Welcome to episode six of Run It Back! Today, we are going to look back on the 2007 Cleveland Browns, a team that came very close to reaching the postseason but ultimately fell short of doing so.
We are nearing the final weeks of the NFL’s regular season, and by this point, the top contenders have separated themselves from the rest of the field. The teams on the periphery are battling with one another to try and punch their ticket to the playoffs, no matter how slim their chances are. The best of the teams that miss out usually end with around nine or ten wins, and typically put up a strong fight throughout the season. For whatever reason, though, they are not quite good enough to get into the postseason, raising a number of questions about what could have been.
In 2007, the Cleveland Browns were not expected to be anywhere near the playoffs. Ever since returning to the NFL via expansion in 1999, the Browns had only had one winning season; that was in 2002, a year when Cleveland finished 9-7 and blew a 27-14 lead to lose 36-33 in the wild card round versus the hated Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hang on a minute. The Browns were an expansion team? Weren’t they in the league before 1999?
Well, yes, but it’s a bit complicated.
Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Browns’ long-time home, had been showing its age and plans for renovations or the construction of a new replacement stadium were not going well. Then-owner Art Modell grew frustrated with the city’s failed efforts to get the Browns a new stadium, threatening to move the team entirely. After a 5-11 season in 1995, Modell moved the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore for 1996. However, this was no normal relocation.
When a relocation occurs, a sports franchise usually maintains the history from its previous location and combines it with the subsequent records and statistics of the new, post-relocation identity. For example, the Tennessee Titans claimed all of the Houston Oilers’ history as their own following the Oilers’ move to Tennessee during the 1996-97 off-season.
Instead of allowing Modell to transfer the Browns’ history over to Baltimore, Cleveland football fans pushed for legal action against Modell and the league. To settle the matter, the NFL made a deal with Modell: the Browns’ history and records would remain in Cleveland, and Modell would receive a new franchise in Baltimore. Thus, the Baltimore Ravens were born, and the Browns franchise temporarily suspended operations in the meantime.
In 1999, the Browns re-entered the NFL as an “expansion” team, despite claiming all of the pre-relocation history as their own. When Cleveland hosted its first game back, comedian Drew Carey told everyone who dunked on his city to shut up. Well, about that.
The Steelers’ 43-0 romp of the Browns in their ‘99 season opener sums up how the team was doing for most of their time since rejoining the NFL. Over their first eight seasons back, Cleveland had had four different head coaches and had ten quarterbacks start in a regular season game. Needless to say, the Browns were not off to a good start by any means.
Aside from 2002, Cleveland had not finished a season above .500; the best of these losing seasons was a 7-9 showing in 2001, which was the only time in which a Browns quarterback had started every game. By the end of 2006, head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage were in a tough spot after two unremarkable seasons in their respective positions. If Cleveland wanted to succeed with Crennel and Savage, they would need to make some serious changes to the team’s identity.
During the 2007 NFL draft, Savage selected offensive tackle Joe Thomas out of the University of Wisconsin with the third overall pick. Having started all 13 games for Wisconsin in 2006, Thomas was named an All-American in his senior season. In addition to Thomas, Cleveland also selected quarterback Brady Quinn out of the University of Notre Dame with the 22nd overall pick; Quinn won the Golden Arm Award as the best senior quarterback in college football at the end of 2006.
Heading into training camp, the Browns had three quarterbacks on their roster: Quinn, second-year Derek Anderson, and third-year Charlie Frye. Quinn did not sign with Cleveland until after camp had begun, leaving Anderson and Frye to battle it out for the starting job.
Crennel named Frye as the starter for Week 1 vs. Pittsburgh, which did not go as well as the Browns had hoped. Frye struggled out of the gate, being sacked five times by the Steelers’ defense. By the second quarter, Cleveland was down 17-0, and Frye had gone 4-for-10 passing with an interception. Crennel replaced Frye with Anderson, hoping to salvage the game with a change at quarterback.
Anderson threw a one-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, but the Browns would lose 34-7 to begin the season 0-1. This was Cleveland’s eighth Week 1 loss in nine years, as well as their eighth consecutive loss against Pittsburgh. It was only the season opener, but things were not looking good so far.
Following the opening loss, the Browns traded Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, making Anderson the starter for the foreseeable future. The quarterback situation was squared away, but the team did not become Super Bowl contenders overnight. Through six games, Cleveland sat at 3-3, alternating between wins and losses every week. During this stretch, the Browns’ defense allowed over 30 points four times, and held their opponents under 20 points just once. Still, they were 3-3, which was two wins better than the team’s 1-5 start the previous year.
Cleveland returned from their bye week and strung some wins together over their next few contests. In Week 8, Anderson went 18-for-25 passing and threw three TDs to help the Browns come back from a 14-point deficit against the St. Louis Rams; Cleveland won the game, 27-20. Running back Jamal Lewis led the charge the next week, rushing for four touchdowns as the Browns rallied from being down 21-6 to win 33-30 in overtime against the Seahawks. At 5-3, Cleveland was just one game behind the Steelers as they prepared to travel to Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field for a crucial Week 10 duel.
Through their first six games, the Browns looked as though they were struggling to stay afloat. They would win one week and lose the next, while Pittsburgh took control of the AFC North division lead by winning six of their first eight games. Cleveland used their bye week as a chance to catch up, winning their next two to pull within one game of the Steelers. A win at Heinz Field would mean a lot for the Browns if they were serious about wanting a shot at the playoffs.
Initially, Cleveland’s chances of winning looked really good. Anderson threw three touchdown passes, and the Browns’ defense limited Pittsburgh to only three field goals. By the end of the first half, Cleveland was up 21-9, hoping to finally snap their losing streak against the Steelers and tie them in the division standings.
Then, Pittsburgh began a comeback. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a 12-yard TD to wide receiver Hines Ward, cutting Pittsburgh’s deficit to 21-16. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers took the lead as Roethlisberger ran for a 30-yard touchdown. Roethlisberger passed to Ward for a successful two-point attempt, making it 24-21 Pittsburgh.
It was not over yet, though, as Josh Cribbs gave Cleveland life on the ensuing kickoff return. Cribbs returned Jeff Reed’s kick for a 100-yard TD, putting the Browns back in the lead. Up 28-24 in the final frame, Cleveland still had a chance to win.
That was, until the Steelers answered right back on the next drive. Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh all the way to the end zone to get the Steelers back in front, 31-28. Just over three minutes remained in regulation, leaving the Browns only a little bit of time to try and retake the lead.
The teams traded punts, and Cleveland began their final possession with under two minutes to go. Anderson completed passes to Joe Jurevicius and Kellen Winslow II to bring the Browns up to the Steelers’ 35-yard line, gaining 32 yards over seven plays. Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson missed a last-ditch field goal attempt to force overtime, allowing Pittsburgh to preserve the victory. With the win, the Steelers were now two games ahead of the Browns with seven to play, clinching the head-to-head tiebreaker in the process.
In spite of the loss, Cleveland won four of five to improve to 9-5 on the season. In Week 16, the Browns were set to face their in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, for a chance to clinch a playoff berth. Cleveland had previously defeated Cincinnati in a 51-45 shootout at home in Week 2, seeking a season sweep of the Bengals in the penultimate game. That sweep never came, however.
After a scoreless opening frame, Cincinnati pounced in the second quarter. The Bengals opened the scoring with a pair of field goals from kicker Shayne Graham before intercepting Anderson twice by the end of the quarter. These led to a pair of touchdowns for Cincinnati, who extended their lead to 19-0 to close out the first half.
Despite two touchdown passes by Anderson in the second half, the Browns could not complete the comeback, falling to the Bengals by a score of 19-14. A win would have given Cleveland a spot in the postseason, their first since 2002 and their second since returning to the NFL in 1999.
Instead, the Steelers secured the AFC North with the Browns’ loss and a win over the Rams, which put them one game ahead of Cleveland at 10-5. Additionally, the Tennessee Titans were now battling with the Browns for the last wild card spot in the final week of the season. Unfortunately for Cleveland, the Titans had the advantage in games against common opponents.
Both teams played a total of four games against the Bengals, the Houston Texans, and the Oakland Raiders; Tennessee was 3-1 vs. these teams, while the Browns were 2-2 against them. In order for Cleveland to clinch a playoff berth, they needed a win and a Titans loss in the regular season finale.
One of those two things happened, as the Browns won 20-7 over the San Francisco 49ers. So far, so good.
Alas, Tennessee did not lose their game, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 to take the AFC’s final wild card spot. Cleveland had their second winning season and best regular season since rejoining the league, only to finish on the outside looking in. The Browns came so close to reaching the finish line, yet a few setbacks prevented them from running across in time.
Nevertheless, Cleveland sent six players to the Pro Bowl, their most since the 1994 season: Anderson, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, Winslow, Cribbs, Thomas, and long snapper Ryan Pontbriand. In addition, the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) named Anderson as the Most Improved Player for 2007. Over 16 games, Anderson threw for 3,787 yards and 29 touchdowns, good for ninth and fifth in the league, respectively.
The Browns did not improve upon this season, dropping to 4-12 in 2008. Crennel and Savage were both fired after that season, and Anderson eventually lost the starting job to Quinn. Cleveland did not finish above third in the AFC North for quite some time, and had a combined record of 1-31 between 2016 and 2017. Things did get a little bit better later on, but that’s another story for another time.
In sports and in life, not everything goes according to plan. Browns fans were not expecting that their team would even sniff a playoff appearance in 2007, yet Cleveland came so close to securing a spot. Sometimes, the unexpected can be exhilarating, if even for a moment.
At the same time, there are always going to be peaks and valleys. The Browns nearly reached the postseason, but ultimately failed to do so. For a moment, though, they came very close to making it in and bringing a lot of joy to their city. Sometimes, those thrills can really mean a lot, no matter how small they may be.
