The 2020 season was the Cleveland Browns' 68th as a member of the National Football League (NFL), their 72nd overall, and their first under general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. The Browns improved on their 6–10 record from 2019 and finished 11–5, clinching their first winning season since 2007 and their best since 1994. They also ended their franchise-record and league-high 17-year playoff drought, making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. This season began with the team's fourth head coach in six seasons.
In the Wild Card Round, the Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 48–37, marking their first (and, as of the 2025 season, only) playoff win since the 1994 season. The next week, the Browns were defeated by the eventual AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round, 22–17, which ended the Browns' hopes of returning to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1989.
Offseason
Front office changes On December 31, 2019, the Browns and general manager John Dorsey mutually agreed to part ways. Dorsey had served as the Browns' GM since December 2017.
On January 27, 2020, the Browns hired former Philadelphia Eagles' vice president of football operations Andrew Berry as general manager. Berry previously served as the Browns' vice president of player personnel from 2016 to 2018. At age 32, Berry became the youngest general manager in NFL history.
On January 29, the Browns and vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith and assistant general manager Eliot Wolf mutually agreed to part ways after the hiring of Berry. Both had served in their roles since the 2017 hiring of Dorsey.
Coaching changes On December 29, 2019, the Browns fired head coach Freddie Kitchens. In one season as Browns' head coach, Kitchens posted a 6–10 () record.
On January 13, 2020, the Browns hired long-time Minnesota Vikings assistant Kevin Stefanski as head coach. Stefanski served as a Vikings' assistant coach from 2006 to 2019, which included his last two seasons there as their offensive coordinator. This marked Stefanski's first NFL head coaching job.
On January 29, the Browns hired former Cincinnati Bengals' quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinator. Van Pelt, who served as offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2009, replaced Todd Monken, who was not retained by Stefanski.
On February 7, the Browns hired former San Francisco 49ers' defensive backs coach Joe Woods as defensive coordinator. Woods, who previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2017 to 2018, replaced Steve Wilks, who was not retained by Stefanski.
Roster changes
Players added Position Player Tag 2019 team Date DT UFA Cincinnati Bengals DE UFA Atlanta Falcons OT UFA Tennessee Titans LB UFA Green Bay Packers TE UFA Atlanta Falcons CB UFA Buffalo Bills S UFA Oakland Raiders QB UFA Washington Redskins WR UFA Los Angeles Rams CB UFA Dallas Cowboys S UFA Minnesota Vikings
Players lost Position Player Tag Date lost 2020 team Date S Release CB Release Indianapolis Colts TE Release Chicago Bears LB Release Green Bay Packers Packers Sign LB Kirksey Hours Before Start of Free Agency G Release Las Vegas Raiders S UFA Houston Texans S UFA Las Vegas Raiders LB UFA Jacksonville Jaguars TE UFA Kansas City Chiefs LB Release Carolina Panthers
2020 draft class
2020 Cleveland Browns draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 10 Jedrick Wills OT Alabama 2 44 Grant Delpit S LSU From Colts 3 88 Jordan Elliott DT Missouri From Saints 97 Jacob Phillips ILB LSU From Texans 4 115 Harrison Bryant TE Florida Atlantic 5 160 Nick Harris C Washington From Colts 6 187 Donovan Peoples-Jones WR Michigan From Cardinals Notes Cleveland acquired a third round pick (No. 90) from Houston in exchange for RB Duke Johnson. Cleveland traded its fifth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 155 and 188) to Buffalo in exchange for G Wyatt Teller and a 2021 seventh-round selection. Cleveland acquired a sixth-round selection (No. 187) from Arizona in exchange for CB Jamar Taylor. Cleveland acquired a seventh-round selection (No. 236) from Buffalo in exchange for WR Corey Coleman. Cleveland acquired a seventh-round selection (No. 244) and G Justin McCray from Green Bay in exchange for a seventh-round selection (No. 224)
Undrafted free agents Player Position College Signed Cut Solomon Ajayi LB Liberty April 25 September 5 Elijah Benton S Liberty April 25 September 5 Ja'Marcus Bradley WR Louisiana April 25 September 5 Tony Brown WR Colorado April 25 Kevin Davidson QB Princeton April 25 September 5 Drake Dorbeck OT Southern Miss April 25 August 6 A.J. Green CB Oklahoma State April 25 September 5 Brian Herrien RB Georgia April 25 August 4 Jameson Houston CB Baylor April 25 Benny LeMay RB Charlotte April 25 September 5 Jovante Moffatt S Middle Tennessee State April 25 September 5 George Obinna DE Sacramento State April 25 Alex Taylor OT South Carolina State April 25 September 5 Jeffery Whatley DE South Alabama April 25 Nate Wieting TE Iowa April 25
Opt-outs The NFL and the NFLPA reached an agreement on July 24 to allow players to opt out of playing the 2020 season due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These players would not be paid for the season, but receive an advance of $150,000 to $350,000 from their 2021 salary. The following five players opted out of this season: DT Andrew Billings OT Drake Dorbeck G Drew Forbes G Colby Gossett G Malcolm Pridgeon
Uniform changes On April 15, the Browns unveiled new uniforms to be used starting in the 2020 season. The jerseys are brown with white numbers, white with brown numbers. The two main jerseys feature the five-stripe sleeve pattern used prior to 2015. The pants are brown or white, each with an orange-brown-orange stripe pattern on the sides; or orange with a brown-white-brown stripe pattern. The "Cleveland" wordmark on the front of the jerseys and the "Browns" wordmark on the side of the pants were removed. The team also added an alternate uniform, a brown jersey and pants with orange numbers. This is similar to the former "Color Rush" uniform, but with the stripes removed on both the jersey and pants. The changes generally constituted a reversion to the uniforms which the Browns wore up until the 2014 season. The general reception to the uniforms was positive.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason The Browns' preseason schedule was announced on May 7, but was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Week Date Opponent Venue Result 1 at Chicago Bears Soldier Field Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2 at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field 3 August 30 Minnesota Vikings FirstEnergy Stadium 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers FirstEnergy Stadium
Regular season
Schedule The Browns' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 at Baltimore Ravens L 6–38 0–1 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 2 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–30 1–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 3 September 27 Washington Football Team W 34–20 2–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 4 October 4 at Dallas Cowboys W 49–38 3–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 5 October 11 Indianapolis Colts W 32–23 4–1 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 6 October 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–38 4–2 Heinz Field Recap 7 October 25 at Cincinnati Bengals W 37–34 5–2 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 8 November 1 Las Vegas Raiders L 6–16 5–3 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 9 Bye 10 November 15 Houston Texans W 10–7 6–3 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 11 November 22 Philadelphia Eagles W 22–17 7–3 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 12 November 29 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–25 8–3 TIAA Bank Field Recap 13 December 6 at Tennessee Titans W 41–35 9–3 Nissan Stadium Recap 14 Baltimore Ravens L 42–47 9–4 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 15 December 20 at New York Giants W 20–6 10–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 16 December 27 at New York Jets L 16–23 10–5 MetLife Stadium Recap 17 January 3 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–22 11–5 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Baltimore Ravens
The Browns traveled to Baltimore to start their season. The Ravens took advantage of two early Browns turnovers with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Mark Andrews and a Justin Tucker 41-yard field goal to take a 10–0 lead. The Browns cut the Ravens' lead to 10–6 late in the first quarter on a Baker Mayfield 1-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku, however Austin Seibert would miss the extra point. The Ravens dominated the rest of the game, scoring 28 unanswered points on two additional Jackson touchdown passes to Andrews and Willie Snead, as well as two touchdown runs by rookie J. K. Dobbins, to win 38–6.
With the loss, the Browns started their season 0–1. They failed to win in Week 1 for the 16th consecutive season.
After the game, the Browns released Seibert after he missed an extra point and field goal attempt. The Browns signed Cody Parkey from their practice squad to replace Seibert.Cleveland Browns Cut Austin Seibert, Bring on Cody Parkey
Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Browns opened the home portion of their schedule with a Thursday night game against their in-state rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals received the opening kickoff and put together a 15-play drive, culminating in a Randy Bullock field goal to take a 3–0 lead. The Browns responded with a 10-play drive of their own, but were able to find the end zone on a Nick Chubb 11-yard run to take a 7–3 lead. The teams exchanged scores in the second quarter: The Browns scored a touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to Odell Beckham Jr., the Bengals responded with a Joe Burrow 23-yard touchdown pass to C. J. Uzomah, the Browns struck back with a Mayfield touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt, and the Bengals added another Bullock field goal, giving the Browns a 21–13 lead going into halftime.
The Browns struck first in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Chubb. This was set up Myles Garrett forcing a Burrow fumble, which was recovered by Joe Jackson at the Bengals' 1 yard-line. Bullock kicked another field goal to make it 28–16 after three-quarters. The Bengals closed the Browns' lead to 28–23 midway through the fourth quarter on a Burrow 9-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd set up by a Mayfield interception. However, the Browns regained a two-score lead on a Hunt 1-yard touchdown run set up by long runs from Hunt and Chubb. The Bengals added a touchdown in the final minute but could not recover an onside kick attempt, allowing the Browns to run out the clock in a 35–30 win.
With the win, the Browns improved to 1–1.
Week 3: vs. Washington Football Team
The Browns hosted Washington in Week 3. Washington took an early 7–0 lead on a Dwayne Haskins touchdown pass to Dontrelle Inman. In the second quarter, the Browns took advantage of two Haskins interceptions while scoring 17 points in the quarter: a Cody Parkey 42-yard field goal and a pair of touchdowns on a Nick Chubb 16-yard run and a Baker Mayfield 9-yard pass to Kareem Hunt to take a 17–7 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, Washington scored two touchdowns on an Antonio Gibson 2-yard run and a Haskins 11-yard pass to Inman to re-take the lead at 20–17. However, the Browns took a 24–20 lead on a Mayfield 3-yard touchdown pass to Harrison Bryant and built their lead to 31–20 on a Chub 20-yard touchdown run that was set up by another Haskins interception. Parkey added a late field goal to make the final score 34–20.
With the win, the Browns improved to 2–1. This win ended the longest active losing-record streak in the league; Week 4 was the first game since Week 15 of the 2014 season, a span of 90 games, in which the Browns entered with a record above .500.
Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys