| 2002 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Al Lerner (Until October 2, 2002) Randy Lerner (Took position October 2, 2002) |
| Head coach | Butch Davis |
| Offensive coordinator | Bruce Arians |
| Defensive coordinator | Foge Fazio |
| Home field | Cleveland Browns Stadium |
| Local radio | WTAM · WMMS |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC North |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Steelers) 33–36 |
| Pro Bowlers | none |
The 2002 season was the Cleveland Browns' 54th as a professional sports franchise, their 50th as a member of the National Football League, and the second season under head coach Butch Davis.
In their opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost the Browns a victory when he threw his helmet in celebration unaware the play was still going on, incurring an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Because the clock expired during the play the Browns' unsportsmanlike conduct occurred on, per NFL rules, the Chiefs were given one untimed down. Chiefs' kicker Morten Andersen made the 30-yard field goal to win the game.
The Browns made their first playoff appearance since their re-activation. It was only the Browns' fourth year since returning to the league effectively as an expansion team, and their first winning season. The Browns faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round at Heinz Field. Despite a strong start with a 24–7 lead late in the third quarter, the Steelers would ultimately bounce back erasing a 17 point deficit, causing the Browns to lose 36–33. The Browns would not make the NFL playoffs again until 2020. The Browns owner Al Lerner stepped down on October 2 and died on October 23, 2002, from brain cancer. His son, Randy Lerner took over the team until 2012. The Browns wore a patch with the initials "AL" for the remainder of the season and became a fixture on their uniforms to commemorate Lerner.
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| T Ryan Tucker (Rams) | LB Wali Rainer (Jaguars) |
| FS Robert Griffith (Vikings) | T Roman Oben (Buccaneers) |
| LB Earl Holmes (Steelers) | DE Greg Spires (Buccaneers) |
| DE Kenard Lang (Redskins) | DE Keith McKenzie (Bears) |
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | William Green | Running back | Boston College |
| 2 | 47 | André Davis | Wide receiver | Virginia Tech |
| 3 | 76 | Melvin Fowler | Offensive lineman | Maryland |
| 4 | 101 | Kevin Bentley | Linebacker | Northwestern |
| 4 | 111 | Ben Taylor | Linebacker | Virginia Tech |
| 4 | 122 | Darnell Sanders | Tight end | Ohio State |
| 5 | 141 | Andra Davis | Linebacker | Florida |
| 7 | 227 | Joaquin Gonzalez | Offensive lineman | Miami |
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Frisman Jackson | Wide receiver | Western Illinois |
| Kalvin Pearson | Safety | Grambling State |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC South and NFC South according to the NFL's new conference rotation, and played the Chiefs and Jets based on 2001 standings with respect to the newly aligned divisions.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 39–40 | 0–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,938 | ||
| 2 | September 15 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–7 | 1–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,358 | ||
| 3 | September 22 | at Tennessee Titans | W 31–28 (OT) | 2–1 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,804 | ||
| 4 | September 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–16 (OT) | 2–2 | Heinz Field | 62,864 | ||
| 5 | October 6 | Baltimore Ravens | L 21–26 | 2–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,688 | ||
| 6 | October 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–17 | 2–4 | Raymond James Stadium | 65,625 | ||
| 7 | October 20 | Houston Texans | W 34–17 | 3–4 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,248 | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at New York Jets | W 24–21 | 4–4 | Giants Stadium | 78,502 | ||
| 9 | November 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–23 | 4–5 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,718 | ||
| 10 | Bye | |||||||
| 11 | November 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–20 | 5–5 | Paul Brown Stadium | 64,060 | ||
| 12 | November 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 24–15 | 6–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,295 | ||
| 13 | December 1 | Carolina Panthers | L 6–13 | 6–6 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,718 | ||
| 14 | December 8 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 21–20 | 7–6 | Alltel Stadium | 46,267 | ||
| 15 | December 15 | Indianapolis Colts | L 23–28 | 7–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,098 | ||
| 16 | December 22 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 14–13 | 8–7 | M&T Bank Stadium | 68,348 | ||
| 17 | December 29 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–16 | 9–7 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,528 | ||
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 7 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 40 |
| Browns | 6 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 39 |
at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 24 |
| Jets | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| AFC North | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 390 | 345 | W3 |
| (6) Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 344 | 320 | W2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 316 | 354 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 279 | 456 | L1 |
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division leaders | ||||||||||||
| 1 [lower-alpha 1] | Oakland Raiders | West | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .529 | .531 | ||
| 2 [lower-alpha 1] | Tennessee Titans | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–0 | 9–3 | .479 | .474 | ||
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | .486 | .451 | ||
| 4 [lower-alpha 2] | New York Jets | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .500 | .500 | ||
| Wild Cards | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .479 | .400 | ||
| 6 [lower-alpha 3] | Cleveland Browns | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .486 | .413 | ||
| Did not qualify for the postseason | ||||||||||||
| 7 [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4] | Denver Broncos | West | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .527 | .486 | ||
| 8 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5] | New England Patriots | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .525 | .455 | ||
| 9 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 5] | Miami Dolphins | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .508 | .486 | ||
| 10 [lower-alpha 6] | Buffalo Bills | East | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .473 | .352 | ||
| 11 [lower-alpha 6] [lower-alpha 7] | San Diego Chargers | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .492 | .453 | ||
| 12 [lower-alpha 7] | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .516 | ||
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .506 | .384 | ||
| 14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .506 | .438 | ||
| 15 | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .518 | .492 | ||
| 16 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | .537 | .406 | ||
| Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 8] | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC Wild Card | January 5, 2003 | at Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 33–36 | 0–1 | Heinz Field | 62,595 | Recap |
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 7 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 33 |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 36 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The 2002 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall and the franchise's 40th in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 73rd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 6th season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 14th under head coach Bill Cowher. The Steelers failed to improve upon their 15–1 record from 2004 and in 2005, the Steelers struggled. At one point, they were 7–5 and in danger of missing the playoffs but rose to defeat the Chicago Bears on December 11 and started a four-game win streak to finish the season at 11–5.
The 2002 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 70th as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 69th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League. After finishing the previous three seasons a combined 22–26, the Steelers returned to the top seed in the AFC, rolling to a 13–3 record in their first playoff berth and AFC Central title since 1997 and playing at Heinz Field. The Steelers went 7–1 in their new home stadium, with the only loss coming to the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
The 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 78th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL), the eleventh season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert, and the fourth under head coach Mike Tomlin.
The 2011 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 had hoped to improve on its 2010 season, where it finished with a record of 5–11 and placed third in the AFC North, however, the team was eliminated from playoff contention in Week 14. This season marked the second season under the leadership of team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert, as well as the first season under head coach Pat Shurmur. The Browns played all of their home games at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
The 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 79th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the twelfth season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the fifth under head coach Mike Tomlin. The Steelers hoped to return to the Super Bowl and defend their AFC championship from 2010, but suffered a 29–23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Steelers played all of their home games at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The 2013 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 46th overall, and the 11th under head coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals improved on their 10–6 regular season record from 2012 and clinched the AFC North division title. However, the Bengals lost 27–10 to the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs – the third consecutive season that the Bengals had lost in the Wild Card round. Their training camp was featured on the HBO show Hard Knocks.
The 2014 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 19th in the National Football League (NFL) and their seventh under head coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens improved upon their 8–8 record from 2013, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Additionally, the Ravens scored a franchise record 409 points and quarterback Joe Flacco passed for a career-high 27 touchdowns and 3,986 yards.
The 2014 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 47th overall and the twelfth under head coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals qualified for the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the first round, extending their playoff losing streak to 7 games, the 3rd longest losing streak in NFL history at the time, behind the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs who both had 8.
The 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 83rd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It also marked the 16th season under leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the ninth under head coach Mike Tomlin. For the first time since 2002, safety Troy Polamalu was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on April 9.
The 2016 season was the Cleveland Browns' 64th in the National Football League (NFL), their 68th overall, and their first under head coach Hue Jackson and de facto general manager Sashi Brown. The Browns failed to improve upon their 3–13 record from their previous season, finishing 1–15, their worst record in franchise history at the time. The Browns failed to make the playoffs for a franchise-record 14th straight season and ninth straight season with a losing record.
The 2016 season was the 84th in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It also marked the 17th season under leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 10th under head coach Mike Tomlin. For the first time since 2004, tight end Heath Miller was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on February 19, 2016.
The 2017 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone was hired after acting as the team's interim head coach for the final two games of the 2016 season. The team improved on their 3–13 record from 2016 and ended their 10-year playoff drought dating back to 2008 with a Week 15 win over the Houston Texans. They also secured their first winning season since 2007 after a 30–24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. On December 24, 2017, they clinched their third division title, and their first AFC South title following a Tennessee Titans loss. They won the wild card game against the Buffalo Bills 10–3, then headed to Pittsburgh, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 45–42 to advance to the AFC Championship to face the New England Patriots, the first time that they had made the AFC Championship game since 1999. Despite leading for much of the game, the Jaguars would allow two fourth quarter touchdowns, and ultimately lost to the Patriots 24–20.
The 2017 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 22nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 10th under head coach John Harbaugh. This was also the 10th season with Joe Flacco as the team's starting quarterback. The Ravens improved on the previous season's 8–8 record, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season because of a last second touchdown in a 31–27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, combined with a Buffalo Bills' victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.
The 2018 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League, their 59th overall, their sixth under head coach Andy Reid, and their second under general manager Brett Veach. The Chiefs finished 12–4 and won their third consecutive AFC West title, made their fourth consecutive playoff appearance, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the AFC Championship in overtime. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes won the AP NFL MVP award, becoming the first Chiefs player to ever be named MVP.
The 2020 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 25th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 13th under head coach John Harbaugh. They failed to improve upon their franchise-best 14–2 regular season and were denied their third consecutive AFC North title following a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 after 18 of their players contracted COVID-19. Despite this, as well as a 6–5 start, the Ravens won their five remaining games to finish 11–5 and after a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, clinched their third consecutive playoff berth. The Ravens rushed for 3,071 yds during the regular season, best in the NFL for the second consecutive season.
The 2020 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 88th in the National Football League (NFL), their 20th playing home games at Heinz Field, their 21st under general manager Kevin Colbert, and their 14th under head coach Mike Tomlin. The team vastly improved on their 8–8 record from 2019 beginning the season 11–0, a franchise-best. They became the first NFL team to do so since the Carolina Panthers in the 2015 season. However, that streak was broken after a Week 13 loss to the Washington Football Team. The Steelers clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2017 after the Miami Dolphins' Week 14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and clinched their first AFC North title since 2017 with a Week 16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The 2021 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 54th overall and their third under head coach Zac Taylor. They also played in new uniforms for the first time since 2004. The Bengals finished with a 10–7 record, exceeding their win total from the previous two seasons combined. The Bengals clinched their first winning season, first playoff appearance, and first AFC North title since 2015. It also marked their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988.
The 2021 season was the Cleveland Browns' 69th season as a member of the National Football League (NFL), their 73rd overall and their second under head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry. The Browns finished 8–9, failing to improve upon their 11–5 record from 2020. Despite starting 3–1, they would go 5–8 in their last games, eliminating them from playoff contention in the process. For the 75th anniversary of the team's founding in 1946, the Browns introduced a commemorative logo in January to use for the season.
