1960 Cleveland Browns season

1960 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	8–3–1
Division place	2nd NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost in Playoff Bowl

The 1960 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 11th season with the National Football League. The 1960 Browns compiled an 8–3–1 record, and finished second in the NFL's Eastern Conference, behind the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. As runner-up, the Browns qualified for the inaugural third place Playoff Bowl in Miami, but lost 17–16 to the Detroit Lions on January 7.

Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 14	at Detroit Lions	W 28–14	24,620
2	August 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–24	16,360
3	August 27	at Los Angeles Rams	L 22–17	48,175
4	September 3	vs. San Francisco 49ers at Portland	W 26–24	25,898
5	September 10	vs. Chicago Bears at Akron	W 16–10	21,568
6	September 17	Detroit Lions	W 14–10	25,911

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 25	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 41–24	1–0	56,303
2	October 2	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 28–20	2–0	67,692
3	October 9	Bye
4	October 16	at Dallas Cowboys	W 48–7	3–0	28,500
5	October 23	Philadelphia Eagles	L 31–29	3–1	64,850
6	October 30	at Washington Redskins	W 31–10	4–1	32,086
7	November 6	New York Giants	L 17–13	4–2	82,872
8	November 13	St. Louis Cardinals	W 28–27	5–2	49,192
9	November 20	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 14–10	5–3	35,215
10	November 27	at St. Louis Cardinals	T 17–17	5–3–1	26,146
11	December 4	Washington Redskins	W 27–16	6–3–1	35,211
12	December 11	Chicago Bears	W 42–0	7–3–1	38,155
13	December 18	at New York Giants	W 48–34	8–3–1	56,517

• A bye week was necessary in 1960, as the league expanded to an odd-number (13) of teams (Dallas); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 14 10 7 10 41 Eagles 3 7 0 14 24 Date: September 25 Location: Franklin Field Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)

Scoring summary 1 CLE Bobby Mitchell 31 yard run (Sam Baker kick) Browns 7–0 1 CLE Jim Brown 1 yard run (Sam Baker kick) Browns 14–0 1 PHI Bobby Walston 21 yard field goal Browns 14–3 2 CLE Sam Baker 36 yard field goal Browns 17–3 2 PHI Tommy McDonald 24 yard pass from Norm Van Brocklin (Bobby Walston kick) Browns 17–10 2 CLE Milt Plum 1 yard run (Sam Baker kick) Browns 24–10 3 CLE Bobby Mitchell 30 yard run (Sam Baker kick) Browns 31–10 4 CLE Sam Baker 15 yard field goal Browns 34–10 4 PHI Bobby Waltson 10 yard pass from Norm Van Brocklin (Bobby Walston kick) Browns 34–17 4 CLE Bobby Mitchell 11 yard pass from Milt Plum (Sam Baker kick) Browns 41–17 4 PHI Pete Retzlaff 6 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Bobby Walston kick) Browns 41–24

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	10	2	0	.833	8–2	321	246	W1
Cleveland Browns	8	3	1	.727	6–3–1	362	217	W3
New York Giants	6	4	2	.600	5–4–1	271	261	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	6	5	1	.545	4–5–1	288	230	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	6	1	.455	4–5–1	240	275	L1
Washington Redskins	1	9	2	.100	0–8–2	178	309	L8

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

Postseason

Main article: Playoff Bowl

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Playoff Bowl	January 7, 1961	Detroit Lions	L 17–16	Orange Bowl	34,981

Awards and records

• Jim Brown, NFL Rushing Leader, 1,257 yards
• Milt Plum, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (2,297)

Milestones

• Jim Brown, Third Consecutive 1,000 yard season
• Jim Brown, Fourth Consecutive Rushing Title