The New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns will meet this weekend for the second consecutive year after a three-year hiatus. The Patriots have won the past two games in the series and three of the last five, but the Browns have won 11 of the 16 games in the series.
The Patriots faced the Browns six times while current head coach Bill Belichick was leading the Browns from 1991 to 1995. Belichick's Browns had a 4-2 record over the Patriots.
The two teams met in the wild-card round of the playoffs in 1994 and the Browns defeated the Patriots 20-13. A game-by-game look at the series is listed below:
| **DATE** | **RESULT** | **/-** |
| 1971 | at Cleveland 27, NE 7 | -20 |
| 1974 | Cleveland 21, at NE 14 | -7 |
| 1977 | at Cleveland 30, NE 27 (ot) | -3 |
| 1980 | at NE 34, Cleveland 17 | 17 |
| 1982 | at Cleveland 10, NE 7 | -3 |
| 1983 | Cleveland 30, at NE 0 | -30 |
| 1984 | NE 17, at Cleveland 16 | 1 |
| 1985 | at Cleveland 24, NE 20 | -4 |
| 1987 | Cleveland 20, at NE 10 | -10 |
| 1991 | Cleveland 20, at NE 0 | -20 |
| 1992 | Cleveland 19, at NE 17 | -2 |
| 1993 | NE 20, at Cleveland 17 | 3 |
| 1994 | at Cleveland 13, at NE 6 | -7 |
| *at Cleveland 20, NE 13 | -7 | |
| 1995 | at NE 17, Cleveland 14 | 3 |
| 1999 | NE 19, at Cleveland 7 | 12 |
*AFC First Round Playoff
(Points - Cleveland 305, Patriots 228)
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent five seasons as the Cleveland Browns head coach (1991-95). He accumulated a 36-44 career record, including an 11-5 record during the 1994 season.
- Patriots assistant director of player personnel Scott Pioli served as the Cleveland Browns pro personnel assistant from 1992-95.
- Cleveland head coach Chris Palmer served as the Patriots wide receivers coach (1993-95) and the quarterback coach (1996). Palmer was also the head coach of Boston University from 1988-89.
- Browns defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel served as the Patriots defensive line coach from 1993-96. Crennel served with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the New York Giants staff from 1981-90.
- Browns tight end coach Ray Perkins served as the Patriots offensive coordinator from 1993-96. Perkins originally hired Patriots head coach Bill Belchick as his special teams coach in 1979 with the New York Giants.
- Numerous Browns players have Patriots ties, including kicker Phil Dawson, who spent the 1998 season on the Patriots practice squad; linebacker Marty Moore, who was a seventh-round draft choice of the Patriots in 1994 and spent six seasons with New England; and center Dave Wohlabaugh, who played for the Patriots from 1995-98.
- Browns' center Jim Pyne attended Milford (Mass.) High School and is part of the only three-generation AFL/NFL family in history. His father, George III played for the AFL's Boston Patriots in 1965 and his grandfather George II played for the Providence Steam Rollers in 1931-32.
- Patriots wide receiver Terry Glenn (1992-95) played at Ohio State.
- Patriots assistant linebackers coach Pepper Johnson played with the Cleveland Browns (1993-95) and Ohio State Buckeyes (1982-85).
The Patriots and Browns have played 15 times during the regular season and once in postseason play dating back to 1971. Below is a listing of the top individual game performances (Patriots players are listed first):
| **Rushing Yards** | |
| Patriots: | Curtis Martin 19-102-1 td (9/3/95) |
| Browns: | Greg Pruitt 26-151-0 td (9/26/77) |
| **Passing Yards** | |
| Patriots: | Drew Bledsoe 43-29-393 1 td 0 int (10/3/99) |
| Browns: | Paul McDonald 37-23-320 1 td 0 int (10/7/84) |
| **Receiving Yards** | |
| Patriots: | Terry Glenn 13-214-1 td (10/3/99) |
| Browns: | Michael Jackson 7-151-2 td (9/3/95) |
The New England Patriots defeated the Cleveland Browns 19-7 to win their fourth consecutive game to start the 1999 season. It was only the fourth time in franchise history that they won their first four games of the season (1964, '74 and '97). The Patriots were led by wide receiver Terry Glenn, who set franchise records with 13 catches for 214 yards. His 13th catch was a 54-yard touchdown.
Glenn, who returned to his native Ohio, suffered two fumbles in the first half, but rebounded to set Patriots records for receptions and receiving yards. His fumbles came deep inside Browns territory, on the 28 and 14-yard lines, but they did not result in any Browns points. He caught 11 passes in the first half alone, including two receptions on third down to keep drives alive. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Glenn put the game out of Cleveland's reach, when he turned cornerback Daylon McCutcheon around and ran 54-yards for a score. His 214 yards receiving were the most in the NFL since Isaac Bruce recorded 233 against the Falcons on Nov. 2, 1997.
Drew Bledsoe passed for 389 yards, his highest total of the season and the fifth highest total of his career.
