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Paul McDonald

Retired

Dallas Cowboys · QB

Paul McDonald recorded 85 indexed regular-season NFL appearances across 8 rostered seasons with Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns.

▶Best highlights

62.0

pass yds/gm

0.1

rush yds/gm

3

playoff games

85

career games

Five defining games

Start here

A provisional five-game introduction to Paul McDonald's most significant indexed performances.

CLEVELANDBROWNS

PITTSBURGHSTEELERS

Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Regular Season · Jan 2, 1983

313 pass yds · 3 pass TD · 4 INT

CLEVELANDBROWNS

SEATTLESEAHAWKS

Cleveland Browns vs Seattle Seahawks

Regular Season · Dec 20, 1981

297 pass yds · 3 pass TD · 1 INT

TENNESSEETITANS

CLEVELANDBROWNS

Tennessee Titans vs Cleveland Browns

Regular Season · Nov 25, 1984

151 pass yds · 3 pass TD · 1 INT

PITTSBURGHSTEELERS

CLEVELANDBROWNS

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cleveland Browns

Regular Season · Sep 23, 1984

293 pass yds · 2 pass TD · 1 INT

CLEVELANDBROWNS

Cleveland Browns vs Oakland Raiders

Wild Card · Jan 8, 1983

281 pass yds · 1 pass TD · 0 INT

Single-game peaks

Career highs

Position-relevant single-game records from Paul McDonald's indexed NFL box scores.

Career high: 320 passing yards

NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS

CLEVELANDBROWNS

New England Patriots vs Cleveland Browns

Regular Season · Oct 7, 1984

320 pass yds · 1 pass TD · 1 INT

Career high: 3 passing touchdowns

TENNESSEETITANS

CLEVELANDBROWNS

Tennessee Titans vs Cleveland Browns

Regular Season · Nov 25, 1984

151 pass yds · 3 pass TD · 1 INT

Career high: 10 rushing yards

CLEVELANDBROWNS

GREEN BAYPACKERS

Cleveland Browns vs Green Bay Packers

Regular Season · Nov 6, 1983

134 pass yds · 0 pass TD · 1 INT

Career chapters

Franchise eras

Follow the team eras that shaped Paul McDonald's career, in chronological order.

Earliest → latest

Franchise era

1966–1984

Sipe's late-game offense revives Cleveland

Cleveland Browns · From contention to the Kardiac Kids

The Browns remained competitive after Brown and later found a new identity in Sipe's dramatic 1980 MVP season.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

1985–1995

Clay Matthews Jr.

Three AFC title games, three painful endings

Cleveland Browns · Kosar and the Denver heartbreaks

A homegrown contender reached three conference championship games in four seasons before The Drive and The Fumble became permanent Cleveland memories.

Read the era story →

Franchise era

1980–1988

Repeated near misses precede a historic teardown

Dallas Cowboys · The final Landry teams

Dallas reached three straight NFC title games before an aging roster declined and new ownership ended Landry's 29-year tenure.

Read the era story →

Career accomplishments

7 NFL seasons85 career games5,269 career passing yards24 career passing touchdowns6 career rushing yards1 career rushing touchdowns1 career receptions-4 career receiving yards3 playoff appearancesFirst appearance: Sep 7, 1980Most recent: Nov 23, 1986

Official awards via ESPN · Pro Bowl and All-Pro counts via NFLverse with selection years cross-checked against Wikipedia · league leads verified from indexed regular-season stats

Team history

Official regular-season games via NFL.com ↗. Indexed games are the box scores currently available in Athlore.