1981 Seattle Seahawks season
The 1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League. The Seahawks get off to a terrible start losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6-10 season. Steve Largent would have a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Seattle opened their season at Cincinnati, and held a 21-0 lead before the Bengals rallied for an improbable 27-21 win. This loss proved to be the beginning of the end for the Seahawks in 1981, as they would struggle as the season progressed.
1981 Seattle Seahawks season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Jack Patera |
Home field | Kingdome |
Results | |
Record | 6–10 |
Division place | 5th AFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | WR Steve Largent |
AP All-Pros | none |
Offseason
NFL Draft
Round/Pick | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|
1/4 | Kenny Easley | Defensive Back | UCLA |
2/31 | David Hughes | Running Back | Boise State |
3/58 | Bill Dugan | Offensive Guard | Penn State |
4/87 | Scott Phillips | Wide Receiver | Brigham Young |
5/114 | Edwin Bailey | Offensive Guard | South Carolina State |
6/140 | Steve Durham | Defensive End | Clemson |
7/170 | Ron Johnson | Wide Receiver | Long Beach State |
7/186 | Brad Scovill | Tight End | Penn State |
8/196 | Eric Lane | Running Back | Brigham Young |
9/223 | Jim Stone | Running Back | Notre Dame |
9/236 | Jimbo Whatley | Wide Receiver | Washington State |
10/252 | Ken Dawson | Running Back | Savannah State |
11/279 | Lance Olander | Running Back | Colorado |
12/306 | Jeff Bednarek | Defensive Tackle | U. of Pacific |
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Final roster
- Starters in bold.
- (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1982 Pro Bowl.
Schedule
Preseason
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 5 | San Francisco 49ers | L 24–27 (OT) | 0–1 | Kingdome | Recap |
2 | August 14 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 21–30 | 0–2 | Kingdome | Recap |
3 | August 22 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–24 | 0–3 | Candlestick Park | Recap |
4 | August 28 | Baltimore Colts | W 31–17 | 1–3 | Kingdome | Recap |
Regular season
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 6 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 21–27 | 0–1 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
2 | September 13 | Denver Broncos | W 13–10 | 1–1 | Kingdome | Recap |
3 | September 20 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–20 | 1–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap |
4 | September 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 14–20 | 1–3 | Kingdome | Recap |
5 | October 4 | at San Diego Chargers | L 10–24 | 1–4 | Jack Murphy Stadium | Recap |
6 | October 11 | at Houston Oilers | L 17–35 | 1–5 | Houston Astrodome | Recap |
7 | October 18 | New York Giants | L 0–32 | 1–6 | Kingdome | Recap |
8 | October 25 | at New York Jets | W 19–3 | 2–6 | Shea Stadium | Recap |
9 | November 1 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–34 | 2–7 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
10 | November 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–21 | 3–7 | Kingdome | Recap |
11 | November 16 | San Diego Chargers | W 44–23 | 4–7 | Kingdome | Recap |
12 | November 22 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–40 | 4–8 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
13 | November 29 | Oakland Raiders | L 31–32 | 4–9 | Kingdome | Recap |
14 | December 6 | New York Jets | W 27–23 | 5–9 | Kingdome | Recap |
15 | December 13 | at Denver Broncos | L 13–23 | 5–10 | Mile High Stadium | Recap |
16 | December 20 | Cleveland Browns | W 42–21 | 6–10 | Kingdome | Recap |
- Source: 1981 NFL season results [4]
Standings
AFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Game Summaries
Week P1: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week P2: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
49ers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco
- Date: August 22
- Game time: 6:05pm local
- Game weather: cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C), wind NE 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)
- Game attendance: 37,563
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV: KIRO
- Gamebook
Week P4: vs. Baltimore Colts
Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Bengals | 0 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
Game information | ||
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|
Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Broncos | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Seahawks | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
- Date: September 13
- Game time: 1:03pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 58,513
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Jim Turner
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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|
Week 3: at Oakland Raiders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Raiders | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Date: September 20
- Game time: 1:01pm local
- Game weather: clear, 68 °F (20 °C), 58% humidity, wind SW 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
- Game attendance: 45,725
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV: NBC
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiefs | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
- Date: September 27
- Game time: 1:03pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 59,255
- Referee: Tom Dooley
- TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Gene Washington
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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|
Week 5: at San Diego Chargers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
Chargers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego
- Date: October 4
- Game time: 1:01pm local
- Game weather: partly cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C), 68% humidity, wind W 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
- Game attendance: 51,463
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and George Kunz
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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Week 6: at Houston Oilers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
- Date: October 11
- Game time: 1:00pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 42,671
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV: NBC
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Week 7: vs. New York Giants
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 3 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 32 |
Seahawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Date: October 18
- Game time: 1:03pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 56,134
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier and Roger Staubach
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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|
Week 8: at New York Jets
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
Jets | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
at Shea Stadium, New York
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 4:01pm local
- Game weather: overcast, 55 °F (13 °C), 64% humidity, wind SE 17 miles per hour (27 km/h)
- Game attendance: 49,678
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Week 9: at Green Bay Packers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
Packers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 34 |
Game information | ||
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|
Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steelers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Seahawks | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
- Date: November 8
- Game time: 1:01pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 59,058
- Referee: Dick Jorgensen
- TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Jim Turner
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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Week 11: vs. San Diego Chargers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chargers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
Seahawks | 0 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 44 |
- Date: November 16
- Game time: 6:05pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 58,628
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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|
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
Chiefs | 3 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 40 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- Date: November 22
- Game time: 1:01pm local
- Game weather: clear, 53 °F (12 °C), 40% humidity, wind SE 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
- Game attendance: 49,002
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV: NBC
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Raiders | 0 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 32 |
Seahawks | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
- Date: November 29
- Game time: 1:02pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 57,147
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Gene Washington
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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Week 14: vs. New York Jets
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 0 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
Seahawks | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
- Date: December 6
- Game time: 1:02pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 53,105
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Bob Trumpy
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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Week 15: at Denver Broncos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seahawks | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
Broncos | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
- Date: December 13
- Game time: 2:00pm local
- Game weather: partly cloudy, 45 °F (7 °C), 42% humidity, wind NE 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
- Game attendance: 74,527
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Jim Turner
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Browns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Seahawks | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
- Date: December 20
- Game time: 1:03pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 51,435
- Referee: Chuck Heberling
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
- Gamebook
Game information | ||
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References
- https://www.pro-football-reference.com
- 1981 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
- 1982 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
- 1981 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.