1981 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachChuck Knox
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(at Jets) 31–27
Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Bengals) 21–28
Pro BowlersRB Joe Cribbs
WR Frank Lewis
DT Fred Smerlas
Bills' running back Joe Cribbs (middle) rushes the ball against the Jets in the 1981 AFC wild card game.

The 1981 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, and the 22nd overall.

The season's most memorable moment was probably a Hail Mary catch against the New England Patriots in Week Twelve.[1] The 36-yard touchdown pass from Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson to running back Roland Hooks as time expired won the game for Buffalo, 20–17.[2] The win proved to be crucial in giving Buffalo the final playoff spot in the AFC in 1981.[3] The Bills qualified for the playoffs, but lost, 28-21, to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Offseason

The Bills were coming off of their first division title since 1966, and their first since the merger. Coach Chuck Knox's Bills, in his fourth season with the team, were considered a contender in the AFC.

In their 1981 NFL preview, Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman wrote, "A word of advice: Go to Vegas and take the price on Buffalo to go all the way. The odds are right. Just look at how close the Bills came last year. ... The Bills are a hungry team, on the rise. They'll have to stay almost injury-free, though, because they're in big trouble if one of the big boys goes down, i.e., [Joe] Ferguson, Nose Guard Freddy Smerlas, Wide Receiver Jerry Butler or Halfback Joe Cribbs, who handled the ball more times (389) than any back in the NFL, counting passes caught and punt and kick returns as well as his rushes."[4]

NFL draft

Running back Robb Riddick played eight seasons for the Bills; he started eight games and ran for 632 total yards in 1986, and he became a short-yardage specialist in 1988

Said Zimmerman about the team's first pick, "(Coach Chuck) Knox is a ball control coach, and he's been desperately trying to juice up the fullback position, to take some heat off the 190-pound Cribbs. But No. 1 draft choice Booker Moore from Penn State came down with a nerve disorder called Guillain–Barré syndrome."[4]

1981 Buffalo Bills Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 28 Booker Moore RB Penn State
2 49 Chris Williams DB LSU
50 Byron Franklin WR Auburn
3 76 Mike Mosley WR Texas A&M
84 Robert Geathers DT South Carolina State
5 135 Calvin Clark DE Purdue
6 161 Robert Holt WR Baylor
7 188 Steve Doolittle LB Colorado
9 241 Robb Riddick RB Millersville (PA)
10 272 Justin Cross OT Western Colorado
11 299 Buster Barnett TE Jackson State
12 326 Keith Clark LB Memphis State

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1981 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator / offensive line – Ray Proschaska
  • Running backs coach – Chick Harris
  • Quarterbacks coach - Kay Stephenson
  • Wide receivers coach – Jack Donaldson

Defensive/special teams coaches

Special assignments'

  • Special assignments coach – Miller McCalmon

Roster

1981 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 New York Jets W 31–0 1–0 Rich Stadium 79,754
2 September 13 at Baltimore Colts W 35–3 2–0 Memorial Stadium 45,772
3 September 17 Philadelphia Eagles L 14–20 2–1 Rich Stadium 78,331
4 September 27 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–27 2–2 Riverfront Stadium 46,418
5 October 4 Baltimore Colts W 23–17 3–2 Rich Stadium 77,811
6 October 12 Miami Dolphins W 31–21 4–2 Rich Stadium 78,576
7 October 18 at New York Jets L 14–33 4–3 Shea Stadium 54,607
8 October 25 Denver Broncos W 9–7 5–3 Rich Stadium 77,757
9 November 1 Cleveland Browns W 22–13 6–3 Rich Stadium 78,266
10 November 9 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–27 6–4 Texas Stadium 62,583
11 November 15 at St. Louis Cardinals L 0–24 6–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,214
12 November 22 New England Patriots W 20–17 7–5 Rich Stadium 71,593
13 November 29 Washington Redskins W 21–14 8–5 Rich Stadium 59,624
14 December 6 at San Diego Chargers W 28–27 9–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,488
15 December 13 at New England Patriots W 19–10 10–5 Shaefer Stadium 42,549
16 December 19 at Miami Dolphins L 6–16 10–6 Miami Orange Bowl 72,596
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 11 4 1 .719 5–2–1 8–3–1 345 275 W4
New York Jets(4) 10 5 1 .656 6–1–1 8–5–1 355 287 W2
Buffalo Bills(5) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 9–3 311 276 L1
Baltimore Colts 2 14 0 .125 2–6 2–10 259 533 W1
New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 0–8 2–10 322 370 L9

Game summaries

Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

1 234Total
• Eagles 7 373 20
Bills 0 1400 14

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

1 234Total
Broncos 0 700 7
• Bills 0 333 9
  • Date: October 25
  • Location: Rich Stadium]
  • Game start: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 77,757
  • Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) • 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns

1 234Total
Browns 0 337 13
• Bills 6 727 22
  • Date: November 1
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 78,266
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C) • 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 10: at Dallas Cowboys

1 234Total
Bills 7 700 14
• Cowboys 7 0200 27
  • Date: November 9, 1981
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 9:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 62,583
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
Scoring summary
1BUFJerry Butler 16 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 7–0
1DALDoug Cosbie 12 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick)Tied 7–7
2BUFCurtis Brown 9 yard pass from Joe Cribbs (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 14–7
3DALTony Dorsett 73 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)Tied 14–14
3DALTony Hill 37 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)DAL 21–14
3DALRafael Septien 47 yard field goalDAL 24–14
3DALRafael Septien 31 yard field goalDAL 27–14

Week 14: at San Diego Chargers

Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers
1 234Total
• Bills 7 7140 28
Chargers 7 1433 27
  • Source:
Scoring summary
1ChargersChuck Muncie 9 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)Chergers 7–0
1BillsJoe Ferguson 3-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)Tie 7–7
2ChargersWes Chandler 17-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)Chargers 14–7
2BillsRoosevelt Leaks 9-yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer)Tie 14–14
2ChargersKellen Winslow 67-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)Chargers 21–14
3BillsRoosevelt Leaks 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)Tie 21–21
3ChargersRolf Benirschke 29-yard field goalChargers 24–21
3BillsJoe Cribbs 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)Bills 28–24
4ChargersRolf Benirschke 27-yard field goalBills 28–27

Coming off their win at home against the Washington Redskins, the Buffalo Bills traveled to San Diego to face the Chargers and their potent offense. Buffalo's defense would face a tall task in slowing the Chargers who, in their previous two games, outscored their opponents 89–38. This game was a clash of style that pitted the Chargers and their pass-oriented Air Coryell offense versus Chuck Knox and his run-heavy, ball control offense. Defensively the teams also contrasted starkly with the Chargers ranking near the bottom of the NFL (26th overall), and the Bills ranking among the top defenses (6th overall). In the 1st quarter both teams traded rushing touchdowns as Chuck Muncie scored on a 9-yard run to give the home a lead, and Bills' quarterback Joe Ferguson scored on a 3-yard run to tie the game. The 2nd quarter produced a 21-point flurry that began when Dan Fouts threw a touchdown pass of 17 yards to Wes Chandler. The Bills answered when Roosevelt Leaks scored on a 9-yard run to tie the game briefly at 14–14. Dan Fouts put the Chargers ahead before the half when he connected with Kellen Winslow on a 67-yard touchdown pass. In the 3rd quarter the Bills tied the game when Roosevelt Leaks scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run. The Chargers took back the lead with Rolf Benirschke kicking a 29-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 24–21 lead. The Bills answered with a fourth rushing touchdown when Joe Cribbs scored on a 1-yard run. The Chargers cut the Bills' lead to 28–27 in fourth quarter when Rolf Benirschke kicked a 27-yard field. The Bills hung on to win the game and upset the heavily favored Chargers. Despite the Chargers outgaining the Bills 482 to 318 in total yards, the Bills forced three Chargers turnovers (1 fumble, 2 INTs) that allowed the Bills to keep the Chargers' potent offense on the sideline. With the win the Bills improved to 9–5.

Stats

  • Dan Fouts 28/42, 343 Yds, 2 TD, INT
  • Chuck Muncie 22 Rush, 113 Rush Yds, 1 Rush TD
  • Kellen Winslow 6 Rec, 126 Yds, 1 TD
  • Joe Ferguson 13/29, 248 Yds, 4 Rush Yds, 1 Rush TD
  • Roosevelt Leaks 8 Rush, 28 Rush Yds, 2 Rush TDs
  • Frank Lewis 5 Rec, 113 Yds

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Wildcard December 27, 1981 at New York Jets W 31–27
57,050
Divisional January 3, 1982 at Cincinnati Bengals L 28–21
55,420

Wild card

1 234Total
• Bills 17 707 31
Jets 0 10314 27
Scoring summary
Q100:16BUFRomes 26 yard fumble return (Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 7–0
Q1BUFLewis 50 yard pass from Ferguson (Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 14–0
Q1BUFMike-Mayer 29 yard field goalBUF 17–0
Q2BUFLewis 26 yard pass from Ferguson (Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 24–0
Q2NYJShuler 30 yard pass from Todd (Leahy kick)BUF 24–7
Q2NYJLeahy 26 yard field goalBUF 24–10
Q3NYJLeahy 19 yard field goalBUF 24–13
Q4BUFCribbs 45 yard run (Mike-Mayer kick)BUF 31–13
Q4NYJJones 30 yard pass from Todd (Leahy kick)BUF 31–20
Q4NYJLong 1 yard run (Leahy kick)BUF 31–27

The Bills traveled to Shea Stadium, where the Jets were playing in their first playoff game since the 1970 merger. In a cold rain the Jets got off to a poor start as Bruce Harper fumbled the opening kickoff at his 25 and Charles Romes ran back the fumble for a touchdown only sixteen seconds into the matchup. The Bills raced to a 24–0 lead in the second quarter as Frank Lewis caught two Joe Ferguson passes for touchdowns; the first was a pass from the Bills 40 yard line caught by Lewis at the Jets 32 and run in, then Joe Cribbs caught a 50-yarder, setting up Lewis' second catch; later Rufus Bess picked off Richard Todd and ran back 49 yards, setting up a field goal. But in the second the Jets began clawing back as Mickey Shuler caught a 30-yard touchdown in traffic (it was Shuler's first catch of the entire 1981 season) from Todd and following a Greg Buttle interception of Ferguson Pat Leahy booted a 26-yard field goal. A 19-yarder from Leahy was the only score in the third, then early in the fourth Ferguson was picked off by Donald Dykes, but Todd was intercepted by Bill Simpson. Following the Simpson pick Ferguson was intercepted again, by Jerry Holmes, but the Bills defense forced a mediocre punt by Chuck Ramsey caught at the 50. Three plays later Joe Cribbs caught a toss-sweep and ran in a 45-yard touchdown for Buffalo. But the Jets refused to give in; Todd tossed a 30-yard score to Bobby Jones and later Kevin Long ran in a 1-yard score. The Jets got the ball back in the final minutes, but a sack by Fred Smerlas led to a last-ditch Todd drive to the endzone; after completions to Gaffney and Scott Dierking Todd fired from the Bills 11 for the endzone but was picked off by Bill Simpson, ending a 31–27 Bills playoff win, only the third in the team's history and first since winning back-to-back AFL titles in the 1964 and '65 seasons.

Divisional

1 234Total
Bills 0 777 21
• Bengals 14 077 28
  • Date: January 3
  • Location: Cincinnati, OH
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 55,420
  • Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C); wind 14 mph (23 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Scoring summary
Q1CINCharles Alexander 4 yard rush (Jim Breech kick)CIN 7–0
Q1CINJohnson 1 yard rush (Jim Breech kick)CIN 14–0
Q2BUFJoe Cribbs 1 yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)CIN 14–7
Q3BUFJoe Cribbs 44 yard rush (Mike-Mayer kick)TIE 14–14
Q3CINCharles Alexander 20 yard rush (Jim Breech kick)CIN 21–14
Q4BUFJerry Butler 21 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)TIE 21–21
Q4CINCris Collinsworth 16 yard pass from Ken AndersonCIN 28–21

After their thrilling Wild Card win in Shea Stadium, the Buffalo Bills traveled to Riverfront Stadium to play the #1 seeded Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills fell behind early when Cincinnati scored two rushing touchdowns in the 1st quarter to take a 14-0 lead. The Bills began chipping away at the deficit in the 2nd quarter when Joe Cribbs scored from 1 yard out and cut Cincinnati's lead to 14-7 at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Bills tied the game when Joe Cribbs scored on a 44-yard touchdown run. The Bengals promptly retook the lead with a 20-yard touchdown run from Charles Alexander. The Bills fought back and tied the game again in the 4th quarter when Jerry Butler caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Joe Ferguson. The Bengals broke the deadlock and took a 28-21 lead when Cris Collinsworth scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ken Anderson. The Bills attempted to tie the game at the end of regulation, but Joe Ferguson's fourth down pass fell incomplete and Cincinnati held on for the win.

Awards and honors

All-Pros

First Team

Second Team

References

  1. ↑ NFL.com: Hooks' Hail Mary catch video
  2. ↑ Buffalo Rumblings: Best Moments in Bills History, No. 21: Roland Hooks' Hail Mary Catch
  3. ↑ Had the Bills lost the game, the last wild card spot would have gone to 10–6 Denver, whom the Bills beat out for the spot by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker.
  4. 1 2 Sports Illustrated, Sept. 7, 1981: PRO FOOTBALL '81, by Paul Zimmerman, page 48
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