1978 Cleveland Browns season

1978 Cleveland Browns season
Head Coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home Field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	8–8–0
Place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1977	1979

The 1978 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 29th season with the National Football League.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1978 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	12	Clay Matthews	Linebacker	USC
1	23	Ozzie Newsome	Tight End	Alabama
2	39	Johnny Evans	Punter	North Carolina State
3	67	Larry Collins	Running Back	Texas A&I
3	68	Mark Miller	Quarterback	Bowling Green
4	103	Pete Pullara	Offensive Guard	Tennessee-Chattanooga
5	122	Keith Wright	Wide Receiver	Memphis St.
6	149	Al Pitts	Center	Michigan State
8	205	Jesse Turnbow	Defensive Tackle	Tennessee
9	234	Jon Kramer	Guard	Baylor
10	261	Brent Watson	Offensive Tackle	Tennessee
11	290	Larry Gillard	Defensive Tackle	Mississippi State
12	317	Leo Biedermann	Offensive Tackle	California

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	San Francisco 49ers	W 24–7	68,973
2	September 10, 1978	Cincinnati Bengals	W 13–10	72,691
3	September 17, 1978	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–16	56,648
4	September 24, 1978	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 15–9	49,573
5	October 1, 1978	Houston Oilers	L 16–13	72,776
6	October 8, 1978	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–16	50,158
7	October 15, 1978	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 34–14	81,302
8	October 22, 1978	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–3	41,157
9	October 29, 1978	Buffalo Bills	W 41–20	51,409
10	November 5, 1978	at Houston Oilers	L 14–10	45,827
11	November 12, 1978	Denver Broncos	L 19–7	70,856
12	November 19, 1978	at Baltimore Colts	W 45–24	45,341
13	November 26, 1978	Los Angeles Rams	W 30–19	55,158
14	December 3, 1978	at Seattle Seahawks	L 47–24	62,262
15	December 10, 1978	New York Jets	W 37–34	36,881
16	December 17, 1978	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 48–16	46,985

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA
Pittsburgh Steelers(1)	14	2	0	.875	5–1	11–1	356	195
Houston Oilers(5)	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	283	298
Cleveland Browns	8	8	0	.500	1–5	4–8	334	356
Cincinnati Bengals	4	12	0	.250	2–4	2–10	252	284

Roster

1978 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 15 Mark Miller 17 Brian Sipe Running Backs 23 Larry Collins 26 Tom Sullivan 30 Cleo Miller FB 34 Greg Pruitt 35 Calvin Hill 43 Mike Pruitt FB Wide Receivers 33 Reggie Rucker 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan 89 Keith Wright KR/PR Tight Ends 81 Oscar Roan 82 Ozzie Newsome 84 Gary Parris		Offensive Linemen 51 Leo Tierney C 54 Tom DeLeone C 61 Greg Fairchild G 62 George Buehler G 63 Barry Darrow T 65 Henry Sheppard G 68 Robert E. Jackson G 69 Leo Biedermann T 73 Doug Dieken T 79 Gerry Sullivan T/C Defensive Linemen 64 Joe Jones DE 66 Earl Edwards DT 70 Mack Mitchell DE 71 Jesse Turnbow DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT 74 Mike St. Clair DT 78 Mickey Sims DT		Linebackers 47 Ricky Jones 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 55 Dave Graf 56 Robert L. Jackson ILB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 59 Charlie Hall OLB 60 Bob Babich ILB 86 Gerald Irons OLB Defensive Backs 20 Tony Peters SS 21 Oliver Davis CB 22 Clarence Scott CB 24 Randy Rich S 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 40 Tom London S Special Teams  8 Johnny Evans P/QB 12 Don Cockroft K Rookies in italics