Wild Card Round: New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns (Cleveland Municipal Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun January 1, 1995 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Cleveland Municipal Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
New England Patriots versus Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New England Patriots-Cleveland Browns cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 12-4 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 11-5 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-13 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 2-14 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | W7 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 8-8 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7-9 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 6-10 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Chargers | 11-5 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | W2 |
| Los Angeles Raiders | 9-7 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 7-9 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7-9 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4-12 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 10-6 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 9-7 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9-7 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 9-7 | W6 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 8-8 | -- |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7-9 | L7 |
| Washington Redskins | 3-13 | W1 |
Video missing for this game. If you find one, please report it.
New England Patriots None, Cleveland Browns None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 010101313 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 310172020 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Browns | Matt Stover 30 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Leroy Thompson 13 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe ( Matt Bahr kick) | 7-3 |
| Browns | Mark Carrier 5 yard pass from Vinny Testaverde ( Matt Stover kick) | 7-10 |
| Patriots | Matt Bahr 23 yard field goal | 10-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Browns | Leroy Hoard 10 yard rush ( Matt Stover kick) | 10-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Browns | Matt Stover 21 yard field goal | 10-20 |
| Patriots | Matt Bahr 33 yard field goal | 13-20 |
Cleveland Browns defeated New England Patriots 20-13 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Patriots: Matt Bahr 33 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Vinny Testaverde: 268 pass yards on 20-of-30, 1 TD, 0 INT. Cleveland Browns advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Cleveland Browns walked out of Cleveland Municipal Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round New England Patriots will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 20-13. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Patriots: Matt Bahr 33 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Cleveland Browns advance to the divisional round.
Cleveland Browns 20, New England Patriots 13. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 77452. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 1 scoring play. Q4: 2 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Vinny Testaverde: 268 pass yards on 20-of-30, 1 TD, 0 INT
- Leroy Hoard: 66 rush yards on 17 carries
- Michael Jackson: 7 catches for 122 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Final: New England Patriots 13, Cleveland Browns 20, with Cleveland Browns taking the result by 7. **First quarter**
- Browns: Matt Stover 30 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Patriots: Leroy Thompson 13 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe ( Matt Bahr kick)
- Browns: Mark Carrier 5 yard pass from Vinny Testaverde ( Matt Stover kick)
- Patriots: Matt Bahr 23 yard field goal
Third quarter
- Browns: Leroy Hoard 10 yard rush ( Matt Stover kick)
Fourth quarter
- Browns: Matt Stover 21 yard field goal
- Patriots: Matt Bahr 33 yard field goal
Top performers
- Vinny Testaverde: 268 pass yards on 20-of-30, 1 TD, 0 INT
- Leroy Hoard: 66 rush yards on 17 carries
- Michael Jackson: 7 catches for 122 yards
| Patriots | Browns | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 20 | 22 |
| Total Yards | 303 | 379 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 22/51 | 20/30 |
| Pass yards | 256 | 268 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 1 | 2 |
| Sack yards lost | 10 | 14 |
| Net pass yards | 246 | 254 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 16 | 34 |
| Rush yards | 57 | 125 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 3 | 4 |
| Penalty yards | 21 | 25 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | |||||
| Drew Bledsoe | 21/50 | 235 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pat O'Neill | 1/1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | |
| CLE | |||||
| Vinny Testaverde | 20/30 | 268 | 1 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Corey Croom | 9 | 35 | 0 | 13 |
| Leroy Thompson | 4 | 16 | 0 | 8 |
| Kevin Turner | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Drew Bledsoe | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| CLE | ||||
| Leroy Hoard | 17 | 66 | 1 | 10 |
| Earnest Byner | 10 | 30 | 0 | 5 |
| Vinny Testaverde | 5 | 19 | 0 | 9 |
| Eric Metcalf | 2 | 10 | 0 | 7 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Vincent Brisby | 6 | 83 | 0 | 18 |
| Ben Coates | 6 | 79 | 0 | 24 |
| Leroy Thompson | 4 | 33 | 1 | 13 |
| Corwin Brown | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Michael Timpson | 2 | 20 | 0 | 13 |
| John Burke | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Kevin Turner | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Corey Croom | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| CLE | ||||
| Michael Jackson | 7 | 122 | 0 | 36 |
| Derrick Alexander | 5 | 69 | 0 | 23 |
| Leroy Hoard | 1 | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Frank Hartley | 2 | 17 | 0 | 12 |
| Earnest Byner | 2 | 16 | 0 | 10 |
| Mark Carrier | 2 | 13 | 1 | 8 |
| Brian Kinchen | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1994 Wild Card Round - New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns - Game Thread
