The Cleveland Browns have largely been one of the NFL’s bottom feeders in recent years, particularly since the turn of the century, with just two playoff berths in 23 years.
Cleveland looks poised to make a third postseason trip across this span this season and could perhaps go even farther than just making an appearance. But has the franchise ever won a Super Bowl or advanced to the big game?
The Cleveland Browns’ Playoff History
Cleveland has achieved some success across its lengthy history, contrary to its recent run of poor form. The franchise advanced to three AFC Championship Games across a four-season stretch between 1986 and 1989, falling victim to John Elway’s Denver Broncos each time.
The Browns have yet to break through for a Super Bowl win. They are one of four NFL teams that have yet to even reach the game, alongside the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans, and the Detroit Lions. Those four are among 12 of the league’s 32 teams to never win the big game.
Houston’s franchise history began recently in 2002; however, Detroit has qualified for just one conference title game. Jacksonville has advanced to three.
Meanwhile, Cleveland boasts the most close calls at making it to the Super Bowl and potentially winning, including two narrow losses to Denver in those three trips.
The Browns took a 23-20 overtime loss in the teams’ first of three meetings, as their seven-point lead slipped away in the fourth quarter before Denver’s game-winning field goal. The Broncos then scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the next year’s 38-33 win after Cleveland had rallied from an early 18-point deficit.
Two years later, in 1989, the Browns trailed just 24-21 entering the fourth quarter before Denver won the final period 13-0 to seal a 37-21 victory.
MORE: Cleveland Browns Depth Chart
Cleveland did have quite a bit of success before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 and the subsequent creation of the Super Bowl, though.
The franchise won four NFL championships before the merger. The first came in 1950 before they won two straight in 1954 and 1955, followed by one more in 1964.
Before these championships, they won four All-America Football Conference championships in 1946-49 — the only four years of the AAFC’s existence as a competitor to the NFL.
The Browns are still in pursuit of finding that level of success in the modern-day NFL, and they have seemed to take a step in the right direction toward that in recent years.
Time will tell whether Cleveland can sustain its recent success and turn it into a Super Bowl appearance — or maybe even a chance to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
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