browns ' offense exploded as quarterback Brady Quinn completed a 59 - yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi , a 40 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chansi Stuckey , and a 4 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Josh Cribbs . Detroit would answer with quarterback Matthew Stafford completing a 26 - yard touchdown pass to running back Aaron Brown . The Lions would tie the game in the second quarter as Stafford hooked up with running back Kevin Smith on a 25 - yard touchdown pass , followed by a 75 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Calvin Johnson . Afterwards , Cleveland would end the half with Dawson nailing a 29 - yard field goal . Detroit would take the lead in the third quarter with Stafford ' s 1 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller , the Browns would pick up a safety after Stafford was called for intentional grounding from his own end zone . In the fourth quarter , Cleveland regained the lead with Quinn ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Michael Gaines ( followed by running back Jamal Lewis getting a 2 - point conversion run ) . The Lions would take over , and with no time left , Browns safety Brodney Pool intercepted the ball . However , cornerback Hank Poteat was flagged for pass interference in the end zone . Since the game cannot end on a defensive penalty , Detroit was given one un - timed down from the Browns ' 1 yard line and Stafford completed the game - winning touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Pettigrew . With the loss , Cleveland fell to 1 – 9 . Week 12 : at Cincinnati Bengals . The Browns headed to Cincinnati to face their in - state rivals in Week 12 . The Bengals struck first with 2 field goals by Shayne Graham and a touchdown reception by J . P . Foschi in the first half . Brady Quinn had a touchdown run in the third , but another Bengals field goal and defense put the Browns away . With the loss , the Browns fell to 1 – 10 and were officially eliminated from postseason contention . Week 13 : vs . San Diego Chargers . The Browns stayed home in Week 13 to take on the San Diego Chargers . The Browns struck first with an 11 yard touchdown reception by Mohamed Massaquoi . The Chargers took the lead back in the first on a field goal by Nate Kaeding and a long touchdown reception by Mike Tolbert . San Diego scored 17 more in the second and third , seemingly putting the game out of reach . The Browns managed to get within a touchdown but their comeback ran out of time . With the loss , the Browns fell to 1 – 11 . Week 14 : vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . The Browns hosted the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on a night with subzero wind chills for a Week 14 duel . In windy conditions , Phil Dawson hit a pair of 29 yard field goals , and Chris Jennings had a 10 yard touchdown run to put the Browns up 13 . Jeff Reed nailed a field goal before the half to draw the Steelers within 10 , and hit another in the third to bring them within a touchdown . However , a scoreless fourth by both teams led the Browns to their first win against the Steelers since 2003 , and the Browns became only the fourth team in NFL history to be at least 10 games under . 500 and defeat the defending Super Bowl champions . With the win , the Browns improved to 2 – 11 , snapped a twelve game losing streak against the Steelers , and won their first home game since an October 2008 victory , interestingly against then - defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants . KR Josh Cribbs was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week . Week 15 : at Kansas City Chiefs . The Browns headed into Kansas City for their last road game of the year to take on the Chiefs in Week 15 . The Browns and Chiefs traded field goals in the first quarter , and then Josh Cribbs returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown , setting an NFL record with his 7th kickoff return for a touchdown . After another Phil Dawson field goal in the second , the Chiefs scored three straight touchdowns to take a 24 – 13 lead . However , Cribbs again ran a kickoff back for a touchdown , this time for 103 yards and extending his NFL record to eight kickoff return touchdowns . In the second half , Jerome Harrison rushed for three touchdowns and amassed a filibuster - proof majority of his 286 rushing yards . This set a Browns ' rushing record for a single game , was the record for most rushing yards in the NFL this season , and was the third most rushing yards in a game in NFL history . Matt Cassel ' s final desperation pass ricocheted off the cross bar , and the Browns defeated the Chiefs 41 – 34 , with their highest point total of the season . With the win , the Browns improved to 3 – 11 and finished the season 2 – 6 on the road . Cribbs was named the AFC special teams player of the week for the second straight week . Holmgren hired as president . On December 21 , Mike Holmgren was hired by the Browns to take over as their president . His duties will include personnel management , and he may hire a general manager to assist him . He also will have the power to replace Eric Mangini as head coach if he so chooses . Week 16 : vs . Oakland Raiders . The Browns stayed home in Week 16 for a match with the Oakland Raiders , trying to extend their 2 game winning streak . The Browns struck first with a 17 yard run by Jerome Harrison and a 42 yard field goal from Phil Dawson . Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski hit 3 field goals in the first half , including a 61 yarder to close out the half . However , the Browns led at halftime , 17 – 9 . The Browns held the Raiders scoreless in the second half , and Dawson hit 2 more field goals to lead the Browns to a 23 – 9 victory , their third in a row . With the win , the Browns improved to 4 – 11 . Week 17 : vs . Jacksonville Jaguars . The Browns closed out their season at home with a contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars , who came into the game with an outside chance of making the playoffs . Cleveland and Jacksonville traded field goals in the first quarter , but Josh Cribbs broke the tie in the second with a 14 yard touchdown run , and Phil Dawson added another field goal to give the Browns a 10 point lead at the half . In the third , Jerome Harrison added a 6 yard touchdown run to push the lead to 17 . In the fourth , Zach Miller caught a 6 yard pass from David Garrard to close within 10 , but Dawson added another field goal . On the final play of the game ( and the season ) , Miller caught another touchdown pass from Garrard but it was not enough , and the Browns won 23 – 17 . The Browns ' 4 game winning streak was the longest since 1994 . With the win , the Browns improved to finish the season at 5 – 11 , a one - win improvement over the 2008 campaign . They finished 3 – 5 at home . KR Cribbs honored . On January 6 , WR / KR Josh Cribbs was named AFC special teams player of the month for December . During the month , Cribbs earned AFC special teams player of the week honors twice , and set an NFL record with eight career kickoff returns for touchdowns . 2010 Pro Bowl . KR Josh Cribbs and T Joe Thomas were recognized for individual accomplishments as they were named to the AFC roster for the 2010 Pro Bowl . Cribbs , who made his second appearance , was the starting kick and punt returner . Thomas , who made his third consecutive appearance in the game , was selected as the reserve offensive tackle , but started in the game because of an injury to Jake Long of the Miami Dolphins .