1981 Cincinnati Bengals season
OwnerPaul Brown
General managerPaul Brown
Head coachForrest Gregg
Home fieldRiverfront Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Bills) 28–21
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Chargers) 27–7
Lost Super Bowl XVI
(vs. 49ers) 21–26
The Bengals playing against the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.

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

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 Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals' only other rival for the division title by that point in the season.

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 in brutally cold weather, the Bengals defeated San Diego 27–7 at Riverfront Stadium. In a temperature of −9 °F (−23 °C) with a wind-chill factor of −59 °F (−51 °C), 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

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

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Bruce Coslet

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength – Kim Wood

Roster

1981 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Source:[2][3]

Regular season

Schedule

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

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Seahawks 21 000 21
• Bengals 0 10107 27
  • Date: September 6
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 41,177
  • Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • Television network: NBC
Scoring summary
Q1SEAHarris 29 yard interception return (Herrera kick)SEA 7–0
Q1SEALargent 36 yard pass from Zorn (Herrera kick)SEA 14–0
Q1SEAJodat 1 yard run (Herrera kick)SEA 21–0
Q2CINBreech 25 yard field goalSEA 21–3
Q2CINJohnson 3 yard run (Breech kick)SEA 21–10
Q3CINBreech 40 yard field goalSEA 21–13
Q3CINGriffin 3 yard run (Breech kick)SEA 21–20
Q4CINJohnson 2 yard run (Breech kick)CIN 27–21

[4]

Week 2

1 234Total
• Bengals 0 10714 31
Jets 0 17310 30

Week 3

1 234Total
• Browns 3 1007 20
Bengals 0 0314 17
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • Television network: NBC

Week 4

1 234OTTotal
Bills 0 140100 24
• Bengals 0 100143 27
  • Date: September 27
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 5

1 234Total
Bengals 3 070 10
• Oilers 0 773 17
  • Date: October 4
  • Location: Astrodome
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Week 6

1 234Total
• Bengals 3 14717 41
Colts 0 5014 19

Week 7

1 234Total
Steelers 0 007 7
• Bengals 10 3147 34
  • Date: October 18
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 8

1 234Total
Bengals 0 007 7
• Saints 0 0710 17

Week 9

1 234Total
Oilers 7 0014 21
• Bengals 0 2437 34
  • Date: November 1
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium

Week 10

1 234Total
• Bengals 10 2109 40
Chargers 0 1007 17

Week 11

1 234Total
Rams 0 307 10
• Bengals 10 0014 24
  • Date: November 15
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Hank Stram

Week 12

1 234Total
Broncos 0 7014 21
• Bengals 14 14010 38

Week 13

1 234Total
• Bengals 14 14013 41
Browns 0 7014 21
  • Date: November 29
  • Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Bob Trumpy
Scoring summary
Q1CINJohnson 5 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 7–0
Q1CINCollinsworth 39 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 14–0
Q2CINCollinsworth 7 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 21–0
Q2CLEFeacher 30 yard pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)CIN 21–7
Q2CINHarris 2 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 28–7
Q4CLEPruitt 1 yard run (Bahr kick)CIN 28–14
Q4CINJohnson 11 yard run (Breech kick)CIN 35–14
Q4CINJohnson 1 yard run (Breech kick)CIN 42–14
Q4CLEPruitt 7 yard pass from McDonald (Bahr kick)CIN 42–21

[5]

Week 14

1 234Total
• 49ers 7 707 21
Bengals 0 300 3
  • Date: December 6
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Fred Dryer

Week 15

1 234Total
• Bengals 0 1070 17
Steelers 0 307 10
  • Date: December 13
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 16

1 234Total
• Bengals 10 1703 30
Falcons 0 2107 28

Playoffs

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

Divisional

1 234Total
Bills 0 777 21
• Bengals 14 077 28
  • Date: January 3
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Conference Championship

1 234Total
Chargers 0 700 7
• Bengals 10 737 27
  • Date: January 10
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Super Bowl

1 234Total
• 49ers 7 1306 26
Bengals 0 0714 21
  • Date: January 24
  • Location: Pontiac Silverdome
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

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[6]
  • Ken Anderson, Bert Bell Award[7]
  • Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Touchdown Passes, 29 Passes [8]
  • Ken Anderson, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 98.4 Rating [9]

Milestones

  • Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Most Touchdown Passes in One Season, 29 Passes [8]
  • Cris Collinsworth, 1st 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,009 yards) [10]
  • Pete Johnson, 1,000 Yard Rushing Season (1,077 yards) [11]

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. ↑ "Team rosters". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). January 23, 1982. p. 12.
  4. ↑ "Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals - September 6th, 1981". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - November 29th, 1981". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  6. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400
  7. ↑ "The Bert Bell Award". Maxwell Football Club. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  8. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
  9. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
  10. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 442
  11. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 437
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