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1967 Cleveland Browns season

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1967 Cleveland Browns season
General managerHarold Sauerbrei
Head coachBlanton Collier
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWERE
Results
Record9–5
Division place1st NFL Century
Playoff finishLost Eastern Conference Championship Game
(at Cowboys) 14–52
Lost NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Rams) 6–30

The 1967 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 18th season with the National Football League. The Browns were back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. They finished 9–5, the same as in 1966, but this time, it was good enough for them to 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 (7–7), 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 1,205 to 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 27–0 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 52–14 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 – this time for good – 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.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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The following were selected in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft.

1967 Cleveland Browns 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

[1]

Exhibition schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 5 vs. Philadelphia Eagles at Canton L 13–28 17,500
2 August 13 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–42 27,482
3 August 19 at Los Angeles Rams L 17–24 36,942
4 August 25 at Atlanta Falcons L 31–34 52,240
5 September 2 Green Bay Packers L 21–30 84,236
6 September 10 at Minnesota Vikings W 42–14 40,012

There was a doubleheader on September 2, 1967 Falcons vs Vikings and Packers vs Browns.

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 17 Dallas Cowboys L 14–21 0–1 81,039
2 September 24 at Detroit Lions L 14–31 0–2 57,383
3 October 1 at New Orleans Saints W 42–7 1–2 77,045
4 October 7 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–10 2–2 82,949
5 October 15 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–16 3–2 77,813
6 October 22 Chicago Bears W 24–0 4–2 83,183
7 October 29 at New York Giants L 34–38 4–3 62,903
8 November 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–14 5–3 47,131
9 November 12 at Green Bay Packers L 7–55 5–4 50,074
10 November 19 Minnesota Vikings W 14–10 6–4 68,431
11 November 26 Washington Redskins W 42–37 7–4 72,798
12 December 3 New York Giants W 24–14 8–4 78,594
13 December 10 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–16 9–4 47,782
14 December 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 24–28 9–5 60,658

Game summaries

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Week 13

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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 14

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1 234Total
Browns 7 3014 24
• Eagles 0 7714 28

Playoffs

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See also: 1969 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Eastern Conference December 24 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–52 0–1 Cotton Bowl 70,786 Recap
Playoff Bowl January 7 Los Angeles Rams L 6–30 0–2 Miami Orange Bowl 37,102

Standings

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NFL Century
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 9 5 0 .643 5–1 7–3 334 297 L1
New York Giants 7 7 0 .500 5–1 7–3 369 379 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 6 7 1 .462 1–4–1 4–5–1 333 356 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 4 9 1 .308 0–5–1 1–8–1 281 320 W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Personnel

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Roster

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1967 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

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Staff/Coaches

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1967 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

  Defensive coaches

Strength & conditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

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References

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  1. ^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  2. ^ "1967 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com".
  3. ^ "1967 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
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