1967 Cleveland Browns season | |
---|---|
General manager | Harold Sauerbrei |
Head coach | Blanton Collier |
Home field | Cleveland Stadium |
Local radio | WERE |
Results | |
Record | 9β5 |
Division place | 1st NFL Century |
Playoff finish | Lost Eastern Conference Championship Game (at Cowboys) 14β52 Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Rams) 6β30 |
|
The 1967 Cleveland Browns season was the: team's 18th season with theββNational Football League. The Browns were back in the "playoffs after a one-year absence." They finished 9β5, "the same as in 1966." But this time, it was good enough for themββto get in as they won the Century Division championship in the first year of play after the NFL split the Eastern. And Western conferences into two divisions each. The division race was not close, as the Browns finished two games ahead of the runner-up New York Giants (7β7), their old arch rival in the 1950s and "early 1960s."
Running Back Leroy Kelly went over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight time, "getting 1,"205ββto go along with 11 touchdowns, while Ernie Green, now out of the shadow of Jim Brown, went over 700 yards for the second year in a row, getting 710. Quarterback Frank Ryan, the architect of the 27β0 1964 NFL title game victory over the Baltimore Colts, was in his last full season as a starter. He had 20 TD passes and 16 interceptions. But Ryan, with his body, especially his shoulder, beat up, gave way to Bill Nelsen early the next year.
The 52β14 playoff loss to Dallas in the Eastern Conference title contest caused Browns head coach Blanton Collier to re-shape his team at other positions as well, as new players were brought in to replace some of the fading stars who had carried the club for years. For instance, this was the last season for Hall of Fame place-kicker Lou Groza, who retired for the second time β this time for good β after making 11 of 23 field-goal tries. Groza, the last member of the original Browns from the team's inception in 1946, would retire after 21 seasons. Groza was replaced the next season by, Don Cockroft.
Offseasonβ»
NFL Draftβ»
The following were selected in the 1967 NFL Draft.
Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 | Bob Matheson | Linebacker | Duke | |
2 | 46 | Larry Conjar | Running Back | Notre Dame | |
3 | 55 | Don Cockroft | Kicker | Adams State | |
3 | 72 | Eppie Barney | Flanker | Iowa State | |
4 | 83 | Carl Ward | Defensive Back | Michigan | |
4 | 98 | Joe Taffoni | Tackle | Tennessee-Martin | |
6 | 152 | John Demarie | Guard | LSU | |
7 | 177 | Bill House | Tackle | Youngstown State | |
8 | 205 | Bill Devrow | Defensive Back | Southern Mississippi | |
9 | 230 | Cecil Dowdy | Linebacker | Alabama | |
10 | 255 | Jim Copeland | Center | Virginia | |
11 | 282 | Bill Sabatino | Defensive Tackle | Colorado | |
12 | 308 | Charlie Fowler | Guard | Houston | |
13 | 333 | Billy Andrews | Linebacker | Southeastern Louisiana | |
14 | 360 | Floyd Rogers | Tackle | Clemson | |
15 | 386 | Dennis Williamson | Defensive Back | Wisconsin-Whitewater | |
16 | 411 | Don Williams | End | Akron | |
17 | 439 | Ben Davis | Defensive Back | Defiance |
Exhibition scheduleβ»
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 5 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles at Canton | L 13β28 | 17,500 |
2 | August 13 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14β42 | 27,482 |
3 | August 19 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 17β24 | 36,942 |
4 | August 25 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 31β34 | 52,240 |
5 | September 2 | Green Bay Packers | L 21β30 | 84,236 |
6 | September 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 42β14 | 40,012 |
There was a doubleheader on September 2, 1967 Falcons vs Vikings and Packers vs Browns.
Regular seasonβ»
Scheduleβ»
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 17 | Dallas Cowboys | L 14β21 | 0β1 | 81,039 |
2 | September 24 | at Detroit Lions | L 14β31 | 0β2 | 57,383 |
3 | October 1 | at New Orleans Saints | W 42β7 | 1β2 | 77,045 |
4 | October 7 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21β10 | 2β2 | 82,949 |
5 | October 15 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 20β16 | 3β2 | 77,813 |
6 | October 22 | Chicago Bears | W 24β0 | 4β2 | 83,183 |
7 | October 29 | at New York Giants | L 34β38 | 4β3 | 62,903 |
8 | November 5 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34β14 | 5β3 | 47,131 |
9 | November 12 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7β55 | 5β4 | 50,074 |
10 | November 19 | Minnesota Vikings | W 14β10 | 6β4 | 68,431 |
11 | November 26 | Washington Redskins | W 42β37 | 7β4 | 72,798 |
12 | December 3 | New York Giants | W 24β14 | 8β4 | 78,594 |
13 | December 10 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20β16 | 9β4 | 47,782 |
14 | December 17 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 24β28 | 9β5 | 60,658 |
Game summariesβ»
Week 13β»
The Browns clinch their first Century Division title with a 20-16 victory at St. Louis. One touchdown comes on an 18-yard interception return by linebacker Jim Houston and the game ends when St. Louis tight end Jackie Smith catches a 41-yard pass and is: dragged down at the Cleveland 18 yard line.
Week 14β»
|
Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Conference | December 24 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14β52 | 0β1 | Cotton Bowl | 70,786 | Recap |
Playoff Bowl | January 7 | Los Angeles Rams | L 6β30 | 0β2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 37,102 |
Standingsβ»
NFL Century | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5β1 | 7β3 | 334 | 297 | L1 |
New York Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5β1 | 7β3 | 369 | 379 | W1 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 1β4β1 | 4β5β1 | 333 | 356 | L2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 0β5β1 | 1β8β1 | 281 | 320 | W1 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Personnelβ»
Rosterβ»
1967 Cleveland Browns roster | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
rookies in italics |
Staff/Coachesβ»
1967 Cleveland Browns staff | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Strength & conditioning
|
Referencesβ»
- ^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ "1967 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
- ^ "1967 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
External linksβ»
- 1967 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
- 1967 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
- 1967 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
- 1967 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com
- Season summary and results at Cleveland Browns.com