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1968 Cleveland Browns season
1968 Cleveland Browns season
General manager	Harold Sauerbrei
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 →;

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. Quarterback Bill Nelsen replaced Frank Ryan as the starting quarterback prior to week 4 of their season.

Veteran wide receiver Paul Warfield had the best season of his entire career catching 50 passes for 1,067 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns.

Season summary

The Browns had enjoyed some recent success, qualifying for the 1965 season NFL Championship Game, in which they lost to the Green Bay Packers 23–12. They finished 9–5 in 1966 and '67, making the playoffs in 1967. The Dallas Cowboys blew them out 52–14 in the Eastern Conference Championship Game. The Browns retooled their roster entered the 1968 season and sought to reestablish themselves as series title contenders. 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 were returning to Cleveland Stadium, where they were had been stunned by the Browns 27–0 in the championship contest four years before. The Colts got revenge with a shutout victory of their own, 34–0, and advanced to Super Bowl III.

The key to the Browns' turnaround in 1968 was the insertion of Bill Nelsen at quarterback early in the season. Nelsen had been acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He replaced Frank Ryan, who had been the team's starting quarterback since 1963 and lead the team on its playoff run in 1964. By 1968, though, Ryan was struggling with shoulder problems. 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/AFL draft.

1968 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
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

Running backs

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

Defensive linemen

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

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Staff/Coaches

1968 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Majority owner/CEO & president – Art Modell
Minority owner/vice president – Al Lerner
General manager – Harold Sauerbrei

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

Quarter	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

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