1960 Cleveland Browns season
# 1960 Cleveland Browns season

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.

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | August 13 | at Detroit Lions | 8:30 p.m. EDT | W 28–14 | 1–0 | Briggs Stadium | 24,620 |
| 2 | August 18 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | | W 27–24 | 2–0 | Pitt Stadium | 16,360 |
| 3 | August 27 | at Los Angeles Rams | | L 17–22 | 2–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 48,175 |
| 4 | September 3 | vs. San Francisco 49ers at Portland | | W 26–24 | 3–1 | Multnomah Stadium | 25,898 |
| 5 | September 10 | vs. Chicago Bears at Akron | | W 16–10 | 4–1 | Rubber Bowl | 21,568 |
| 6 | September 17 | Detroit Lions | | W 14–10 | 5–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 25,911 |

Pre Season Game Officials

Pre Season :

| Week | Opponent | Referee | Umpire | Head Linesman | Back Judge | Field Judge |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | at Detroit | | | | | |

### Game summaries

**Week P1 (Saturday, August 13, 1960): at Detroit Lions**

| Period | 1 | 2 | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Browns | | | 0 |
| Lions | | | 0 |

at Briggs Stadium • Detroit, Michigan

* Date: August 13, 1960
* Game time: 8:30 pm. EDT
* Game attendance: 24,620

| Team | Category |
| - | - |
| CLE | Passing |
| CLE | Rushing |
| CLE | Receiving |
| DET | Passing |
| DET | Rushing |
| DET | Receiving |

Scoring summary :

| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CLE | DET |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 28 | 14 |

* Time of Game:
* Game Statistics
* First downs
* Rushes–yards
* Passing yards
* Passes
* Sacked–yards
* Net passing yards
* Total yards
* Return yards
* Punts
* Fumbles–lost
* Penalties–yards

## Regular season

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Time | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 25 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 1:30 p.m. EDT | W 41–24 | 1–0 | Franklin Field | 56,303 | |
| 2 | October 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2:00 p.m. EDT | W 28–20 | 2–0 | Cleveland Stadium | 67,692 | |
| 3 | October 9 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 4 | October 16 | at Dallas Cowboys | 2:30 p.m. EST | W 48–7 | 3–0 | Cotton Bowl | 28,500 | |
| 5 | October 23 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2:00 p.m. EST | L 29–31 | 3–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 64,850 | |
| 6 | October 30 | at Washington Redskins | 2:00 p.m. EST | W 31–10 | 4–1 | Griffith Stadium | 32,086 | |
| 7 | November 6 | New York Giants | 2:00 p.m. EST | L 13–17 | 4–2 | Cleveland Stadium | 82,872 | |
| 8 | November 13 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2:00 p.m. EST | W 28–27 | 5–2 | Cleveland Stadium | 49,192 | |
| 9 | November 20 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 2:00 p.m. EST | L 10–14 | 5–3 | Forbes Field | 35,215 | |
| 10 | November 27 | at St. Louis Cardinals | 2:00 p.m. EST | T 17–17 | 5–3–1 | Busch Stadium I | 26,146 | |
| 11 | December 4 | Washington Redskins | 2:00 p.m. EST | W 27–16 | 6–3–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 35,211 | |
| 12 | December 11 | Chicago Bears | 2:00 p.m. EST | W 42–0 | 7–3–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 38,155 | |
| 13 | December 18 | at New York Giants | 2:00 p.m. EST | W 48–34 | 8–3–1 | Yankee Stadium | 56,517 | |

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

* 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.

Regular Season Game Officials

Regular Season :

| Week | Opponent | Referee | Umpire | Head Linesman | Back Judge | Field Judge |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | at Philadelphia | | | | | |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | John Pace | James Beiersdorfer | Dan Tehan | Sam Glangreen | Fred Swearingen |

### Game summaries

**Week 1 (Sunday, September 25, 1960): at Philadelphia Eagles**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Browns | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| Eagles | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

at Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

* Date: September 25, 1960
* Game time: 1:30 pm. EDT
* Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); relative humidity 62%; wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
* Game attendance: 56,303

| Team | Category |
| - | - |
| CLE | Passing |
| CLE | Rushing |
| CLE | Receiving |
| PHI | Passing |
| PHI | Rushing |
| PHI | Receiving |

Scoring summary :

| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CLE | PHI |
| 1 | | | | | Browns | Mitchell 31-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | | | | | Browns | Brown 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 14 | 0 |
| 1 | | | | | Eagles | 21-yard field goal by Walston | 14 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Browns | 36-yard field goal by Baker | 17 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Eagles | McDonald 24-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good | 17 | 10 |
| 2 | | | | | Browns | Plum 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 24 | 10 |
| 3 | | | | | Browns | Mitchell 30-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 31 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Browns | 15-yard field goal by Baker | 34 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Eagles | Walston 10-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good | 34 | 17 |
| 4 | | | | | Browns | Mitchell 11-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Baker kick good | 41 | 17 |
| 4 | | | | | Eagles | Retzlaff 6-yard touchdown reception from Jurgenson, Walston kick good | 41 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 41 | 24 |

* Time of Game:
* Game Statistics
* First downs
* Rushes–yards
* Passing yards
* Passes
* Sacked–yards
* Net passing yards
* Total yards
* Return yards
* Punts
* Fumbles–lost
* Penalties–yards

**Week 2 (Sunday, October 2, 1960): vs. Pittsburgh Steelers**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| Browns | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

at Cleveland Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio

* Date: October 2, 1960
* Game time: 2:00 pm. EDT
* Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); relative humidity 84%; wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
* Game attendance: 67,692
* Referee: John Pace

| Team | Category |
| - | - |
| PIT | Passing |
| PIT | Rushing |
| PIT | Receiving |
| CLE | Passing |
| CLE | Rushing |
| CLE | Receiving |

Scoring summary :

| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | PIT | CLE |
| 1 | | | | | Browns | Plum 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | | | | | Browns | Mitchell 5-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | | | | | Browns | Kreitling 60-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Baker kick good | 0 | 21 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | Tracy 40-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Layne kick good | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Tracy 1-yard touchdown run, Layne kick no good | 13 | 21 |
| 4 | | | | | Browns | Brown 2-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good | 13 | 28 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Dial 3-yard touchdown reception from Layne, Rechichar kick good | 20 | 28 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 20 | 28 |

* Time of Game:
* Game Statistics
* First downs
* Rushes–yards
* Passing yards
* Passes
* Sacked–yards
* Net passing yards
* Total yards
* Return yards
* Punts
* Fumbles–lost
* Penalties–yards

### Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :

| viewtalkedit | 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.

## Final statistics

### Statistical comparison

| | Cleveland Browns | Opponents |
| - | - | - |
| First downs | 219 | 208 |
| First downs rushing | 107 | 92 |
| First downs passing | 96 | 102 |
| First downs penalty | 16 | 14 |
| Total net yards | 3974 | 3806 |
| Avg. Per Game | 331.2 | 317.2 |
| Total Plays | 647 | 724 |
| Avg. Per Play | 6.1 | 5.3 |
| Net yards rushing | 1930 | 1643 |
| Avg. Per Game | 160.8 | 136.9 |
| Rushing attempts | 383 | 405 |
| Net yards passing | 2044 | 2163 |
| Avg. Per Game | 170.3 | 180.3 |
| Times sacked-total yards | 37–299 | 26–209 |
| Gross yards | 2343 | 2370 |
| Passing – Completions/attempts | 160?264 | 163/319 |
| Completion Pct. | 60.6 | 51.1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 5 | 31 |
| Punts-average yardage | 55–42.0 | 46–45.0 |
| Net Punting Avg. | 55–38.7 | 46–40.5 |
| Penalties-total yards | 49–534 | 48–526 |
| Fumbles-lost | 20–12 | 27–14 |
| Touchdowns | 47 | 26 |
| Touchdown rushing | 18 | 10 |
| Touchdown passing | 22 | 15 |
| Touchdown returns | 7 | 1 |

Boxscore

Quarter-by-quarter :

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Browns | 59 | 150 | 58 | 95 | 362 |
| Opponents | 41 | 60 | 48 | 68 | 217 |

### Individual leaders

Offense

Defense

Special teams

## Postseason

| Round | Date | Opponent | Time | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Playoff Bowl | January 7, 1961 | vs. Detroit Lions | 2:00 p.m. EST | L 16–17 | 0–1 | Orange Bowl | 34,981 | |

Playoff Game Officials

Playoff :

| Week | Opponent | Referee | Umpire | Head Linesman | Back Judge | Field Judge | Alternate |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

## 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
