1981 Chicago Bears season
NFL team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1981 season was the Chicago Bears' 62nd in the National Football League, and their fourth under head coach Neill Armstrong. The team failed to improve on their 7–9 record from 1980 to finish at 6–10, and failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. At the end of the season, Neill Armstrong was fired by the Bears.
| 1981 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Neill Armstrong |
| Home stadium | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–10 |
| Division place | 5th NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
One unusual sidelight to the season was that of the Bears' 6 victories, 4 of them were against opponents in the AFC West; including a 20–17 upset of San Diego in week 8 and a 35–24 victory that eliminated the Broncos from playoff contention on the final week of the regular season.
1981 NFL draft
| 1981 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Keith Van Horne | Offensive tackle | USC | |
| 2 | 38 | Mike Singletary * † | Linebacker | Baylor | |
| 3 | 67 | Ken Margerum | Wide receiver | Stanford | |
| 4 | 65 | Todd Bell * | Safety | Ohio State | |
| 6 | 150 | Reuben Henderson | Cornerback | San Diego State | |
| 7 | 177 | Jeff Fisher | Cornerback | USC | |
| 8 | 205 | Scott Zettek | Wide receiver | Notre Dame | |
| 9 | 232 | Frank Ditta | Offensive guard | Baylor | |
| 10 | 260 | Tim Clifford | Quarterback | Indiana | |
| 11 | 287 | Lonnie Johnson | Running back | Indiana | |
| 12 | 316 | Bob Shupryt | Linebacker | New Mexico | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Free Agent Signings
After the draft, the Bears signed multiple undrafted free agents, 3 of whom made the team when preseason ended: Tulane wide receiver Marcus Anderson, Alcorn State cornerback Leslie Frazier and Iowa center Jay Hilgenberg.[1]
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Scott McGhee | Wide receiver | Eastern Illinois |
| Todd Sheets | Wide receiver | Northwestern |
Roster
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Green Bay Packers | L 9–16 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 62,411 | |
| 2 | September 13 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–28 | 0–2 | Candlestick Park | 49,520 | |
| 3 | September 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 28–17 | 1–2 | Soldier Field | 60,130 | |
| 4 | September 28 | Los Angeles Rams | L 7–24 | 1–3 | Soldier Field | 62,461 | |
| 5 | October 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 21–24 | 1–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,827 | |
| 6 | October 11 | Washington Redskins | L 7–24 | 1–5 | Soldier Field | 57,683 | |
| 7 | October 19 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–48 | 1–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 71,273 | |
| 8 | October 25 | San Diego Chargers | W 20–17 (OT) | 2–6 | Soldier Field | 52,906 | |
| 9 | November 1 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–20 | 2–7 | Tampa Stadium | 63,688 | |
| 10 | November 8 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 16–13 (OT) | 3–7 | Arrowhead Stadium | 60,605 | |
| 11 | November 15 | at Green Bay Packers | L 17–21 | 3–8 | Lambeau Field | 55,338 | |
| 12 | November 22 | Detroit Lions | L 7–23 | 3–9 | Soldier Field | 50,082 | |
| 13 | November 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 9–10 | 3–10 | Texas Stadium | 63,499 | |
| 14 | December 6 | Minnesota Vikings | W 10–9 | 4–10 | Soldier Field | 50,766 | |
| 15 | December 13 | at Oakland Raiders | W 23–6 | 5–10 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 40,384 | |
| 16 | December 20 | Denver Broncos | W 35–24 | 6–10 | Soldier Field | 40,125 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| • Bears | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: September 20
- Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
- Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
| Q1 | TB | Washington 29 yard interception return (Yepremian kick) | TB 7–0 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Suhey 1 yard run (Nielsen kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Fisher 88 yard interception return (Nielsen kick) | CHI 14–7 | |
| Q3 | TB | House 11 yard pass from Williams (Yepremian kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Evans 8 yard run (Nielsen kick) | CHI 21–14 | |
| Q4 | TB | Yepremian 32 yard field goal | CHI 21–17 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Williams 18 yard pass from Evans (Nielsen kick) | CHI 28–17 | |
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| • Bears | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
- Date: October 25
- Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
- Game start: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- Television network: NBC
| Q1 | CHI | Suhey 7 yard run (Roveto kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q2 | SD | Benirschke 18 yard field goal | CHI 7–3 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Roveto 31 yard field goal | CHI 10–3 | |
| Q4 | SD | Joiner 22 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick) | Tie 10–10 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Payton 2 yard run (Roveto kick) | CHI 17–10 | |
| Q4 | SD | Chandler 39 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick) | Tie 17–17 | |
| OT | CHI | Roveto 26 yard field goal | CHI 20–17 | |
Week 15
Chicago Bears (4–10) at Oakland Raiders (7–7)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 23 |
| Raiders | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum • Oakland, California
- Date: December 13
- Game time: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV: CBS
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week 16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
| • Bears | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
- Date: December 20
- Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
- Game start: 12:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 6 °F (−14 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Bob Trumpy
| 1 | DEN | Fred Steinfort 46 yard field goal | Broncos 3–0 | |
| 2 | CHI | Walter Payton 19 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick) | Bears 7–3 | |
| 2 | CHI | Roland Harper 4 yard run (John Roveto kick) | Bears 14–3 | |
| 3 | CHI | Gary Fencik 69 yard interception return (John Roveto kick) | Bears 21–3 | |
| 3 | DEN | Riley Odoms 6 yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick) | Bears 21–10 | |
| 3 | CHI | Al Harris 44 yard interception return (John Roveto kick) | Bears 28–10 | |
| 3 | DEN | Rick Upchurch 25 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick) | Bears 28–17 | |
| 4 | CHI | Walter Payton 7 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick) | Bears 35–17 | |
| 4 | DEN | Rick Upchurch 39 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick) | Bears 35–24 | |
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 315 | 268 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 397 | 322 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 7–7 | 324 | 361 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 325 | 369 | L5 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 253 | 324 | W3 |
