1981 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...

 when the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 defeated the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

.

Major rule changes

  • It is illegal for any player to put adhesive or slippery substances such as the product "stickum" on his body, equipment or uniform. This rule is known as both the "Lester Hayes
    Lester Hayes
    Lester Hayes is a former professional American football player for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League....

     Rule" and the "Fred Biletnikoff
    Fred Biletnikoff
    Frederick S. "Fred" Biletnikoff is a former American football wide receiver and coach. He spent the majority of his professional playing and coaching days with the Oakland Raiders...

     Rule" since both players were notorious for using sticky substances to make it easier for them to catch passes.
  • An offensive player who comes into the game wearing an illegal number for the position he takes must report to the Referee before the start of the next play.
  • The penalty for an ineligible receiver who touches a forward pass is a loss of down.
  • The penalty for illegal use of hands, arms, or body (including holding) is reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards.
  • The penalty for intentional grounding is modified: loss of down and 10 yards penalty from the previous spot, or if the foul occurs more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, loss of down at the spot of the foul.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

– clinched wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 berth, – clinched division title




Tiebreakers

  • Baltimore finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
  • San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on better division record (6–2 to Broncos' 5–3).
  • Buffalo was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Denver (1–0).
  • Detroit finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better record against common opponents (5–5 to Packers' 4–6).

AFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: Buffalo 31, N.Y. JETS 27
  • Divisional playoffs: San Diego 41, MIAMI 38 (OT) (The Epic in Miami, Kellen Winslow game)
    The Epic in Miami
    The Epic in Miami is the name given to a National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl...

    ; CINCINNATI 28, Buffalo 21
  • AFC Championship: CINCINNATI 27, San Diego 7 (Freezer Bowl)
    Freezer Bowl
    In NFL lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill...

     at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
    Ohio
    Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

    , January 10, 1982

NFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. Giants 27, PHILADELPHIA 21
  • Divisional playoffs: DALLAS 38, Tampa Bay 0; SAN FRANCISCO 38, N.Y. Giants 24
  • NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 28, Dallas 27 (The Catch)
    The Catch (American football)
    The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers...

     at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
    California
    California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

    , January 10, 1982

Super Bowl

  • Super Bowl XVI
    Super Bowl XVI
    Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...

    :
    San Francisco (NFC) 26, Cincinnati (AFC) 21, at Pontiac Silverdome
    Pontiac Silverdome
    The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...

    , Pontiac, Michigan
    Pontiac, Michigan
    Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...

    , January 24, 1982

Awards

Most Valuable Player
NFL Most Valuable Player Award
The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...

Ken Anderson, Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...

Bill Walsh, San Francisco
Offensive Player of the Year
NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award
The NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season...

Ken Anderson, Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor, who won it three times, and Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie...

Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...

, Linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

, N.Y. Giants
Offensive Rookie of the Year George Rogers
George Rogers
George Rogers may refer to:*George Rogers , American football player*George Rogers , college football coach*George Rogers , British member of Parliament...

, Running Back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

, New Orleans
Defensive Rookie of the Year Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...

, Linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

, N.Y. Giants
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