The 1987 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 38th season in the National Football League.
Led by another 3,000-yard season from Bernie Kosar, the Browns captured their third-straight AFC Central crown. In the divisional playoffs, against the Indianapolis Colts at Municipal Stadium, the Browns routed the Colts 38–21 to advance to their second-straight AFC Championship game. For the second year in a row, the Browns were matched up against the Denver Broncos for a trip to Super Bowl XXII. The Browns fell behind early at Mile High Stadium, as the Broncos roared out to a big halftime lead. However, the Browns scored 30 points in the second half, and drove down the field in the late fourth quarter with a chance to score a game-tying touchdown. With 1:12 left in the game, RB Earnest Byner was stripped of the ball at the 2-yard line by Broncos' defensive back Jeremiah Castille in a play since dubbed The Fumble. Denver ran down the clock and took an intentional safety with 8 seconds left, and the Browns fell 38–33. Denver returned to the Super Bowl for a second straight year at the expense of the Browns.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
1987 Cleveland Browns replacement rosterQuarterbacks Jeff Christensen Homer Jordan Joe Pizzo Karlton Walton
Running backs Mike Crawford Stacey Driver Corey Gilmore Kirk Jones George Landry Larry Mason Calvin Pierce
Wide receivers Clayton Beauford Terry Bell Stanley Carraway Perry Kemp Mike McDade Steve Pierce Keith Tinsley David Verser Louis Watson Arthur Williams Ray Williams
Tight ends Donnie Echols Chris Kelley Derek Tennell Offensive linemen John Askin Keith Bosley Mike Katolin Barry Lee Dave Sparenberg Mike Teifke Ralph Van Dyke Blake Wingle
Defensive linemen Robert Brannon Alex Carter Scott Cooper Aaron Moog Morgan Roane Mike Rusinek Darryl SimsLinebackers Dave Butler James Capers Tim Crawford David Grayson Cliff Hanneman Mike Kovaleski Steve Nave Jerry Parker Tom Polley Dick Teets
Defensive backs Vincent Barnett Vince Carreker Brian Dudley Robert Goins Alvin Horn Steve Lauter Earnest Moore Billy Robinson DeJuan Robinson Troy Wilson Stacy Williams
Special teams Brian Franco K Goran Lingmerth K Dale Walters P
Roster
Schedule
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 13 at New Orleans Saints L 21–28 0–1 Louisiana Superdome 59,900 Recap 2 September 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–10 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,543 Recap 3 September 28 Denver Broncos canceled 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium NFL strike 4 October 4 at New England Patriots W 20–10 2–1 Sullivan Stadium 14,830 Recap 5 October 11 Houston Oilers L 10–15 2–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 38,927 Recap 6 October 18 at Cincinnati Bengals W 34–0 3–2 Riverfront Stadium 40,179 Recap 7 Los Angeles Rams W 30–17 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,933 Recap 8 November 1 at San Diego Chargers L 24–27 4–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 55,381 Recap 9 November 8 Atlanta Falcons W 38–3 5–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 71,135 Recap 10 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 27–21 6–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,409 Recap 11 November 22 at Houston Oilers W 40–7 7–3 Houston Astrodome 51,161 Recap 12 November 29 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–38 7–4 Candlestick Park 60,248 Recap 13 December 6 Indianapolis Colts L 7–9 7–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,661 Recap 14 December 13 Cincinnati Bengals W 38–24 8–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,331 Recap 15 December 20 at Los Angeles Raiders W 24–17 9–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 40,275 Recap 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 19–13 10–5 Three Rivers Stadium 56,394 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 9: vs. Atlanta
Postseason
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Divisional January 9, 1988 Indianapolis Colts (3) W 38–21 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,586 Recap AFC Championship January 17, 1988 at Denver Broncos (2) L 33–38 1–1 Mile High Stadium 75,993 Recap
AFC Divisional Game
AFC Championship game
Standings
References
External links 1987 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com) 1987 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1987 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com