Cleveland improved again in 2002, but Lerner did not live to see his team make the playoffs. He died in October 2002 at 69 of brain cancer. Browns players wore a patch with the initials "AL" for the remainder of the season. Ownership of the team, meanwhile, passed to his son Randy. Cleveland finished the season with a 9–7 record, earning a spot in the playoffs as a wild-card team. Couch suffered a broken leg in the final game of the season, however, and backup Kelly Holcomb started in the Browns' first playoff game versus the Steelers. Cleveland held the lead for most of the game as Holcomb passed for 429 yards. But a defensive collapse helped Pittsburgh come charging back in the fourth quarter and win 36–33 to end the Browns' season. This was the only postseason appearance for the Browns since resuming operations in 1999 until they made the playoffs in 2020.