1981 NFL season

1981 National Football League season

Regular season
Duration	September 6 – December 21, 1981
Playoffs
Start date	December 27, 1981
AFC Champions	Cincinnati Bengals
NFC Champions	San Francisco 49ers
Super Bowl XVI
Date	January 24, 1982
Site	Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
Champions	San Francisco 49ers
Pro Bowl
Date	January 31, 1982
Site	Aloha Stadium
← 1980 NFL seasons 1982 →

Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The 49ers playing against the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.

The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26–21 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.

Draft

The 1981 NFL Draft was held from April 28 to 29, 1981 at New York City’s Sheraton Hotel. With the first pick, the New Orleans Saints selected running back George Rogers from the University of South Carolina.

New referee

Cal Lepore, the line judge for Super Bowl III and referee for the Miracle at the Meadowlands, retired prior to the 1980 season. He would later become supervisor of officials in the United States Football League. Tom Dooley, who was assigned Super Bowl XV as line judge at the end of the 1981 season, was promoted to referee to replace Lepore.

Major rule changes

• It is illegal for any player to put adhesive or slippery substances such as the product “stickum” on his body, equipment or uniform. This rule is known as both the “Lester Hayes Rule” and the “Fred Biletnikoff Rule” since both players were notorious for using sticky substances to make it easier for them to intercept/catch passes.
• An offensive player who comes into the game wearing an illegal number for the position he takes must report to the referee before the start of the next play.
• The penalty for an ineligible receiver who touches a forward pass is a loss of down.
• The penalty for illegal use of hands, arms, or body (including holding) is reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards.
• The penalty for intentional grounding is modified: loss of down and 10 yards penalty from the previous spot, or if the foul occurs more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, loss of down at the spot of the foul.
• Officials began wearing numbers 21 through 25 within their position groups after going no higher than number 20 in 1979 and 1980.

Deaths

• July 1, 1981: Linebacker Rusty Chambers, the Miami Dolphins leading tackler in 1978 and 1979, died in an automobile accident. ^[1]

Regular season

Scheduling formula

Inter-conference AFC East vs NFC East AFC Central vs NFC West AFC West vs NFC Central

Final standings

AFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Miami Dolphins (2) 11 4 1 .719 5–2–1 8–3–1 345 275 W4 New York Jets (4) 10 5 1 .656 6–1–1 8–5–1 355 287 W2 Buffalo Bills (5) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 9–3 311 276 L1 Baltimore Colts 2 14 0 .125 2–6 2–10 259 533 W1 New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 0–8 2–10 322 370 L9 AFC Central view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Cincinnati Bengals (1) 12 4 0 .750 4–2 10–2 421 304 W2 Pittsburgh Steelers 8 8 0 .500 3–3 5–7 356 297 L3 Houston Oilers 7 9 0 .438 4–2 6–6 281 355 W1 Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 .313 1–5 2–10 276 375 L5 AFC West view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK San Diego Chargers (3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 478 390 W2 Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 5–3 7–5 321 289 L1 Kansas City Chiefs 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 343 290 W1 Oakland Raiders 7 9 0 .438 2–6 5–7 273 343 L2 Seattle Seahawks 6 10 0 .375 2–6 6–8 322 388 W1

NFC East view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Dallas Cowboys (2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 8–4 367 277 L1 Philadelphia Eagles (4) 10 6 0 .625 4–4 7–5 368 221 W1 New York Giants (5) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–6 295 257 W3 Washington Redskins 8 8 0 .500 3–5 6–6 347 349 W3 St. Louis Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 2–6 4–8 315 408 L2 NFC Central view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) 9 7 0 .563 6–2 9–3 315 268 W1 Detroit Lions 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 397 322 L1 Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–7 324 361 L1 Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 325 369 L5 Chicago Bears 6 10 0 .375 2–6 2–10 253 324 W3 NFC West view talk edit W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK San Francisco 49ers (1) 13 3 0 .857 5–1 10-2 357 250 W5 Atlanta Falcons 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 426 355 L3 Los Angeles Rams 6 10 0 .375 2–4 5–7 303 351 L1 New Orleans Saints 4 12 0 .250 2–4 2–10 207 378 L4

Tiebreakers

• Baltimore finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on better division record (6–2 to Broncos’ 5–3).
• Buffalo was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Denver (1–0).
• Detroit finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better record against common opponents (4–4 to Packers’ 3–5).

Playoffs

Main article: 1981–82 NFL playoffs

						Jan 2 – Texas Stadium
						3	Tampa Bay	0
	Dec 27 – Veterans Stadium										Jan 10 – Candlestick Park
						2	Dallas	38
						NFC
	5	NY Giants	27								2	Dallas	27
						Jan 3 – Candlestick Park
	4	Philadelphia	21								1	San Francisco	28
											NFC Championship
						5	NY Giants	24
																Jan 24 – Pontiac Silverdome
						1	San Francisco	38
						Divisional playoffs
	Wild Card playoffs															N1	San Francisco	26
						Jan 2 – Miami Orange Bowl
																A1	Cincinnati	21
																Super Bowl XVI
						3	San Diego	41*
	Dec 27 – Shea Stadium										Jan 10 – Riverfront Stadium
						2	Miami	38
						AFC
	5	Buffalo	31								3	San Diego	7
						Jan 3 – Riverfront Stadium
	4	NY Jets	27								1	Cincinnati	27
											AFC Championship
						5	Buffalo	21
						1	Cincinnati	28

* Indicates overtime victory

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Records, milestones, and notable statistics

Records Set

• Most Passes Attempted, Season, 709

Minnesota Vikings

• Most Punts, Season, 114

Chicago Bears

• Most Yards, Punt Returns, Both Teams, Game, 282

Los Angeles Rams (219) vs Atlanta Falcons (63), Oct 11, 1981

Records Tied

• Most Touchdowns, Passing, Single Team, Game, 7

San Diego Chargers (vs Oakland Raiders) Nov 22, 1981

• Most Touchdowns, Punt Returns, Single Team, Game, 2

Los Angeles Rams (vs Atlanta Falcons) Oct 11, 1981

Baltimore Colts Defense

The 1981 Baltimore Colts were one of the worst defenses in NFL history; they set five dubious defensive records:

• Most Points Allowed, Season, 533
• Most Touchdowns Allowed, Season, 68
• Most First Downs Allowed Season, 406
• Most Yards Allowed, Season, 6,793
• Fewest Punt Returns, Season, 12

Statistical leaders

Team

Points scored	San Diego Chargers (478)
Total yards gained	San Diego Chargers (6,744)
Yards rushing	Detroit Lions (2,795)
Yards passing	San Diego Chargers (4,739)
Fewest points allowed	Philadelphia Eagles (221)
Fewest total yards allowed	Philadelphia Eagles (4,447)
Fewest rushing yards allowed	Detroit Lions (1,623)
Fewest passing yards allowed	Philadelphia Eagles (2,696)

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Ken Anderson, Quarterback, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year	Bill Walsh, San Francisco
Offensive Player of the Year	Ken Anderson, Quarterback, Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year	Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, NY Giants
Offensive Rookie of the Year	George Rogers, Running back, New Orleans
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, NY Giants
Man of the Year	Lynn Swann, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh
Comeback Player of the Year	Ken Anderson, Quarterback, Cincinnati
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player	Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco

Coaching changes

• Denver Broncos: Dan Reeves replaced the fired Red Miller.
• Houston Oilers: Bum Phillips was fired and replaced by Ed Biles.
• New Orleans Saints: Bum Phillips joined the Saints after being fired by the Oilers. Dick Nolan was fired after a 0–12 start in 1980, and Dick Stanfel took over as interim.
• Washington Redskins: Joe Gibbs replaced Jack Pardee.

Stadium changes

The home of the San Diego Chargers, San Diego Stadium, was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium in memory of local sportswriter Jack Murphy

Uniform changes

• The Cincinnati Bengals made significant modifications to their uniforms for the first time since the team's debut in 1968, discontinuing the design similar to the Cleveland Browns' jerseys. Orange and black tiger stripes were added to the jerseys and pants. Black tiger stripes were also added to the orange helmets.
• The Dallas Cowboys adopted a new blue jersey which was darker than its predecessors and featured silver numbers. The Cowboys wore this blue jersey through 1994.
• The Houston Oilers resumed wearing blue pants with their white jerseys.
• The Los Angeles Rams switched from gray to blue face masks

Regular season game not broadcast by Network TV

Date	Time	Teams	Local TV	Announcers
September 5, 1981	8:00 PM EDT	Minnesota @ Tampa Bay	KSTP-TV (Minnesota) WTOG-TV (Tampa Bay)

References

1. 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.185

• NFL Record and Fact Book ( ISBN   1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1981–1990 Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ( ISBN   0-06-270174-6)