1981 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1981 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, and the 14th overall. The team won their first AFC Championship, but lost Super Bowl XVI to San Francisco.

1981 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Forrest Gregg
General manager	Paul Brown
Owner	Paul Brown
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 28–21 Won AFC Championship (Chargers) 27–7 Lost Super Bowl XVI (vs. 49ers) 26–21

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

Cincinnati had at least a share of the AFC Central lead the entire season. On December 13, quarterback Ken Anderson threw two touchdown passes as the Bengals clinched the division with a 17–10 win over the Steelers.

Ken Anderson led the NFL in passing in 1981 with a 98.5 rating.

On January 3, 1982, the Bengals beat Buffalo, 28–21, in an AFC Divisional Playoff game. A week later, playing in their first AFC Championship Game, the Bengals defeated San Diego, 27–7, at Riverfront Stadium in a temperature of nine degrees below zero with a wind-chill factor of minus-59. This game is referred to as the Freezer Bowl.

In Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982, in Pontiac, Michigan, the Bengals trailed 20–0 at halftime and lost to San Francisco, 26–21.

Offseason

Before the season, the Bengals unveiled new uniforms with tiger-striped helmets, jerseys and pants.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

1981 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	10	David Verser	Wide receiver	Kansas
2	37	Cris Collinsworth *	Wide receiver	Florida
3	64	John Simmons	Defensive back	SMU
4	93	Guy Frazier	Linebacker	Wyoming
5	120	Benjie Pryor	Tight end	Pittsburgh
6	146	Rex Robinson	Placekicker	Georgia
7	176	Jeff Schuh	Linebacker	Minnesota
8	202	Bobby Kemp	Defensive back	Cal State Fullerton
9	229	Jim Hannula	Offensive tackle	Northern Illinois
9	230	Samoa Samoa	Running back	Washington State
10	258	Hubert Simpson	Running back	Tennessee
11	285	Robert Jackson	Defensive back	Central Michigan
12	312	Mark O'Connell	Quarterback	Ball State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1981 Cincinnati Bengals staff

	Front office Owner/General Manager – Paul Brown President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Forrest Gregg Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Lindy Infante Offensive Backfield – George Sefcik Tight Ends – Bruce Coslet Offensive Line – Jim McNally			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Hank Bullough Defensive Line – Dick Modzelewski Defensive Backfield – Dick LeBeau Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce Coslet Strength and conditioning Strength – Kim Wood

Roster

1981 Cincinnati Bengals roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Ken Anderson 15 Turk Schonert 12 Jack Thompson Running backs 40 Charles Alexander 45 Archie Griffin 36 Jimmy Hargrove 46 Pete Johnson FB 20 Elvis Peacock Wide receivers 84 Don Bass 80 Cris Collinsworth 85 Isaac Curtis 86 Steve Kreider 81 David Verser Tight ends 83 M. L. Harris 89 Dan Ross		Offensive linemen 74 Glenn Bujnoch G 58 Blair Bush C 62 Dave Lapham G 65 Max Montoya G 60 Blake Moore C 78 Anthony Muñoz T 76 Brad Oates T 68 Mike Obrovac T 70 Bobby Whitten T 77 Mike Wilson T Defensive linemen 79 Ross Browner DE 67 Gary Burley DE 73 Eddie Edwards DE 71 Rod Horn NT 72 Mike St. Clair DE 75 Wilson Whitley DT		Linebackers 50 Glenn Cameron 52 Tom Dinkel 49 Guy Frazier 53 Bo Harris 55 Jim LeClair 51 Rick Razzano 59 Jeff Schuh 57 Reggie Williams Defensive backs 34 Louis Breeden CB 47 Greg Bright S 24 Clarence Chapman CB 21 Oliver Davis CB 42 Mike Fuller S 44 Ray Griffin CB 27 Bryan Hicks S 26 Bobby Kemp S 13 Ken Riley CB 25 John Simmons CB Special teams 10 Jim Breech K 87 Pat McInally P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time(EST)	TV Announcers	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	Seattle Seahawks	W 27–21	NBC 1:00pm	Mike Adamle & Rocky Bleier	41,177
2	September 13, 1981	at New York Jets	W 31–30	NBC 4:00pm	Charlie Jones & Len Dawson	49,454
3	September 20, 1981	Cleveland Browns	L 20–17	NBC 1:00pm	Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy	52,170
4	September 27, 1981	Buffalo Bills	W 27–24	NBC 1:00pm	Jay Randolph & Mike Haffner	46,418
5	October 4, 1981	at Houston Oilers	L 17–10	NBC 1:00pm	Marv Albert & Jim Turner	44,350
6	October 11, 1981	at Baltimore Colts	W 41–19	NBC 1:00pm	Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy	33,060
7	October 18, 1981	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & John Brodie	57,090
8	October 25, 1981	at New Orleans Saints	L 17–7	NBC 1:00pm	Mike Adamle & Mike Haffner	46,336
9	November 1, 1981	Houston Oilers	W 34–21	NBC 1:00pm	Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy	54,736
10	November 8, 1981	at San Diego Chargers	W 40–17	NBC 4:00pm	Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen	51,259
11	November 15, 1981	Los Angeles Rams	W 24–10	CBS 1:00pm	Vin Scully & Hank Stram	56,836
12	November 22, 1981	Denver Broncos	W 38–21	NBC 1:00pm	Bob Costas & Gene Washington	57,207
13	November 29, 1981	at Cleveland Browns	W 41–21	NBC 1:00pm	Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy	75,186
14	December 6, 1981	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–3	CBS 1:00pm	Tim Ryan & Fred Dryer	56,796
15	December 13, 1981	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–10	NBC 1:00pm	Don Criqui & John Brodie	50,623
16	December 20, 1981	at Atlanta Falcons	W 30–28	NBC 4:00pm	Charlie Jones & Len Dawson	35,972

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 21 0 0 0 21 • Bengals 0 10 10 7 27 Date: September 6 Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 41,177 Game weather: 69°F; wind 8 Referee: Bob Frederic Television network: NBC

Scoring summary Q1 SEA Harris 29 yard interception return (Herrera kick) SEA 7–0 Q1 SEA Largent 36 yard pass from Zorn (Herrera kick) SEA 14–0 Q1 SEA Jodat 1 yard run (Herrera kick) SEA 21–0 Q2 CIN Breech 25 yard field goal SEA 21–3 Q2 CIN Johnson 3 yard run (Breech kick) SEA 21–10 Q3 CIN Breech 40 yard field goal SEA 21–13 Q3 CIN Griffin 3 yard run (Breech kick) SEA 21–20 Q4 CIN Johnson 2 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 27–21

[3]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 0 10 7 14 31 Jets 0 17 3 10 30 Date: September 13 Location: Shea Stadium

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 3 10 0 7 20 Bengals 0 0 3 14 17 Date: September 20 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Red Cashion Television network: NBC

Week 4

1 2 3 4 OT Total Bills 0 14 0 10 0 24 • Bengals 0 10 0 14 3 27 Date: September 27 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 0 7 0 10 • Oilers 0 7 7 3 17 Date: October 4 Location: Astrodome Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 3 14 7 17 41 Colts 0 5 0 14 19 Date: October 11 Location: Memorial Stadium

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 0 7 7 • Bengals 10 3 14 7 34 Date: October 18 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 0 0 7 7 • Saints 0 0 7 10 17 Date: October 25 Location: Louisiana Superdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 7 0 0 14 21 • Bengals 0 24 3 7 34 Date: November 1 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 10 21 0 9 40 Chargers 0 10 0 7 17 Date: November 8 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Rams 0 3 0 7 10 • Bengals 10 0 0 14 24 Date: November 15 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Hank Stram

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 0 7 0 14 21 • Bengals 14 14 0 10 38 Date: November 22 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 14 14 0 13 41 Browns 0 7 0 14 21 Date: November 29 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 36°F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q1 CIN Johnson 5 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick) CIN 7–0 Q1 CIN Collinsworth 39 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick) CIN 14–0 Q2 CIN Collinsworth 7 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick) CIN 21–0 Q2 CLE Feacher 30 yard pass from Sipe (Bahr kick) CIN 21–7 Q2 CIN Harris 2 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick) CIN 28–7 Q4 CLE Pruitt 1 yard run (Bahr kick) CIN 28–14 Q4 CIN Johnson 11 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 35–14 Q4 CIN Johnson 1 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 42–14 Q4 CLE Pruitt 7 yard pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) CIN 42–21

• Pete Johnson 21 Rush, 105 Yds

[4]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 7 7 0 7 21 Bengals 0 3 0 0 3 Date: December 6 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Jerry Seeman TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Fred Dryer

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 0 10 7 0 17 Steelers 0 3 0 7 10 Date: December 13 Location: Three Rivers Stadium Referee: Red Cashion TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total • Bengals 10 17 0 3 30 Falcons 0 21 0 7 28 Date: December 20 Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium Referee: Fred Wyant Television network: NBC

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time(EST)	TV Announcers	Attendance
Divisional	January 3, 1982	Buffalo Bills	W 28–21	NBC 1:00pm	Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen	55,420
Conference Championship	January 10, 1982	San Diego Chargers	W 27–7	NBC 1:00pm	Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen	46,302
Super Bowl	January 24, 1982	N San Francisco 49ers	L 26–21	CBS 4:00pm	Pat Summerall & John Madden	81,270

Divisional

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 7 7 7 21 • Bengals 14 0 7 7 28 Date: January 3 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Conference Championship

1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 0 7 0 0 7 • Bengals 10 7 3 7 27 Date: January 10 Location: Riverfront Stadium

Super Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 7 13 0 6 26 Bengals 0 0 7 14 21 Date: January 24 Location: Pontiac Silverdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)

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

Awards and records

• Ken Anderson, NFL MVP [5]
• Ken Anderson, Bert Bell Award[6]
• Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Touchdown Passes, 29 Passes [7]
• Ken Anderson, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 98.4 Rating [8]

Milestones

• Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Most Touchdown Passes in One Season, 29 Passes [7]
• Cris Collinsworth, 1st 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,009 yards) [9]
• Pete Johnson, 1,000 Yard Rushing Season (1,077 yards) [10]

References

1. "1981 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
2. "1981 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jul-03.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-16.
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
8. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
9. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 442
10. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 437

External links

• 1981 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com