1981 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated

1981 Cleveland Browns season
Owner Art Modell
Head coach Sam Rutigliano
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WHK
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers None
1975-1995 Cleveland Browns Script 1975-1995 Browns Script.PNG
1975-1995 Cleveland Browns Script

The 1981 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 32nd season with the National Football League. In a highly disappointing season filled with a number of key injuries at different stretches during the campaign, the Browns finished the year with five straight defeats, their longest losing streak since 1975, and dropped seven of their final eight games. By contrast, in 1980, the Browns enjoyed a five-game winning streak.

Contents

Season summary

The Browns had a similar kind of season in 1981—eight of the games were decided by six points or less, and five were decided by three points or less. Sipe threw more interceptions (25) than TDs (17), his completion rate fell to just over 55 percent and his quarterback rating plummeted to 68.2. FB Mike Pruitt rushed for more than 1,000 yards (1,103) for the third straight year in 1981, and caught 63 passes for the second season in a row. Tight end Ozzie Newsome set a team record (since broken) for receptions with 69 and had the second-most receiving yards in Browns history at the time with 1,002.

HB Greg Pruitt established a personal best with 65 catches. [1]

Ironically, through 2023 the 1981 Browns are the only team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have beaten both eventual Super Bowl participants, the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals, while finishing with a losing record.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1981 NFL draft.

RoundOverallPlayerPositionSchool/Club team
122 Hanford Dixon Defensive back Southern Miss
492 Mike Robinson Defensive end Arizona
5134 Steve Cox Punter Arkansas
6160 Ron Simmons Defensive tackle Florida State
7187 Eddie Johnson Linebacker Louisville
9244Randy SchleusenerGuard Nebraska
10271Dean PraterDefensive end Oklahoma State
11298 Larry Friday Defensive back Mississippi State
12325Kevin McGillOffensive tackle Oregon

[2]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1981 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

1981 Cleveland Browns final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
, 3 practice squad

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 7 San Diego Chargers L 14–440–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,904 Recap
2September 13 Houston Oilers L 3–90–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium79,483 Recap
3September 20at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–171–2 Riverfront Stadium 52,170 Recap
4September 27 Atlanta Falcons W 28–172–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,283 Recap
5October 4at Los Angeles Rams L 16–272–3 Anaheim Stadium 63,924 Recap
6October 11at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–132–4 Three Rivers Stadium 53,255 Recap
7October 18 New Orleans Saints W 20–173–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium76,059 Recap
8October 25 Baltimore Colts W 42–284–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,986 Recap
9November 1at Buffalo Bills L 13–224–5 Rich Stadium 78,266 Recap
10November 8at Denver Broncos L 20–23 (OT)4–6 Mile High Stadium 74,859 Recap
11November 15at San Francisco 49ers W 15–125–6 Candlestick Park 52,455 Recap
12November 22 Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–325–7Cleveland Municipal Stadium77,958 Recap
13November 29 Cincinnati Bengals L 21–415–8Cleveland Municipal Stadium75,186 Recap
14December 3at Houston Oilers L 13–175–9 Houston Astrodome 44,502 Recap
15December 12 New York Jets L 13–145–10Cleveland Municipal Stadium56,866 Recap
16December 20at Seattle Seahawks L 21–425–11 Kingdome 51,435 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cincinnati Bengals (1)1240.7504–210–2421304W2
Pittsburgh Steelers 880.5003–35–7356297L3
Houston Oilers 790.4384–26–6281355W1
Cleveland Browns 5110.3131–52–10276375L5

Game summaries

Week 4: vs. Atlanta

Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period1234Total
Falcons370717
Browns0217028

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: September 27
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C), relative humidity 56%, round (wind) 17 mph (27 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 78,283
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully (play–by–play) and John Madden (color commentator)
Game information

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References

  1. ↑ "Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com". Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ "1981 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  3. ↑ "1981 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com .


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