1968 Cleveland Browns season

The 1968 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 19th season with the National Football League. The Browns made it to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year thanks to an 8-game winning streak and the brilliant play of quarterback Bill Nelsen who replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

1968 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Blanton Collier
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st NFL Century
Playoff finish	Won Eastern Conference Championship Game (vs. Cowboys) 31–20 Lost NFL Championship (vs. Colts) 0–34
← 1967 Browns seasons 1969 →

Season summary

In a relative sense Browns had not done much since 1965, when they lost to the Green Bay Packers 23–12 in the NFL Championship Game. They finished 9–5 in 1966 and '67, but made the playoffs only in the second year. However, it was a short stay, as the Dallas Cowboys blew them out 52–14 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game. So with a retooled roster the Browns headed into the 1968 season, hoping to get back into serious title contention. It worked. After a slow start in which they lost two of their first three games and three of their first five, the re-tooled Browns won eight in a row before falling 27–16 to the St. Louis Cardinals in a meaningless game in the regular-season finale. The result was a 10–4 mark, the Century Division crown (by the slimmest of margins over the 9–4–1 Cardinals) and a spot in the conference title game again opposite those same Cowboys.

Only this time, the Browns advanced, beating Dallas 31–20 to get to the league title game against the Baltimore Colts. The Colts, returning to Cleveland Stadium, where they were stunned by the Browns 27–0 in the championship contest four years before, got revenge with a shutout victory of their own, 34–0.

So it was the Colts and not the Browns who headed to Super Bowl III, where they were stunned once more, this time by the New York Jets, 16–7.

The key to the Browns' turnaround in 1968 was the insertion of Bill Nelsen at quarterback early in the season. Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan, the architect of that victory over the Colts in 1964. By '68, though, he was really banged up, battling shoulder problems. Nelsen had been acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was inspired by going to a team that had a chance to win. At the time, the Steelers were in the midst of a 6-year run without a playoff appearance.

Nelsen made an impact right away, helping to beat the Colts 30–20 to hand Baltimore its only loss in a 13–1 season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1968 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	21	Marvin Upshaw	Defensive end	Trinity
2	47	John Garlington	Linebacker	LSU
3	64	Harry Olszewski	Guard	Clemson
3	66	Reece Morrison	Running back	Texas State
4	104	Wayne Meylan	Linebacker	Nebraska
5	131	Mike Wempe	Tackle	Missouri
5	134	Jackie Jackson	Running back	Clemson
6	152	Nate James	Defensive back	Florida A&M
7	186	Dale Brady	Running back	Memphis
8	212	Tom Schoen	Defensive back	Notre Dame
9	238	David Porter	Defensive tackle	Michigan
10	255	James Greer	Defensive end	Stephen F. Austin
10	267	Alvin Mitchell	Defensive back	Morgan State
11	293	Jim Alcorn	Quarterback	Clarion
12	319	Tom Beutler	Linebacker	Toledo
13	348	Terry Sellers	Defensive back	Georgia
14	374	Edgar Whipps	Running back	Jackson State
15	400	Bob Baxter	Flanker	Memphis
16	429	Dick Sievert	Defensive end	Wisconsin-River Falls
17	455	Wayne McDuffie	Center	Florida State

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Personnel

Roster

1968 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 11 Don Gault 16 Bill Nelsen 13 Frank Ryan Running Backs 48 Ernie Green FB 31 Charley Harraway 44 Leroy Kelly KR/PR 25 Charlie Leigh 26 Reece Morrison Wide Receivers 87 Eppie Barney 86 Gary Collins P 43 Ron Green 29 Tommy McDonald 42 Paul Warfield Tight Ends 89 Milt Morin 41 Ralph Smith		Offensive Linemen 73 Monte Clark T 64 Jim Copeland C/G 55 John Demarie G 66 Gene Hickerson G 54 Fred Hoaglin C 77 Dick Schafrath T 62 Joe Taffoni T Defensive Linemen 69 Jim Kanicki DT 80 Bill Glass DE 81 Jack Gregory DE 71 Walter Johnson DT 88 Ron Snidow DE 84 Marvin Upshaw		Linebackers 52 Billy Andrews OLB 50 John Garlington OLB 82 Jim Houston OLB 51 Dale Lindsey MLB 56 Bob Matheson MLB 59 Wayne Meylan Defensive Backs 40 Erich Barnes CB 28 Ben Davis CB/KR/PR 34 Mike Howell CB 24 Ernie Kellerman S 49 Alvin Mitchell 27 Carl Ward CB/KR Special Teams 12 Don Cockroft K Rookies in italics

^[2]

Staff/Coaches

1968 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front Office Majority Owner/CEO & President - Art Modell Minority Owner/Vice President - Al Lerner Coaching Staff Head Coach – Blanton Collier Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Nick Skorich Offensive Line – Fritz Heisler Receivers - Bob Nussbaumer			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator - Howard Brinker Defensive Line – Dick Modzelewski Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & Coditioning Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

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Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 9	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–23	64,020
2	August 18	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–17	26,801
3	August 24	at New Orleans Saints	L 27–40	70,045
4	August 30	at Buffalo Bills	W 22–12	45,448
5	September 7	Green Bay Packers	L 9–31	84,918

There was a doubleheader on September 7, 1968 Lions vs Jets (AFL) and Packers vs Browns.

Regular season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 15	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–10	1–0	74,215
2	September 22	at Dallas Cowboys	L 7–28	1–1	68,733
3	September 29	Los Angeles Rams	L 6–24	1–2	82,514
4	October 5	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–24	2–2	81,865
5	October 13	St. Louis Cardinals	L 21–27	2–3	79,349
6	October 20	at Baltimore Colts	W 30–20	3–3	60,238
7	October 27	Atlanta Falcons	W 30–7	4–3	67,723
8	November 3	at San Francisco 49ers	W 33–21	5–3	31,359
9	November 10	New Orleans Saints	W 35–17	6–3	71,025
10	November 17	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 45–24	7–3	41,572
11	November 24	Philadelphia Eagles	W 47–13	8–3	62,338
12	December 1	New York Giants	W 45–10	9–3	83,193
13	December 8	at Washington Redskins	W 24–21	10–3	50,661
14	December 14	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 16–27	10–4	39,746

Game summaries

Week 7: vs. Atlanta

Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7
Browns	7	13	3	7	30

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Date: October 27
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C), relative humidity 63%, round (wind) 17 mph
• Game attendance: 67,723
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and John Fitzgerald (sideline reporter)
• [1]

Game information

First Quarter CLE – Kelly 5 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Browns 7, Falcons 0 Second Quarter CLE – Kelly 1 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Browns 14, Falcons 0 CLE – Cockroft 25 yard field goal Browns 17, Falcons 0 CLE – Cockroft 42 yard field goal Browns 20, Falcons 0 Third Quarter CLE – Cockroft 34 yard field goal Browns 23, Falcons 0 Fourth Quarter CLE – Warfield 22 yard pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick) Browns 30, Falcons 0 ATL – Donohoe 7 yard pass from Berry (Etter kick) Browns 30, Falcons 7 Top passers ATL – Bob Berry 8/10, 107 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT CLE – Bill Nelsen 18/27, 248 yds, 1 TD Top rushers ATL – Cannonball Butler 13 carr, 73 yds CLE – Leroy Kelly 19 carr, 112 yds, 2 TD Top receivers ATL – Bob Long 4 rec, 73 yds CLE – Milt Morin 5 rec, 98 yds Turnovers ATL – 2 CLE – 0

Playoffs

See also: 1968 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Eastern Conference	December 21	Dallas Cowboys	W 31–20	1–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	81,497	Recap
NFL Championship	December 29	Baltimore Colts	L 0–34	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,628	Recap

Standings

NFL Century
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	10	4	0	.714	4–2	7–3	394	273	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	9	4	1	.692	5–0–1	8–1–1	325	289	W4
New Orleans Saints	4	9	1	.308	2–4	3–7	246	327	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	11	1	.154	0–5–1	1–8–1	244	397	L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and honors

• LeRoy Kelly, Bert Bell Award^[4]

References

1. "1968 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
2. "1968 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
3. "1968 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
4. . Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.

External links

• 1968 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1968 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1968 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1968 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com