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	{{{sb_champions}}}
Champions	San Francisco 49ers
Pro Bowl
Date	January 31, 1982
National Football League seasons  < 1980 1982 >

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.

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 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.

Division Races

Starting in 1978, ten teams qualified for the playoffs: the winners of each of the divisions, and two wild-card teams in each conference. The two wild cards would meet for the right to face whichever of the three division winners had the best overall record. The tiebreaker rules were based on head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		WildCard		WildCard
1	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	1–0	3 teams	1–0	Atlanta	1–0
2	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	2–0	3 teams	1–1	Atlanta	2–0
3	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	3–0	5 teams	1-2	Atlanta	3-0
4	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	4–0	3 teams	2-2	Atlanta	3–1	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	4-0	6 teams	2–2
5	Philadelphia	4-1	Tie: (Min, TB)	3–2	3 teams	3-2	Dallas	4–1	5 teams	3–2
6	Philadelphia	5-1	Tie: (Min, TB)	4–2	Tie: (LA, SF)	4–2	5 teams	4-2
7	Philadelphia	6-1	Minnesota	5–2	San Francisco	5–2	Dallas	5–2	4 teams	4–3
8	Philadelphia	7–1	Minnesota	5-3	San Francisco	6–2	Dallas	6–2	NY Giants	5–3
9	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	7-2	Tie: (Min, TB)	5-4	San Francisco	7-2	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	7–2	5 teams	5–4
10	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	8-2	Minnesota	6–4	San Francisco	8-2	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	8–2	4 teams	5-5
11	Philadelphia	9–2	Minnesota	7-4	San Francisco	8-3	Dallas	8-3	7 teams	5-6
12	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	9-3	Minnesota	7–5	San Francisco	9-3	Tie: (Dal, Phi)	9-3	4 teams	6-6
13	Dallas	10-3	3 teams	7–6	San Francisco	10-3	Philadelphia	9-4	4 teams	7–6
14	Dallas	11-3	Tampa Bay	8–6	San Francisco	11-3	Philadelphia	9-5	6 teams	7-7
15	Dallas	12-3	3 teams	8–7	San Francisco	12-3	Philadelphia	9-6	4 teams	8–7
16	Dallas	12-4	Tampa Bay	9–7	San Francisco	13-3	Philadelphia	10-6	NY Giants	9–7

American Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		WildCard		WildCard
1	3 teams	1-0	Tie: (Cin, Hou)	1-0	3 teams	1–0
2	Tie: (Buf, Mia)	2–0	Tie: (Cin, Hou)	2-0	Tie: (KC, SD)	2–0
3	Miami	3–0	Tie: (Cin, Hou)	2–1	San Diego	3–0
4	Miami	4–0	Cincinnati	3–1	3 teams	3-1	4 teams	3-1
5	Miami	4-0-1	3 teams	3-2	Tie: (Den, SD)	4-1	Tie: (Den, SD)	4-1	5 teams	3-2
6	Miami	4-1-1	3 teams	4-2	Denver	5-1	7 teams	4-2
7	Miami	5-1-1	Cincinnati	5-2	3 teams	5-2	5 teams	5-2
8	Miami	5-2-1	Tie: (Cin, Pit)	5-3	Kansas City	6-2	5 teams	5-3
9	Miami	6-2-1	Cincinnati	6-3	3 teams	6-3	5 teams	6-3
10	Miami	7-2-1	Cincinnati	7-3	Denver	7-3	3 teams	6-4
11	Miami	7-3-1	Cincinnati	8-3	Denver	8-3	Kansas City	7-4	NY Jets	6-4-1
12	Tie: (Mia, NYJ)	7-4-1	Cincinnati	9-3	Tie: (Den, KC)	8-4	Tie: (Den, KC)	8-4	Tie: (Mia, NYJ)	7-4-1
13	Tie: (Mia, NYJ)	8-4-1	Cincinnati	10-3	3 teams	8-5	Tie: (Mia, NYJ)	8-4-1	4 teams	8-5
14	Miami	9-4-1	Cincinnati	10-4	Denver	9-5	Buffalo	9-5	NY Jets	8-5-1
15	Miami	10-4-1	Cincinnati	11-4	Denver	10-5	Buffalo	10-5	NY Jets	9-5-1
16	Miami	11-4-1	Cincinnati	12-4	San Diego*	10-6	NY Jets	10-5-1	Buffalo	10-6

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

 x  – clinched wild card berth,  y  – clinched division title

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

NFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Dallas Cowboys	12	4	0	.750	367	277
x-Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	368	221
x-New York Giants	9	7	0	.563	295	257
Washington Redskins	8	8	0	.500	347	349
St. Louis Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	315	408
NFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Tampa Bay Buccaneers	9	7	0	.563	315	268
Detroit Lions	8	8	0	.500	397	322
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	324	361
Minnesota Vikings	7	9	0	.438	325	369
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	253	324
NFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-San Francisco 49ers	13	3	0	.813	357	250
Atlanta Falcons	7	9	0	.438	426	355
Los Angeles Rams	6	10	0	.375	303	351
New Orleans Saints	4	12	0	.250	207	378

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 (5–5 to Packers' 4–6).

Playoffs

• Main article: 1981–82 NFL playoffs

Home team in capitals

AFC

• Wild-Card playoff: Buffalo 31, N.Y. JETS 27
• Divisional playoffs: San Diego 41, MIAMI 38 (OT) (The Epic in Miami, Kellen Winslow game); CINCINNATI 28, Buffalo 21
• AFC Championship: CINCINNATI 27, San Diego 7 (Freezer Bowl) at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio, January 10, 1982

NFC

• Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. Giants 27, PHILADELPHIA 21
• Divisional playoffs: DALLAS 38, Tampa Bay 0; SAN FRANCISCO 38, N.Y. Giants 24
• NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 28, Dallas 27 (The Catch) at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, January 10, 1982

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco (NFC) 26, Cincinnati (AFC) 21, at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan, January 24, 1982

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, N.Y. Giants
Offensive Rookie of the Year	George Rogers, Running Back, New Orleans
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Lawrence Taylor, Linebacker, N.Y. Giants

References

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

Template:1981 NFL season by team