The Cleveland Browns have been the laughingstock of the NFL for a while, but that wasn't always the case. Their first season came in 1946, as they joined the All-America Football Conference. After the 1949 season, the franchise would join the NFL, and it found a lot of success early.
There were plenty of teams from the early days that could make it on the list, but we had to be picky. Let's break down the five greatest teams in Browns franchise history.
1946
There were better team's in the franchise's history, but the 1946 season was special because it was their first year in existence. A lot of teams get off to a slow start in their inaugural season, but not the Browns. The first game of their season was against the Miami Seahawks, and it was a dominating performance for Cleveland winning 44-0.
The Browns finished the regular season with a 12-2 record. They made it all the way to the AAFC Championship game where they knocked off the New York Yankees 14-9.
It was quite the special season, getting their franchise off to the perfect start.
1950
In 1950 the Browns made the jump to the NFL and with that jump came better competition. Heading into the 1950 season the wonder was if they would take a step back, but the Brownies didn't even skip a beat. Led by Otto Graham, they finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. Most of the wins during the regular season were blowouts, and the two games they lost they did so by a combined ten points.
In the NFL championship game, it was a back and forth affair against the Los Angeles Rams before a late field goal pushed the Brow to the victory.
1948
The 1948 season was a special one for the franchise as a part of the AAFC. The Browns opened up the season with a win over the Los Angeles Dons 19-14, and it was no looking back from there. Cleveland won all 14 games of the regular season and the offense was the big difference. Each of the last four games of the regular season, the team put up at least 31 points.
In the AAFC Championship game, the juggernaut offense put up 49 points against the Buffalo Bills on the way to a blowout victory. The NFL doesn't recognize it because it was before their NFL days, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame does recognize it.
1955
Somehow Paul Brown convinced Graham to come back for one more season after he retired following the 1954 season. Graham was the highest-paid player in the league and led the Browns 9-2-1 regular-season record. Once the playoffs rolled around the team continued its strong play.
In the NFL championship game, the Browns knocked off the 38-14 to win another NFL Championship. This was the end of a ten year run for the Brownies that saw them appear in the championship game each season.
1964
The most recent team on this list was in 1964 which gives a good indication of when the Browns found most of their success. Football in the 60's wasn't exactly supposed to be high scoring, but the Brownies didn't care about those stereotypes. Led by Jim Brown, Cleveland finished the 1964 season with a 10-3-1 record. The offense scored more than 400 points, something that was almost unheard of at the time. The last game of the regular season was one of the most impressive putting up 52 points against the New York Giants.
The Browns capped off the regular season in the NFL Championship game knocking off the Colts 27-0. When everyone thinks of the glory days of the Browns, 1664 and Jim Brown are the first things to come to mind.
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