 The Browns ended with an 11 – 3 record the following year and comfortably won the East for the second year in a row . That set up a second straight appearance in the NFL Championship game in Green Bay against the Packers . The teams battled it out on a slippery , mucky Lambeau Field on January 2 , 1966 . While score was close early on , Vince Lombardi 's team held the Browns scoreless in the second half , winning 23 – 12 in an upset on a Paul Hornung touchdown . Despite Jim Brown 's retirement after the 1965 season , the Browns had another four consecutive winning seasons and advanced to the NFL championship game in 1968 and 1969 under Collier , but lost both times . 
