Three times the Cleveland Browns were close to making the Super Bowl

Despite their storied history, the Cleveland Browns have never made it to a Super Bowl. But what seasons were they the closest to making the “Big Game?”

The Cleveland Browns were one of the most dominant teams in professional football since their inaugural season in 1946 until their final season before being moved in 1995.

During that time, the Browns were a regular in the postseason. 27 of the organization’s 28 playoff appearances occurred during that span.

Cleveland was constantly able to reload their roster and be one of the toughest teams in their division and their conference.

The franchise won eight championships, winning four AAFC Championships and four NFL Championships, with the last coming in 1964.

However, this storied franchise has never reached a Super Bowl, despite appearing in half of the playoffs in that span. Cleveland not being able to reach a Super Bowl remains one of the biggest surprises in NFL history considering how good the teams were, especially in the 1960’s and 1980’s.

Since the team has returned in 1999, the Browns have not been close to the Super Bowl, except for in 2002, the last time the Browns have made the playoffs. In fact, the last time the Browns were close to even making the postseason was in 2007.

With Super Bowl LIII just hours away, here is a look at the three seasons the Browns have been closest to making the Super Bowl. We will look at one season when they technically were not close to the Super Bowl, but had a better chance than usual of making it to the “Big Game.”