What did the Cleveland Browns and the NFL look like the last time the Browns were 2-0?
The Cleveland Browns will meet the New York Jets on Sunday and when they do, the browns and orange will have a shot at starting 2-0 for the first time since 1993. That was 29 years ago. To do that, the Browns must avoid falling into a trap game of sorts.
On paper, the Browns are the better team, even with Jacoby Brissett in at quarterback. The Jets are lacking a lot of proven offensive players, relying a lot on rookies and second-year players. That over-reliance on younger players is going to give the Jets both an advantage and a disadvantage.
Firstly, the Browns don’t know what the Jets’ talent can really do. They’re unproven, which means they could easily come to life and have a massive game. While Joe Flacco is about as mobile as a rusted-out car in your neighbor’s front yard, he still has a big arm and can throw deep if given time. That alone gives the Jets a tool in their toolbox to use.
The problem is that the Jets are unproven, which means if the Jets do call up some numbers, those players may not deliver. If they don’t deliver, they won’t win and the Browns will start 2-0 for the first time in nearly three full decades.
So what did the Browns and the NFL look like the last time they started 2-0?
The Cleveland Browns did not have a good season.
Browns faithful should heed this warning, starting 2-0 was not a good thing for the last Browns team to do so. The 1993 squad, the last one to go 2-0 to start a season, went just 7-9 to start the season. They beat the Bengals and the 49ers, and would then go on to win a third straight game against the Raiders.
In fact, they’d be 5-2 after Week 10, but would then lose seven of their next nine to finish the year 7-9.
Not only was it a disappointing year but the Browns said goodbye to arguably the two most popular players in franchise history. Beloved quarterback Bernie Kosar was shipped out of town after going 3-3 by then head coach Bill Belichick. This would mark the start of the Vinny Testaverde era that would continue through into the team’s relocation to Baltimore.
It wasn’t just Kosar who’s 1993 was the last in Cleveland, as legendary linebacker Clay Matthews also played his last season in Cleveland that year, before leaving for Atlanta in the offseason.
1993 would also serve as the best season ever for 9th overall draft pick Tommy Vardell. Vardell was drafted 9th overall in 1992 and hardly played, and after racking up over 30 touchdowns in two seasons at Stanford, was expected to be a force to be reckoned with but only mustered 644 yards and three touchdowns.
Even though he failed to live up to his draft status, he played nearly a decade in the NFL, spending most of his time as a fullback.
It wasn’t all bad, however, as Eric Metcalf went to his first of two Pro Bowls while a member of the Browns.
What Did the NFL look like in 1993
The NFL was a wild place in 1993. When the Browns last went 2-0, there were just 28 teams in the NFL, which only had three divisions per conference. A West, central, and east. The divisions didn’t make sense, as the Cardinals played in the east, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints played in the west, and to really shake things up; the Seattle Seahawks were in the AFC.
The Cardinals were from Phoenix, not just Arizona, and the Titans were still in Houston and called the Oilers. The Raiders weren’t in Las Vegas yet, they weren’t even in Oakland, as they were actually one of the two teams in Los Angeles, the other being the Rams.
The Rams were also the original football team for Cleveland.
This was also the last consecutive year the Bills would go to the Super Bowl, losing to the Dallas Cowboys in Jim Kelly’s last chance to win it all. Speaking of the Cowboys, Emmitt Smith not only won the NFL MVP but the Super Bowl MVP as well, making him just one of a few people to ever pull that feat off in the same year.
Jerry Rice won the Offensive Player of the Year Award, which wasn’t surprising as the San Francisco 49ers were the top dogs of the NFC West and Rod Woodson won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for Pittsburgh, who finished second in the AFC Central, just ahead of the Browns.
And in what may be the biggest shocker of the year, the Detroit Lions were the top cats in the Central, beating out Bears legend Jim McMahon and disgraced scumbag Bret Favre.
Also, Favre wasn’t a disgusting person who stole money for volleyball arenas. So that was different.