1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season explained

Team:	Pittsburgh Steelers
Year:	1981
Record:	8–8
Division Place:	2nd AFC Central
Coach:	Chuck Noll
General Manager:	Dick Haley
Owner:	Art Rooney
Stadium:	Three Rivers Stadium
Playoffs:	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers:	CB Mel Blount LB Jack Lambert S Donnie Shell C Mike Webster
Ap All-Pros:	Mel Blount (1st team) Jack Lambert (1st team) Mike Webster (1st team) Donnie Shell (2nd team)
Mvp:	Jack Lambert
Shortnavlink:	Steelers seasons

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. The Steelers had a chance to make the playoffs with an 8–5 start to the year but lost all of their last three games to miss the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL draft

See main article: 1981 NFL draft.

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Game Site	Kickoff (ET)	TV	Result	Record
1		at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	7:30 p.m.	WPXI	W 34–31	1–0
2		at Philadelphia Eagles	Veterans Stadium	6:00 p.m.	WPXI	L 36–20	1–1
3		at Dallas Cowboys	Texas Stadium	9:00 p.m.	NBC	L 24–14	1–2
4			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	September 6	Kansas City Chiefs	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	L 37–33	0–1
2		at Miami Dolphins	Miami Orange Bowl	8:30 p.m.	ABC	L 30–10	0–2
3	September 20	New York Jets	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 38–10	1–2
4	September 27	New England Patriots	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 27–21 (OT)	2–2
5	October 4	at New Orleans Saints	Louisiana Superdome	2:00 p.m.	NBC	W 20–6	3–2
6	October 11	Cleveland Browns	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 13–7	4–2
7	October 18	at Cincinnati Bengals	Riverfront Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	L 34–7	4–3
8		Houston Oilers	Three Rivers Stadium	9:00 p.m.	ABC	W 26–13	5–3
9	November 1	San Francisco 49ers	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	CBS	L 17–14	5–4
10	November 8	at Seattle Seahawks	Kingdome	4:00 p.m.	NBC	L 24–21	5–5
11	November 15	at Atlanta Falcons	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 34–20	6–5
12	November 22	at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	W 32–10	7–5
13	November 29	Los Angeles Rams	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	CBS	W 24–0	8–5
14		at Oakland Raiders	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	9:00 p.m.	ABC	L 30–27	8–6
15	December 13	Cincinnati Bengals	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 p.m.	NBC	L 17–10	8–7
16	December 20	at Houston Oilers	Astrodome	4:00 p.m.	NBC	L 21–20	8–8

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather: 671NaN1, wind 5mph
• 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)

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Game time: 8:30 pm EDT
• Game weather: 811NaN1, wind 10mph
• Game attendance: 74,190
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Fran Tarkenton & Howard Cosell (color commentators)

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

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather: 59°F, wind 17mph
• 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)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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

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:

• Pittsburgh – Swann 16 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 25
• New Orleans – FG Ricardo 26
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 43
• New Orleans – FG Ricardo 33
• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 47 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather: 511NaN1, wind 6mph
• Game attendance: 53,255
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
• Cleveland – Newsome 29 pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 23

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather: 571NaN1, wind 20mph
• 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)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 9:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 531NaN1, wind 10mph
• Game attendance: 52,732
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith & Fran Tarkenton (color commentators)

Scoring drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
• Pittsburgh – Smith 46 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Houston – FG Fritsch 34
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 19
• Houston – Casper 52 pass from Stabler (Fritsch kick)
• Houston – FG Fritsch 44
• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 50°F, wind 8mph
• 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)

at The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

• Game time: 4:00 pm EST
• Game weather: Dome
• Game attendance: 59,058
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV announcers: (NBC) Jay Randolph (play by play), Rocky Bleier (color commentator)

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)

at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 531NaN1, wind 11mph
• Game attendance: 57,485
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

• Pittsburgh – Cunningham 18 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta – Jackson 35 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
• Pittsburgh – Stallworth 19 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta – FG Luckhurst 43
• Pittsburgh – Grossman 14 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked)
• Atlanta – Jenkins 30 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
• Pittsburgh – Swann 22 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta – FG Luckhurst 22

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 301NaN1, wind 15mph
• 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)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 331NaN1, wind 12mph
• Game attendance: 51,854
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)

Scoring drives:

• Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – Swann 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 21

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

• Game time: 9:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 561NaN1, wind 7mph
• Game attendance: 51,769
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith & Howard Cosell (color commentators)

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)

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: 271NaN1, wind 5mph
• 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)

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:

• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 40
• Houston – Casper 15 pass from Nielsen (Fritsch kick)
• Houston – Casper 23 pass from Nielsen (Fritsch kick)
• Pittsburgh – FG Trout 37
• Pittsburgh – Thornton 17 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh – Malone 2 run (Trout kick)
• Houston – Casper 16 pass from Nielsen (Fritsch kick)

Standings

References

1. Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide 1982

External links

• 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com
• 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com