1995 Cleveland Browns: The End Of An Era

It felt like the good times were back in Cleveland. After inheriting a 3-13 team in 1991, a young head coach named Bill Belichick had overseen steady improvement. In 1994, that led to a playoff appearance and advancement. The franchise’s most recent era of success—the Dawg Pound Days led by Bernie Kosar and Marty Schottenheimer in the late 1980s weren’t that far in the rearview mirror.

The 1995 Cleveland Browns bore all the markings of a team that would return good times to the city. Instead, a stunning relocation announcement ended not only the success, but—at least temporarily–the franchise itself.

Vinny Testaverde was at quarterback and amidst all the chaos, he played pretty well in ’95. Testaverde’s 62% completion rate and 7.4 yards-per-attempt were both top-8 among NFL starters. He had a 17-10 TD/INT ratio, and his 2.6 interception rate was in the middle of the league. He played well enough to win, throwing to a well-balanced receivers corps that included Keenan McCardell, Andre Rison, and Michael Jackson.

What Cleveland couldn’t do was run the ball. Leroy Hoard’s 547 yards led the team. Earnest Byner, a proud veteran of the Dawg Pound Era, ran for 432 yards, but his value was primarily as a receiver, catching 61 balls. The Browns’ offensive line was lacking, and they would finish 25^th in what was then a 30-team league for points scored.

Belichick’s defense was led by a pair of respectable ends, Rob Burnett and Anthony Pleasant, who combined for 15 ½ sacks. Strong safety Stevon Moore intercepted five passes. But that was it as far as playmakers. No Cleveland player on either side of the ball made the Pro Bowl, and the Browns defense finished 20^th in points allowed.

The season opener was in New England, a rematch of the previous year’s wild-card round where Belichick had defeated his future employer in the Patriots, and his prior employer, head coach Bill Parcells. Testaverde opened up the deep passing game, hitting Jackson on touchdown strikes from 70 and 30 yards. Cleveland led 14-6. But the running game problems were present right from the outset. The Browns bogged down and dropped a tough 17-14 decision.

Cleveland’s home opener was against mediocre Tampa Bay. Testaverde was sharp, going 17/27 for 256 yards. The defense forced four turnovers, and the Browns got on the board with a comfortable 22-6 win. They went on to Houston to face the Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans. The Browns did not play well—they turned it over four times and Testaverde was an erratic 10/32 for 147 yards. But today, they did run the football, winning rush yardage 132-71. It was enough to grind out a 14-7 win over a mediocre team.

The Kansas City Chiefs were anything but mediocre, coached by Cleveland’s old friend, Schottenheimer, and destined for the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Chiefs and Browns were the late Sunday afternoon showcase on September 24. The Cleveland defense was dialed in, and they led 14-3 after three quarters. They put it away in the fourth quarter with Pick-6s by linebacker Mike Caldwell and defensive back Gerald Dixon. The Browns won 35-17.

Cleveland was 3-1 and in the conversation as a Super Bowl contender. The day after the Chiefs’ win, the story broke that owner Art Modell was in serious negotiations to move the team to Baltimore. While the deal wouldn’t be finalized until early November, this was effectively the day the music died for the first iteration of the Cleveland Browns, who had been a fixture in the city since 1946.

The first game after the rumors was a high-profile Monday Night game against the Buffalo Bills, who had been the AFC’s dominant franchise in the early 1990s and would make the playoffs again this year. Even though Derrick Alexander brought a punt 69 yards to the house, the Browns were outrushed, 160-90. A field goal with eight seconds left sent them to a 22-19 loss.

They went on to Detroit to face Barry Sanders and the playoff-bound Lions in a late Sunday afternoon game. Sanders ran wild, Cleveland trailed 28-3 by halftime and lost 38-20. The Browns were back to .500. The story of the impending relocation was engulfing national news, with outrage across the country. For the short-term, the season was slipping away as they went into the bye week .

Cleveland hosted the first-year franchise from Jacksonville. Testaverde threw an early Pick-6, the Browns turned it over four times and lost 23-15. Belichick decided to give backup quarterback Eric Zeier a chance.

Zeier played well in Cincinnati against a bad Bengals team, going 26/46 for 310 yards. The Browns trailed 26-16. But a missed PAT would haunt Cincinnati. Zeier, getting help from Rison, who caught seven passes for 173 yards, rallied. Cleveland tied the game and then won 29-26 in overtime.

Houston came north for the first game of November (the Oilers, along with the Jaguars, joined Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Cincinnati in the old AFC Central that existed prior to 2002). It was as a disaster. Zeier threw three interceptions, the Browns lost two fumbles, and they lost the game 37-10. A day later, Modell made the move to Baltimore for the 1996 season official.

A Monday Night home game at Pittsburgh with the Super Bowl-bound Steelers was next. The Pittsburgh fans rallied in solidarity with their usually hated rivals from Cleveland. Orange armbands were worn by the crowd, adding to the PR nightmare the NFL faced over the abandonment of one of the league’s great fan bases. On the field, the Browns were lifeless. They couldn’t run the ball. They couldn’t protect Zeier. They couldn’t find the end zone in a 20-3 loss.

Belichick went back to Testaverde for a home game against a Green Bay Packers team that was surging and bound for the NFC Championship Game. Testaverde played a good game and went 16/22 for 244 yards. McCardell had a 100-yard receiving day. But Brett Favre, on his way to the MVP award, still beat the Browns 31-20.

Cleveland hosted Pittsburgh for a late afternoon game on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This was supposed to be a showcase game between great rivals who had met in the previous year’s Divisional Round. Instead, the Dawg Pound was now hostile territory for the Browns. They fell behind 10-0 early, with Testaverde throwing a couple of interceptions. Cleveland did rally and took a 17-10 lead. But Pittsburgh had the last word, winning 20-17.

The Browns went on to San Diego. The Chargers had made the Super Bowl in 1994 and would return to the playoffs in 1995. Cleveland got pounded in the trenches, losing rush yardage 186-26. A game that was competitive after three quarters, only 17-10, got away and turned into a 31-13 loss.

Another beatdown up front came the following Saturday in Minnesota where the Vikings were on the playoff fringe. Facing a team that had their own problems running the ball, the Browns lost rush yardage 111-29, turned the ball over four times and suffered a lifeless 27-11 loss.

The final home game came against the Bengals on December 17. Could Cleveland muster some will and give the fans, who had justifiably turned on their own team, one last win? After a scoreless first quarter, Testaverde tossed a short TD pass. With 0:19 left in the half, he threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to McCardell.

Testaverde finished 22/32 for 241 yards and no mistakes. Byner woke up the echoes and ran for 121 yards on 31 carries. The Browns won their home finale 26-10, with no one knowing if and when the next pro football game would be in this city.

The season ended in Jacksonville. Testaverde made big plays, going 28/45 for 325 yards, with Jackson catching seven balls for 130 yards. Testaverde also threw three interceptions. A field goal on the game’s final play handed the Browns a 24-21 loss.

A season that began with Super Bowl hopes, and saw those hopes validated for the first month, had ended 5-11, two losses to an expansion franchise and the football future of the entire city up in the air. The consequences would include firing Belichick, who of course went on to a legendary tenure with the Patriots.

The NFL worked out an agreement with Modell to leave the name “Browns” and the history of the franchise behind in Cleveland, where a new team would start up in 1999. This iteration of the organization would rename itself the Ravens and begin a new history in Baltimore. For Cleveland, it was a better ending than any other jilted fan base has gotten down through the years, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow.