Cleveland and New England have played some wild games over the years. Here are 5 memorable ones.
The Cleveland Browns will hit the road in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season to face the New England Patriots.
The Browns have played the Patriots even in the series, which began in 1971, with both teams experiencing a level of dominance. Cleveland was 11-4 against New England through the 1995 season, but the Patriots have won 10 of 12 against the Browns since 1999, including the past five in a row.
Related: Browns 2025 Schedule Primer: Week 8 New England Patriots
It can be an interesting time when these two teams meet, so let’s take a look at five memorable games between the Browns and the Patriots over the years.
September 26, 1977: Browns 30, Patriots 27 (OT)
The NFL added overtime to its regular season games in 1974, but it wasn’t until three years later that the Browns played their first overtime game. That occurred on a Monday night against the New England Patriots in Cleveland’s first appearance on Monday Night Football in four years.
The Browns rallied back from a 10-point halftime deficit in the third quarter on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Brian Sipe to Gary Parris and a 37-yard field goal by Don Cockroft to enter the final quarter with the game tied at 17.
The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter before a 37-yard field goal by Cockroft with 50 seconds remaining looked to give the Browns the win. But New England’s Steve Grogan moved the Patriots down the field, and John Smith’s 34-yard field goal sent the game into overtime.
Cleveland won the toss to start overtime, moved into field goal range, and Cockroft ended the evening with a 35-yard field goal.
October 6, 1985: Browns 24, Patriots 20
This game marked the debut of quarterback Bernie Kosar, who came into the game after starter Gary Danielson injured his shoulder in the second quarter.
The teams traded the lead through the first three quarters, with New England’s only touchdown coming on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Johnny Rembert. The Browns found the end zone twice in the first half, once on a nine-yard run by Earnest Byner, and the other on a 33-yard pass from Brian Brennan to Ozzie Newsome, but trailed by three points heading into the fourth quarter after New England’s Tony Eason hit Stanley Morgan with a 22-yard touchdown pass.
In the final period, the Browns retook the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run from Kevin Mack with four minutes remaining. From there, it was up to the defense to save the day, which they did by twice stopping offensive drives by the Patriots and fourth-and-short, one of which came on the goal line.
Cleveland’s offense rolled up 447 yards, led by Mack’s 200 yards of combined offense and Brennan’s 104 receiving yards.
January 1, 1995: Browns 20, Patriots 13
The final hurrah of the original Browns came on New Year’s Day in 1995 when they defeated the Patriots in the AFC Wild Card Game.
The second half opened with the score tied at 10, but the Browns took the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Leroy Hoard. Cleveland pushed the lead to 10 points in the fourth quarter after Matt Stover converted a 21-yard field goal, but the Patriots cut the lead to seven on a 33-yard field goal by Matt Bahr and recovered the ensuing onside kick with 1:36 left in the game.
Cleveland’s defense held, however, and after four straight incompletions by New England’s Drew Bledsoe, the Browns ran out the clock for the victory.
The game marked Cleveland’s first playoff win since 1989 and remains the last home playoff win in franchise history.
November 7, 2010: Browns 34, Patriots 14
One of the most shocking wins in the new era of the Browns came against the Patriots in front of more than 66,000 fans on the lakefront.
Cleveland dominated New England from the jump, as following a field goal by Phil Dawson to open the scoring, the Browns recovered a fumble on the kickoff and a two-yard touchdown run by Peyton Hillis gave Cleveland a 10-0 lead before the Patriots even ran an offensive play.
The Browns continued the fun with touchdown runs from Chansi Stuckey, Colt McCoy, and a second from Hillis, who had 185 rushing yards on the day, to seal the victory.
December 8, 2013: Patriots 27, Browns 26
If it is the Browns and the Patriots playing, things can get weird, and this early December game in Foxborough, Mass., was no different.
Cleveland held a 19-3 lead late in the third quarter after Jason Campbell hit Josh Gordon with an 80-yard touchdown pass. The Patriots quickly answered back as it only took Tom Brady a little more than a minute to drive New England to a touchdown and two-point conversion to cut the lead to eight heading into the fourth quarter.
New England cut the lead to five on a 50-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. But it looked like the Browns were going to pull another improbable win after Campbell tossed his third touchdown of the day, this one a four-yarder to Jordan Cameron, to put Cleveland up 26-14 with 2:30 left in the game.
That was too much time, however, as Brady hit Julian Edelman with a two-yard pass to finish off an 11-play, 95-yard scoring drive. The Patriots then recovered the onside kick, and aided by a pass interference call on Cleveland’s Leon McFadden in the end zone, scored the game-winning touchdown with 31 seconds remaining. Campbell tried to rally the Browns, but Billy Cundiff missed a 58-yard field goal as time expired.
The loss overshadowed big days by Campbell, who threw for 391 yards and the three touchdowns with an interception; Cameron, who had nine catches for 121 yards, and Gordon, who had seven receptions for 151 yards, part of streak that saw him set an NFL record with 774 receiving yards in four consecutive games.
What is your most memorable game between the Browns and Patriots? Have your say in the comments.