1959 Cleveland Browns season
# 1959 Cleveland Browns season

The 1959 Cleveland Browns season was the team's tenth season with the National Football League. Future Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown rushed for 1,329 yards, leading the league for the third straight year, and 14 touchdowns. QB Milt Plum, who was drafted by the Browns in the 1957 draft with Brown would emerge as a solid quarterback. The Browns had been looking for a replacement for Otto Graham ever since the Hall of Famer retired—for the second time—following the 1955 season. They finally found him when Plum, a second-round draft pick in 1957, threw for 14 TDs with just six interceptions. However, the Browns would finish just 7–5 in 1959, the second in what would turn out to be a string of six straight seasons in which the Browns had decent to very good teams without qualifying for the postseason. The 7–5 record was also the second worst record since head coach Paul Brown's tenure with the team.

## Exhibition Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | August 12 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–34 | 27,432 |
| 2 | August 22 | vs. Detroit Lions at Akron | L 3–9 | 22,654 |
| 3 | August 30 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–17 | 24,737 |
| 4 | September 5 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 27–24 | 55,883 |
| 5 | September 13 | at Detroit Lions | L 28–31 | 33,435 |
| 6 | September 19 | Chicago Bears | W 33–31 | 25,316 |

## Regular Season Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 26 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–17 | 33,844 |
| 2 | October 4 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 34–7 | 19,935 |
| 3 | October 11 | New York Giants | L 6–10 | 65,534 |
| 4 | October 18 | Chicago Cardinals | W 17–7 | 46,422 |
| 5 | October 25 | Washington Redskins | W 34–7 | 42,732 |
| 6 | November 1 | at Baltimore Colts | W 38–31 | 57,557 |
| 7 | November 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–7 | 58,275 |
| 8 | November 15 | at Washington Redskins | W 31–17 | 32,266 |
| 9 | November 22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–21 | 68,563 |
| 10 | November 29 | San Francisco 49ers | L 20–21 | 56,854 |
| 11 | December 6 | at New York Giants | L 7–48 | 68,436 |
| 12 | December 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–21 | 45,952 |

### Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :

| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| New York Giants | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8–2 | 284 | 170 | W4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 268 | 278 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–4 | 270 | 214 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 5 | 1 | .545 | 6–4 | 257 | 216 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2–8 | 185 | 350 | L5 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | 2–8 | 234 | 324 | L6 |

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

