1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 49th in the National Football League. 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 an 8-8 record and eventually prove the end of the Steelers great dynasty of the 1970s.

1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerArt Rooney
Head coachChuck Noll
General managerDick Haley
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersCB Mel Blount
LB Jack Lambert
S Donnie Shell
C Mike Webster
AP All-ProsMel Blount (1st team)
Jack Lambert (1st team)
Mike Webster (1st team)
Donnie Shell (2nd team)
Team MVPJack Lambert

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1981 NFL draft
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 17 Keith Gary  Defensive end Oklahoma
      Made roster  

Staff
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers staff
Front office
  • Chairman of the Board – Arthur J. Rooney
  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice President – John R. McGinley
  • Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Controller – Dennis P. Thimons
  • Traveling Secretary – James A. Boston
  • Public Relations Director – Ed Kiely
  • Publicity Director – Joe Gordon
  • Assistant Publicity Director – John Evenson
  • Director of Ticket Sales – Geraldine Glenn
  • Director of Player Personnel – Dick Haley
  • Assistant Director of Player Personnel – William Nunn, Jr.
  • Talent Scout – West Coast – Bob Schmitz
  • Pro Talent Scout – Tom Modrak
  • College Talent Scout – Joe Krupa

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Paul Uram
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
  • Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. Paul Steele
  • Neurological Surgery Consultant – Dr. Joseph C. Maroon
  • Dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Phillip Buzzelli
  • Trainer – Ralph Berlin
  • Assistant Trainer – Gary Stragar
  • Equipment Manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field Manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
  • Film Director – Bob McCartney
  • Photographers – Harry Homa, Bill Amatucci

[1]

Roster
1981 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad [1] [2] [3]


Rookies in italics
 47 active, 7 inactive

Preseason

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Game Site Kickoff (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 Kickoff (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

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: 67°F, wind 5 mph
  • 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

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: 59°F, wind 17 mph
  • 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 4OT Total
Patriots 0 7 0 140 21
Steelers 7 7 7 06 27

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
  • Game weather: 68°F, wind 17 mph
  • 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:

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: 51°F, wind 6 mph
  • Game attendance: 53,255
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

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: 57°F, wind 20 mph
  • 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: 53°F, wind 10 mph
  • Game attendance: 52,732
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

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: 50°F, wind 8 mph
  • 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

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: 53°F, wind 11 mph
  • Game attendance: 57,485
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

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: 30°F, wind 15 mph
  • 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: 33°F, wind 12 mph
  • Game attendance: 51,854
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

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

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: 27°F, wind 5 mph
  • 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

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • 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:

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. 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  2. 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. "1981 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
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