1954 Cleveland Browns season

1954 Cleveland Browns season
Owner(s)	{{{owner}}}
Head Coach	Paul Brown
Home Field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	9–3–0
Place	1st NFL American
Playoff Finish	Won NFL Championship
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1953	1955

The 1954 Cleveland Browns season was the team's fifth season with the National Football League. The Browns' defense became the first defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest rushing yards allowed, fewest passing yards allowed and fewest total yards allowed. Assistant coach Weeb Ewbank left the club to coach the Baltimore Colts.

Offseason

Defensive Back Don Paul arrived via a trade with the Washington Redskins. The Redskins acquired Paul from the Chicago Cardinals. Upon his arrival in Washington, he fell in disfavour with George Preston Marshall of the Redskins.

NFL Draft

The 1954 NFL Draft was one of the biggest busts in Browns history. In the first round, the club selected John Bauer. He would never play for the Browns and only played in two NFL games in his career. The Browns also drafted quarterback Bobby Garrett out of Stanford University. The plan was that he would be the heir to Otto Graham. Garrett suffered from a stuttering problem which hindered his performance in the huddle. Eventually, Garrett would be traded to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Babe Parilli, although Parilli would not play for the Browns until 1958.

Exhibition Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 21, 1954	at Green Bay Packers	W 14–13	15,747
2	August 27, 1954	at Los Angeles Rams	L 38–10	58,567
3	September 5, 1954	at San Francisco 49ers	L 38–21	46,877
4	September 10, 1954	vs. Detroit Lions at Dallas	L 56–31	42,000
5	September 18, 1954	Chicago Bears	L 35–7	17,631

Regular Season Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 26, 1954	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 28–10	26,546
2	October 10, 1954	Chicago Cardinals	W 31–7	24,101
3	October 17, 1954	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 55–27	33,262
4	October 24, 1954	at Chicago Cardinals	W 35–3	23,823
5	October 31, 1954	New York Giants	W 24–14	30,448
6	November 7, 1954	Washington Redskins	W 62–3	25,158
7	November 14, 1954	at Chicago Bears	W 39–10	48,773
8	November 21, 1954	Philadelphia Eagles	W 6–0	41,537
9	November 28, 1954	at New York Giants	W 16–7	45,936
10	December 5, 1954	at Washington Redskins	W 34–14	21,761
11	December 12, 1954	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 42–7	28,064
12	December 19, 1954	Detroit Lions	L 14–10	34,168

Playoff

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Championship	December 26, 1954	Detroit Lions	W 56–10	43,827

Standings

NFL Eastern
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	3	0	.750	336	162	L-1
Philadelphia Eagles	7	4	1	.636	284	230	W-1
New York Giants	7	5	0	.583	293	184	L-1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	7	0	.417	219	263	L-2
Washington Redskins	3	9	0	.250	207	432	W-1
Chicago Cardinals	2	10	0	.167	183	347	L-3

Roster

Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen		Linebackers Defensive Backs Special Teams		Reserve Lists Currently vacant