1981 Cleveland Browns season

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, their longest since 1976, and won eight of nine during one stretch.

1981 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Sam Rutigliano
Owner	Art Modell
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	5–11
Division place	4th AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

Season summary

In 1980, the Kardiac Kids reached their zenith with last-second win after last-second win–13 of the 16 games were decided in the final two minutes—they finished 11–5 and captured the AFC Central crown. Every time the Browns needed to make a play, they did so. Every time they needed something good to happen, it did.

As much of a storybook, magic season it was, it was even more so for quarterback Brian Sipe, as he set a franchise record for touchdown passes with 30 en route to being named the NFL MVP. The season came to an abrupt halt in dramatic and disappointing fashion with a 14–12 divisional playoff loss to the Oakland Raiders when Sipe's ill-fated pass into the end zone in the waning seconds on a play called Red Right 88 was intercepted. But rather than an end, that game was looked upon at the time as being simply a beginning, and the Browns and their fans fully expected to take the next step in 1981 and get that elusive first appearance in the Super Bowl—or the "Siper Bowl", as it was referred to in Cleveland.

As it turned out, the Browns did indeed have 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. Only this time, the Browns were on the losing end of things. Every time they needed to make a play, they didn't. Every time they needed something good to happen, it didn't. In 1980, Sipe broke nearly every club passing record, throwing, as mentioned, for 30 TDs with just 14 interceptions while completing nearly 61 percent of his passes, good for a 91.4 quarterback rating. In 1981, he threw more interceptions (25) than TDs (17), his completion rate fell to just over 55 percent and his quarterback rating plummeted to 68.2.

As the quarterback goes, so goes any team, which explains the rise and fall of the Browns in 1980 and '81. 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 the 2019 NFL season 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, in the regular season while finishing with a losing record.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club team
1	22	Hanford Dixon	Defensive back	Southern Miss
4	92	Mike Robinson	Defensive end	Arizona
5	134	Steve Cox	Punter	Arkansas
6	160	Ron Simmons	Defensive tackle	Florida State
7	187	Eddie Johnson	Linebacker	Louisville
9	244	Randy Schleusener	Guard	Nebraska
10	271	Dean Prater	Defensive end	Oklahoma State
11	298	Larry Friday	Defensive back	Mississippi State
12	325	Kevin McGill	Offensive tackle	Oregon

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Record
1	September 7, 1981	San Diego Chargers	L 44–14	78,904	0–1
2	September 13, 1981	Houston Oilers	L 9–3	79,483	0–2
3	September 20, 1981	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–17	52,170	1–2
4	September 27, 1981	Atlanta Falcons	W 28–17	78,283	2–2
5	October 4, 1981	at Los Angeles Rams	L 27–16	63,924	2–3
6	October 11, 1981	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–7	53,255	2–4
7	October 18, 1981	New Orleans Saints	W 20–17	76,059	3–4
8	October 25, 1981	Baltimore Colts	W 42–28	78,986	4–4
9	November 1, 1981	at Buffalo Bills	L 22–13	78,266	4–5
10	November 8, 1981	at Denver Broncos	L 23–20 (OT)	74,859	4–6
11	November 15, 1981	at San Francisco 49ers	W 15–12	52,455	5–6
12	November 22, 1981	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 32–10	77,958	5–7
13	November 29, 1981	Cincinnati Bengals	L 41–21	75,186	5–8
14	December 3, 1981	at Houston Oilers	L 17–13	44,502	5–9
15	December 12, 1981	New York Jets	L 14–13	56,866	5–10
16	December 20, 1981	at Seattle Seahawks	L 42–21	51,435	5–11

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

Roster

1981 Cleveland Browns final roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Paul McDonald 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 35 Calvin Hill 30 Cleo Miller FB 34 Greg Pruitt 43 Mike Pruitt FB 25 Charles White Wide receivers 80 Willis Adams 83 Ricky Feacher 86 Danny Fulton 85 Dave Logan 33 Reggie Rucker Tight ends 82 Ozzie Newsome 84 McDonald Oden 87 Curtis Weathers LB		Offensive linemen 64 Joe DeLamielleure G 54 Tom DeLeone C 73 Doug Dieken T 68 Robert E. Jackson G 71 Matt Miller T 63 Cody Risien T 65 Henry Sheppard G 79 Gerry Sullivan C/T Defensive linemen 77 Lyle Alzado DE 91 Henry Bradley DT 97 Thomas Brown DE 94 Elvis Franks DE 90 Marshall Harris DE 92 Mike Robinson DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT		Linebackers 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 50 Don Goode OLB 58 Bruce Huther ILB 56 Robert L. Jackson ILB 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 57 Clay Matthews Jr. OLB Defensive backs 24 Autry Beamon FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 49 Clinton Burrell SS/CB 27 Thom Darden FS 29 Hanford Dixon CB 20 Judson Flint CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 22 Clarence Scott SS 12 Rick Trocano FS/QB Special teams  9 Matt Bahr K 15 Steve Cox P 26 Dino Hall KR/PR 10 Dave Jacobs K 24 Cleo Montgomery KR/PR		Reserve lists 53 Bill Cowher ILB (IR) 68 Joel Patten T (IR) Practice squad 75 Ray Bloch T -- Chuck Correal C 27 Gary Davis RB Rookies in italics 50 active, 1 inactive, 3 practice squad

[3]

Game summaries

Week 4: vs. Atlanta

Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	3	7	0	7	17
Browns	0	21	7	0	28

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

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

Game information

First quarter ATL – Luckhurst 35 yard field goal Falcons 3, Browns 0 Second quarter ATL – Jenkins 18 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) Falcons 10, Browns 0 CLE – Pruitt 13 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick) Browns 14, Falcons 10 CLE – Newsome 23 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick) Browns 21, Falcons 10 CLE – Sipe 1 yard rush (Jacobs kick) Browns 21, Falcons 10 Third quarter CLE – Pruitt 1 yard rush (Jacobs kick) Browns 28, Falcons 10 Fourth quarter ATL – Jenkins 5 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) Browns 28, Falcons 17 Top passers ATL – Steve Bartkowski 12/30, 176 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT CLE – Brian Sipe 21/34, 215 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers ATL – William Andrews 16 carr, 97 yds CLE – Mike Pruitt, 20 carr, 99 yds, 1 TD Top receivers ATL – Alfred Jenkins 6 rec, 136 yds, 2 TD CLE – Ozzie Newsome 6 rec, 78 yds, 1 TD Turnovers ATL – 4 CLE – 5

References

1. "Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com". Archived from the original on 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
2. "1981 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
3. "1981 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players".