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2004 Cleveland Browns season

{{short description|56th season in franchise history}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NFL team season

| logo =

| team = Cleveland Browns

| year = 2004

| owner = Randy Lerner

| coach = Butch Davis (resigned November 30, 3–8 record)
Terry Robiskie (1–4 record) (interim)

| off_coach = Terry Robiskie

| def_coach = Dave Campo

| stadium = Cleveland Browns Stadium

| radio = WTAM{{·}} WMMS

| record = 4–12

| division_place = 4th AFC North

| playoffs = Did not qualify

| uniform =

| pro bowlers = None

| shortnavlink = Browns seasons

}}

The 2004 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 56th season and 52nd with the National Football League. The Browns were looking to improve on their 5–11 record from 2003 and return to their 2002 playoff position; however, hindered by a tough schedule they regressed further and only won four games. On November 30, Butch Davis resigned as head coach and general manager of the team. He was succeeded by offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie. Robiskie promoted tight end coach Rob Chudzinski to offensive coordinator.

On September 12, the Browns defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 20–3, marking the team's only Week 1 win since returning to the NFL in 1999 until they defeated the Carolina Panthers in 2022, 26–24. In the 24 seasons since the Browns returned to the league, the Browns opening week record is 3–20–1.

2004 NFL Draft

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
colspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Draft order

! rowspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Player name

! rowspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Position

! rowspan="2" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| College

style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Round

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Pick

1

! 6

| Kellen Winslow

| Tight end

| Miami

2

! 59

| Sean Jones

| Safety

| Georgia

4

! 106

| Luke McCown

| Quarterback

| Louisiana Tech

5

! 161

| Amon Gordon

| Defensive lineman

| Stanford

6

! 176

| Kirk Chambers

| Offensive lineman

| Stanford

7

! 208

| Adimchinobi Echemandu

| Running back

| California

Personnel

{{NFL final staff

| year = 2004

| team = Cleveland Browns

| front_office =

  • Owner and chairman – Randy Lerner
  • President and chief executive officer – John Collins
  • Director of Pro Personnel - Jeremy Green
  • Pro Personnel Coordinator - Steve Sabo
  • Director of college personnel – Phil Neri

| head_coach =

| offensive =

| defensive =

| special_teams =

| strength =

  • Head strength and conditioning – Buddy Morris
  • Assistant strength and conditioning – Tom Myslinski
  • Assistant strength and conditioning - Rob Phillips

}}

Roster

{{NFL final roster

|Year=2004

|TeamName=Cleveland Browns

|Active=53

|Inactive=17

|PS=8

|Quarterbacks=

|Running Backs=

|Wide Receivers=

|Tight Ends=

|Offensive Linemen=

|Defensive Linemen=

|Linebackers=

|Defensive Backs=

|Special Teams=

|Reserve Lists=

|Practice Squad=

}}

Schedule

Football statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the 2004 Browns played the toughest schedule of any NFL team between 1989 and 2013, based on strength of opponent,Football Outsiders; [https://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2014/let-me-check-my-schedule DVOA Analysis: ‘Let Me Check My Schedule’] although Pro Football ReferencePro Football Reference [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/2004.htm 2004 Cleveland Browns] argues that their schedule was only the fifth-toughest in this span and twelfth-toughest non-strike since 1971.Tougher schedules according to Pro Football Reference in non-strike seasons since 1971 were suffered by, in descending order of toughness, the 2010 Buffalo Bills, the 1975 Browns and 1975 Jets (equal), the 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2010 Miami Dolphins, the 1979 Cincinnati Bengals, the 1977 Kansas City Chiefs, the 1973 San Francisco 49ers, and lastly by the 1991 Phoenix Cardinals and 2015 San Francisco 49ers (equal). The Browns played just one game – their Week 16 contest against the Miami Dolphins – against a team with fewer than six wins, and played five against opponents with 12 or more wins, including a total of three against Steelers and Patriots who were a combined 28–2 against their remaining opponents.

Apart from their AFC North division games, the Browns played against the AFC East and NFC East according to the conference rotation, and played the Chargers and Texans based on 2003 divisional positions.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Week

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Date

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Opponent

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Result

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}" | Record

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Stadium

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}"| Attendance

style="background:#dfd;"

! 1

| September 12

| Baltimore Ravens

| W 20–3

| 1–0

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,068

style="background:#fdd;"

! 2

| September 19

| at Dallas Cowboys

| L 12–19

| 1–1

| Texas Stadium

| 63,119

style="background:#fdd;"

! 3

| September 26

| at New York Giants

| L 10–27

1–2

| Giants Stadium

| 78,521

style="background:#dfd;"

! 4

| October 3

| Washington Redskins

| W 17–13

| 2–2

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,348

style="background:#fdd;"

! 5

| October 10

| at Pittsburgh Steelers

| L 23–34

| 2–3

| Heinz Field

| 63,609

style="background:#dfd;"

! 6

| October 17

| Cincinnati Bengals

| W 34–17

| 3–3

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,263

style="background:#fdd;"

! 7

| October 24

| Philadelphia Eagles

| L 31–34 (OT)

| 3–4

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,394

style="text-align:center;"

! 8

! colspan="6" | Bye

style="background:#fdd;"

! 9

| November 7

| at Baltimore Ravens

| L 13–27

| 3–5

| M&T Bank Stadium

| 69,781

style="background:#fdd;"

! 10

| November 14

| Pittsburgh Steelers

| L 10–24

| 3–6

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,703

style="background:#fdd;"

! 11

| November 21

| New York Jets

| L 7–10

| 3–7

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 72,547

style="background:#fdd;"

! 12

| November 28

| at Cincinnati Bengals

| L 48–58

| 3–8

| Paul Brown Stadium

| 65,677

style="background:#fdd;"

! 13

| December 5

| New England Patriots

| L 15–42

| 3–9

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 73,028

style="background:#fdd;"

! 14

| December 12

| at Buffalo Bills

| L 7–37

| 3–10

| Ralph Wilson Stadium

| 72,330

style="background:#fdd;"

! 15

| December 19

| San Diego Chargers

| L 0–21

| 3–11

| Cleveland Browns Stadium

| 72,489

style="background:#fdd;"

! 16

| December 26

| at Miami Dolphins

| L 7–10

| 3–12

| Pro Player Stadium

| 73,169

style="background:#dfd;"

! 17

| January 2

| at Houston Texans

| W 22–14

| 4–12

| Reliant Stadium

| 70,724

colspan="7" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cleveland Browns|year=2004|border=2}}" |Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Standings

{{2004 AFC North standings}}

{{2004 AFC standings|team=CLE}}

Notes

{{reflist|group=note}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/2004.htm 2004 Cleveland Browns] at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
  • [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/2004-cle 2004 Cleveland Browns Statistics] at jt-sw.com
  • [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/2004-cle 2004 Cleveland Browns Schedule] at jt-sw.com
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060828154219/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CLE&lg=nfl&yr=2004 2004 Cleveland Browns]}} at DatabaseFootball.com

{{Cleveland Browns}}

{{Cleveland Browns seasons}}

{{2004 NFL season by team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Cleveland Browns Season}}

Cleveland

Category:Cleveland Browns seasons

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