1969 Cleveland Browns season


The 1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with the National Football League and their 24th overall in professional football and the last before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.
The Browns made it to the 1969 NFL Championship Game, where they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27–7. The 1969 season would be the last year that Cleveland would win a postseason game until 1986. In addition, that victory over Dallas would also be the last time the Browns won a postseason game on the road until the 2020–21 playoffs. This was also the last season in which the Browns made it to the league championship game, as they have failed to reach the Super Bowl after the merger.

Offseason

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft.
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
120Ron JohnsonRunning backMichigan-
355Al JenkinsGuardTulsa-
372Chip GlassTight endFlorida State-
498Freddie SummersDefensive backWake Forest-
5124Fair HookerWide receiverArizona State-
6145Larry AdamsDefensive tackleTexas Christian University-
6150Joe RighettiDefensive tackleWaynesburg-
7176Walt SumnerDefensive backFlorida State-
8202Chuck ReynoldsCenterTulsa-
9228Ron KamzelskiDefensive tackleMinnesota-
10254Greg ShellyGuardVirginia-
11280Dave JonesWide receiverKansas State-
12306Dick DavisRunning backNebraska-
13332Tommy BoutwellWide receiverSouthern Miss-
14358Jiggy SmahaDefensive tackleGeorgia-
15384Joel StevensonTight endGeorgia Tech-
16410James LoweFlankerTuskegee-
17436Bob OliverDefensive endAbilene Christian-

Preseason

On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Chicago Bears played the AFL's Buffalo Bills, while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.

Playoffs

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
Eastern ConferenceDecember 27at Dallas CowboysW 38–141–0Cotton Bowl69,321
NFL ChampionshipJanuary 4, 1970at Minnesota VikingsL 7–271–1Metropolitan Stadium47,900