1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Chuck Noll |
General manager | Dick Haley |
Owner | Art Rooney |
Home field | Three Rivers Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 8–8 |
Division place | 2nd in AFC Central |
Playoff finish | did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers |
CB Mel Blount LB Jack Lambert S Donnie Shell C Mike Webster |
AP All-Pros |
Mel Blount (1st team) Jack Lambert (1st team) Mike Webster (1st team) Donnie Shell (2nd team) |
Team MVP | Jack Lambert |
After enduring an injury plagued 9-7 season the previous year, and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Steelers had hoped that the 1980 season was just a small hiatus from contending for championships. However, while the Steelers had flashes of their former glory years after starting the season with 2 unimpressive losses, the 1981 season would end in a 8-8 record and eventually prove to be the beginning of the end of the Steelers great dynasty of the 70's.
Personnel
Staff
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers staff | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
|
Preseason
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Game Site | Time (ET) | TV | Result | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sat. Aug. 8 | at Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 7:30 p.m. | WPXI | W 34–31 | 1–0 |
2 | Sat. Aug. 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | Veterans Stadium | 6:00 p.m. | WPXI | L 36–20 | 1–1 |
3 | Sat. Aug. 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | Texas Stadium | 9:00 p.m. | NBC | L 24–14 | 1–2 |
4 | Sat. Aug. 29 | New York Giants | Three Rivers Stadium | 6:00 p.m. | WPXI | W 31–6 | 2–2 |
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Game Site | Time (ET) | TV | Result | Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sun. Sep. 6 | Kansas City Chiefs | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 37–33 | 0–1 |
2 | Thu. Sep. 10 | at Miami Dolphins | Miami Orange Bowl | 8:30 p.m. | ABC | L 30–10 | 0–2 |
3 | Sun. Sep. 20 | New York Jets | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 38–10 | 1–2 |
4 | Sun. Sep. 27 | New England Patriots | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 27–21 (OT) | 2–2 |
5 | Sun. Oct. 4 | at New Orleans Saints | Louisiana Superdome | 2:00 p.m. | NBC | W 20–6 | 3–2 |
6 | Sun. Oct. 11 | Cleveland Browns | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 13–7 | 4–2 |
7 | Sun. Oct. 18 | at Cincinnati Bengals | Riverfront Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 34–7 | 4–3 |
8 | Mon. Oct. 26 | Houston Oilers | Three Rivers Stadium | 9:00 p.m. | ABC | W 26–13 | 5–3 |
9 | Sun. Nov. 1 | San Francisco 49ers | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | L 17–14 | 5–4 |
10 | Sun. Nov. 8 | at Seattle Seahawks | Kingdome | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | L 24–21 | 5–5 |
11 | Sun. Nov. 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 34–20 | 6–5 |
12 | Sun. Nov. 22 | at Cleveland Browns | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | W 32–10 | 7–5 |
13 | Sun. Nov. 29 | Los Angeles Rams | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | CBS | W 24–0 | 8–5 |
14 | Mon. Dec. 7 | at Oakland Raiders | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 9:00 p.m. | ABC | L 30–27 | 8–6 |
15 | Sun. Dec. 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | Three Rivers Stadium | 1:00 p.m. | NBC | L 17–10 | 8–7 |
16 | Sun. Dec. 20 | at Houston Oilers | Astrodome | 4:00 p.m. | NBC | L 21–20 | 8–8 |
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday September 6, 1981): vs. Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiefs | 10 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 37 |
Steelers | 6 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 53,305
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Swann 18 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
- Kansas City – Marshall 48 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
- Kansas City – FG Lowery 35
- Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
- Kansas City – FG Lowery 40
- Kansas City – Carson 53 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
- Pittsburgh – Hawthorne 1 run (Trout kick)
- Kansas City – FG Lowery 42
- Kansas City – McKnight 3 run (Lowery kick)
- Pittsburgh – Smith 41 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Kansas City – Howard 65 fumble return (Lowery kick)
Week 2 (Thursday September 10, 1981): at Miami Dolphins
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Dolphins | 0 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 30 |
at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Game time: 8:30 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 74,190
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Fran Tarkenton & Howard Cosell (color commentators)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 23
- Miami – Woodley 1 run (kick failed)
- Miami – Franklin 1 run (von Schamann kick)
- Pittsburgh – Smith 32 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Miami – Nathan 13 pass from Woodley (von Schamann kick)
- Miami – Vigorito 87 punt return (von Schamann kick)
- Miami – FG von Schamann 32
Week 3 (Sunday September 20, 1981): vs. New York Jets
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Steelers | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 52,973
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Davis 9 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 25
- Pittsburgh – Pollard 23 run (Trout kick)
- New York Jets – FG Leahy 47
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Pollard 1 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Thornton 1 run (Trout kick)
- New York Jets – McNeil 17 pass from Ryan (Leahy kick)
Week 4 (Sunday September 27, 1981): vs. New England Patriots
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patriots | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Steelers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 53,344
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Cunningham 1 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- New England – Cavanaugh 1 run (Smith kick)
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
- New England – Collins 10 run (Smith kick)
- New England – Morgan 12 pass from Cavanaugh (Smith kick)
- Pittsburgh – Swann 24 pass from Bradshaw
Week 5 (Sunday October 4, 1981): at New Orleans Saints
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Saints | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Game time: 2:00 pm EDT
- Game weather: Dome
- Game attendance: 64,578
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Harmon Wages (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Swann 16 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 25
- New Orleans – FG Ricardo 26
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 43
- New Orleans – FG Ricardo 33
- Pittsburgh – Stallworth 47 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
Week 6 (Sunday October 11, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 53,255
- Referee: Ben Dreith
- TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Stallworth 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
- Cleveland – Newsome 29 pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 23
Week 7 (Sunday October 18, 1981): at Cincinnati Bengals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Bengals | 10 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 57,090
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Cincinnati – FG Breech 27
- Cincinnati – Johnson 3 run (Breech kick)
- Cincinnati – FG Breech 23
- Cincinnati – Verser 73 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
- Cincinnati – Alexander 3 run (Breech kick)
- Cincinnati – Johnson 5 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
- Pittsburgh – Smith 17 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
Week 8 (Monday October 26, 1981): vs. Houston Oilers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oilers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
Steelers | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 9:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 52,732
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
- Pittsburgh – Smith 46 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Houston – FG Fritsch 34
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
- Houston – Casper 52 pass from Stabler (Fritsch kick)
- Houston – FG Fritsch 44
- Pittsburgh – Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
Week 9 (Sunday November 1, 1981): vs. San Francisco 49ers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Steelers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 52,878
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- San Francisco – Young 5 pass from Montana (Wersching kick)
- San Francisco – FG Wersching 45
- Pittsburgh – Blount 50 interception return (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Smith 22 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- San Francisco – Easley 1 run (Wersching kick)
Week 10 (Sunday November 8, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Seahawks | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
at The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
- Game time: 4:00 pm EST
- Game weather: Dome
- Game attendance: 59,058
- Referee: Dick Jorgensen
- TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Jim Turner (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Harris 6 run (Trout kick)
- Seattle – FG Herrera 37
- Pittsburgh – Malone 90 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Thornton 4 run (Trout kick)
- Seattle – Doornink 44 pass from Zorn (Herrera kick)
- Seattle – T. Brown 1 run (Herrera kick)
- Seattle – T. Brown 1 run (Herrera kick)
Week 11 (Sunday November 15, 1981): at Atlanta Falcons
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 34 |
Falcons | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Game time: 1:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 57,485
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Cunningham 18 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Atlanta – Jackson 35 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
- Pittsburgh – Stallworth 19 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Atlanta – FG Luckhurst 43
- Pittsburgh – Grossman 14 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked)
- Atlanta – Jenkins 30 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
- Pittsburgh – Swann 22 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Atlanta – FG Luckhurst 22
Week 12 (Sunday November 22, 1981): at Cleveland Browns
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 12 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 32 |
Browns | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time: 1:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 77,958
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland – FG Bahr 33
- Pittsburgh – Hawthorne 1 run (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh – Thornton 3 run (kick failed)
- Cleveland – Logan 13 pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)
- Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (kick failed)
- Pittsburgh – Pinney 1 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Moser 5 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
Week 13 (Sunday November 29, 1981): vs. Los Angeles Rams
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Steelers | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 51,854
- Referee: Tom Dooley
- TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Swann 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 21
Week 14 (Monday December 7, 1981): at Oakland Raiders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 27 |
Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 30 |
at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Game time: 9:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 51,769
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith & Howard Cosell (color commentators)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Cunningham 5 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
- Oakland – Ramsey 25 pass from Wilson (Bahr kick)
- Pittsburgh – Smith 19 pass from Malone (Trout kick)
- Oakland – Whittington 17 pass from Wilson (Bahr kick)
- Pittsburgh – Malone 11 run (kick failed)
- Oakland – Chandler 36 pass from Wilson (kick failed)
- Oakland – Watts 53 punt return (Bahr kick)
- Oakland – FG Bahr 29
- Pittsburgh – Smith 17 pass from Malone (Trout kick)
Week 15 (Sunday December 13, 1981): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bengals | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time: 1:00 pm EST
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 50,623
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 48
- Cincinnati – FG Breech 38
- Cincinnati – Curtis 2 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
- Cincinnati – Kreider 22 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
- Pittsburgh – Harris 2 pass from Malone (Trout kick)
Week 16 (Sunday December 20, 1981): at Houston Oilers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
- Game time: 4:00 pm EST
- Game weather: Dome
- Game attendance: 41,056
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers: (NBC) Phil Stone (play by play), Gene Washington (color commentator)
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 40
- Houston – Casper 15 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)
- Houston – Casper 23 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)
- Pittsburgh – FG Trout 37
- Pittsburgh – Thornton 17 run (Trout kick)
- Pittsburgh – Malone 2 run (Trout kick)
- Houston – Casper 16 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)
Standings
AFC Central | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
References
1. Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide 1982
- 1 2 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
- ↑ 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
- ↑ "1981 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
|