The 1976 Cleveland Browns season was the franchise's 31st as a professional sports franchise and their 27th season as a member of the National Football League. The Browns were coached by second-year coach Forrest Gregg, and ended their season with a record of 9–5, being third in their division. The team's top draft choice was running back Mike Pruitt.

Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Mike Phipps injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry Bradshaw fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular-season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight 1,000-yard season.

Offseason 1976 expansion draft

+ Cleveland Browns selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Carl BarisichDefensive tackleSeattle Seahawks00John DemarieGuardSeattle Seahawks00J. K. McKayWide receiverTampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL draft The following were selected in the 1976 NFL draft. 1976 Cleveland Browns draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes17Mike PruittRunning back Purdue365Dave LoganWide receiver Colorado497Gene SwickQuarterback Toledo499Mike St. ClairDefensive end Grambling5130Henry SheppardGuard SMU7189Steve CassidyDefensive tackle LSU9242James ReedRunning back Mississippi9261Craig NagelQuarterback Purdue10271Doug KleberOffensive tackle Illinois11297Doug CelekDefensive end Kent State13354Brian MurrayOffensive tackle Arizona14381Joe SmalzerTight end Illinois15408Luther PhilyawDefensive back Loyola Marymount16438Chris LorenzenDefensive tackle Arizona State17464Tom FlemingWide receiver Dartmouth

Staff / Coaches

Roster 1976 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 10 Dave Mays 15 Mike Phipps 17 Brian Sipe

Running backs 30 Cleo Miller 34 Greg Pruitt 35 Brian Duncan 38 Larry Poole 43 Mike Pruitt

Wide receivers 26 Billy Lefear (IR) 33 Reggie Rucker 42 Paul Warfield 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan 88 Steve Holden

Tight ends 81 Oscar Roan 84 Gary Parris Offensive linemen 54 Tom DeLeone C 61 Al Dennis G 63 Barry Darrow T 65 Henry Sheppard G/T 67 Chuck Hutchison G (IR) 68 Robert Jackson G 69 Pete Adams G 73 Doug Dieken T 79 Gerry Sullivan T/C

Defensive linemen 64 Joe Jones DE 66 Earl Edwards DT 70 Mack Mitchell DE 71 Walter Johnson DT 72 Jerry Sherk DT 74 Mike St. Clair DE Linebackers 50 John Garlington OLB 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 55 Dave Graf ILB 59 Charlie Hall OLB 60 Bob Babich ILB 86 Gerald Irons OLB

Defensive backs 20 Tony Peters CB 22 Clarence Scott CB 23 Bill Craven FS 24 Terry Brown SS 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 49 Neal Craig SS

Special teams 12 Don Cockroft K/P

rookies in italics

Exhibition schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1vs. Baltimore Colts L 0–210–1Memorial Stadium (Lincoln) Recap 2 vs. Atlanta Falcons W 31–71–1Lewis Field Recap 3 Minnesota Vikings W 31–72–1Cleveland Stadium Recap 4 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–173–1Veterans Stadium Recap 5 New England Patriots W 30–274–1Cleveland Stadium Recap 6 at Buffalo Bills L 10–284–2 Rich Stadium Recap

Regular season schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 12 New York Jets W 38–17 1–0 Cleveland Stadium 67,496 Recap 2 September 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–31 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium 49,169 Recap 3 September 26 at Denver Broncos L 13–44 1–2 Mile High Stadium 62,775 Recap 4 October 3 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–45 1–3 Cleveland Stadium 75,817 Recap 5 October 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 18–16 2–3 Cleveland Stadium 76,411 Recap 6 October 17 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 3–3 Atlanta Stadium 33,364 Recap 7 October 24 San Diego Chargers W 21–17 4–3 Cleveland Stadium 60,018 Recap 8 October 31 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–21 4–4 Riverfront Stadium 54,776 Recap 9 November 7 at Houston Oilers W 21–7 5–4 Astrodome 39,828 Recap 10 November 14 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–3 6–4 Cleveland Stadium 62,120 Recap 11 November 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–7 7–4 Tampa Stadium 36,930 Recap 12 November 28 Miami Dolphins W 17–13 8–4 Cleveland Stadium 74,715 Recap 13 December 5 Houston Oilers W 13–10 9–4 Cleveland Stadium 56,025 Recap 14 December 12 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–39 9–5 Arrowhead Stadium 34,340 RecapNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Game summaries

Week 5 vs Steelers

Turkey Jones knocked out Terry Bradshaw in this contest.

Week 6: at Atlanta

Notes and references

External links 1976 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1976 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1976 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com