1981 Seattle Seahawks season

The 1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League (NFL). The Seahawks got off to a terrible start, losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6–10 season. Steve Largent would have a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Seattle opened their season at Cincinnati, and held a 21–0 lead before the Bengals rallied for an improbable 27–21 win. This loss proved to be the beginning of the end for the Seahawks in 1981, as they would struggle as the season progressed.

1981 Seattle Seahawks season
OwnerThe Nordstrom family
General managerJohn Thompson
Head coachJack Patera
Home fieldKingdome
Results
Record6–10
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersWR Steve Largent
AP All-ProsNone

Offseason

Draft

1981 Seattle Seahawks Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
14 Kenny EasleyDBUCLA
231 David HughesRBBoise State
358 Bill DuganOGPenn State
487 Scott PhillipsWRBrigham Young
5114 Edwin BaileyOGSouth Carolina State
6140 Steve DurhamDEClemson
7170 Ron JohnsonWRLong Beach State
186 Brad ScovillTEPenn State
8196 Eric LaneRBBrigham Young
9223 Jim StoneRBNotre Dame
236 Jimbo WhatleyWRWashington State
10252 Ken DawsonRBSavannah State
11279 Lance OlanderRBColorado
12306 Jeff BednarekDTU. of Pacific

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Mike Babb Punter Oregon
Kim Baker Linebacker Nebraska
David Bayle Tight End Washington
Dan Boomhower Running back Kearney State
Dave Boschma Safety Linfield
Chris Buono Safety Furman
Brad Chace Safety Colorado
Bob Chauza Tackle Northwest Missouri State
Bob Danenhauer Linebacker Nebraska–Omaha
Bill Fenn Fullback Illinois State
Steve Griffiths Linebacker Penn State

Personnel

Staff

1981 Seattle Seahawks staff

Front office

  • Managing general partner – Herman Sarkowsky
  • general manager – John Thompson
  • Assistant general manager – Mark Duncan
  • Director of player personnel – Dick Mansperger
  • Director of pro scouting – Chuck Allen

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive/quarterbacks/receivers – Jerry Rhome
  • Offensive backs – Andy MacDonald
  • Offensive line – Howard Mudd
Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Head trainer – Bruce Scott
  • Assistant trainer – Jim Whitesel

Final roster

1981 Seattle Seahawks final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

  • 30 Theotis Brown
  • 33 Dan Doornink FB
  • 46 David Hughes
  • 32 Horace Ivory
  • 43 Jim Jodat
  • 37 Eric Lane
  • 34 Terry Miller
  • 47 Sherman Smith

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen
  • 76 Steve August T
  • 65 Edwin Bailey G
  • 66 Bill Dugan G
  • 64 Ron Essink T
  • 54 Art Kuehn C
  • 78 Bob Newton G
  • 51 John Yarno C

Defensive linemen

  • 63 Fred Anderson DE
  • 68 Dennis Boyd DT/DE
  • 79 Jacob Green DE
  • 75 Robert Hardy DT
  • 69 Doug Sutherland DT
  • 74 Manu Tuiasosopo DE
  • 70 Mike White DT
Linebackers
  • 58 Terry Beeson
  • 53 Keith Butler
  • 57 Pete Cronan
  • 55 Michael Jackson
  • 52 Joe Norman
  • 59 Rodell Thomas
  • 60 Kevin Turner

Defensive backs

Special teams

  •  2 Wilson Alvarez K
  •  6 Frank Garcia P
Reserve lists
  • 36 Larry Brinson RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 50 Brian Flones LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 56 Greg Gaines LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  1 Efrén Herrera K (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 32 Jeff Moore RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  8 Jeff West P (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Rookies in italics
55 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad

[1]

  • Starters in bold.
  • (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1982 Pro Bowl.

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap
1 August 5 San Francisco 49ers L 24–27 (OT) 0–1 Kingdome Recap
2 August 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 21–30 0–2 Kingdome Recap
3 August 22 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–24 0–3 Candlestick Park Recap
4 August 28 Baltimore Colts W 31–17 1–3 Kingdome Recap
Source: Seahawks Media Guides[2][3]

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap
1 September 6 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–27 0–1 Riverfront Stadium Recap
2 September 13 Denver Broncos W 13–10 1–1 Kingdome Recap
3 September 20 at Oakland Raiders L 10–20 1–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
4 September 27 Kansas City Chiefs L 14–20 1–3 Kingdome Recap
5 October 4 at San Diego Chargers L 10–24 1–4 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap
6 October 11 at Houston Oilers L 17–35 1–5 Houston Astrodome Recap
7 October 18 New York Giants L 0–32 1–6 Kingdome Recap
8 October 25 at New York Jets W 19–3 2–6 Shea Stadium Recap
9 November 1 at Green Bay Packers L 24–34 2–7 Lambeau Field Recap
10 November 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–21 3–7 Kingdome Recap
11 November 16 San Diego Chargers W 44–23 4–7 Kingdome Recap
12 November 22 at Kansas City Chiefs L 13–40 4–8 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
13 November 29 Oakland Raiders L 31–32 4–9 Kingdome Recap
14 December 6 New York Jets W 27–23 5–9 Kingdome Recap
15 December 13 at Denver Broncos L 13–23 5–10 Mile High Stadium Recap
16 December 20 Cleveland Browns W 42–21 6–10 Kingdome Recap
Bold indicates division opponents.
Source: 1981 NFL season results[4]

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 478 390 W2
Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 5–3 7–5 321 289 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 343 290 W1
Oakland Raiders 7 9 0 .438 2–6 5–7 273 343 L2
Seattle Seahawks 6 10 0 .375 2–6 6–8 322 388 W1

Game summaries

Week P1: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Preseason Week One: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
49ers 7 7 37327
Seahawks 7 3 014024

at Kingdome, Seattle

  • Date: August 5
  • Game time: 7:34 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 56,958
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV: KIRO
  • Gamebook

Week P2: vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Preseason Week Two: Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 6 7 71030
Seahawks 0 7 7721

at Kingdome, Seattle

Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers

Preseason Week Three: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 17 0 0017
49ers 7 0 71024

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

  • Date: August 22
  • Game time: 6:05 pm local
  • Game weather: cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C), wind NE 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 37,563
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV: KIRO
  • Gamebook

Week P4: vs. Baltimore Colts

Preseason Week Four: Seattle Seahawks vs. Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts 7 7 0317
Seahawks 10 0 14731

at Kingdome, Seattle

  • Date: August 28
  • Game time: 7:34 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 55,794
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV: KIRO
  • Gamebook

Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week One: Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 21 0 0021
Bengals 0 10 10727

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: September 6
  • Game time: 1:00 pm local
  • Game weather: partly cloudy, 70 °F (21 °C), 71% humidity, wind NE 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 41,177
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV: NBC
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos

Week Two: Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 3 7 0010
Seahawks 7 3 3013

at Kingdome, Seattle

Game information

Week 3: at Oakland Raiders

Week Three: Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 3 7010
Raiders 7 6 0720

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: September 20
  • Game time: 1:01 pm local
  • Game weather: clear, 68 °F (20 °C), 58% humidity, wind SW 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 45,725
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Gene Washington
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week Four: Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 13 0020
Seahawks 0 7 7014

at Kingdome, Seattle

  • Date: September 27
  • Game time: 1:03 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 59,255
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Gene Washington
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers

Week Five: Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 7 0310
Chargers 0 10 7724

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 1:01 pm local
  • Game weather: partly cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C), 68% humidity, wind W 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 51,463
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and George Kunz
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 6: at Houston Oilers

Week Six: Seattle Seahawks at Houston Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 10 0 0717
Oilers 7 7 02135

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 1:00 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 42,671
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 7: vs. New York Giants

Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 3 10 13632
Seahawks 0 0 000

at Kingdome, Seattle

Game information

Week 8: at New York Jets

Week Eight: Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 7 6619
Jets 0 0 303

at Shea Stadium, New York

  • Date: October 25
  • Game time: 4:01 pm local
  • Game weather: overcast, 55 °F (13 °C), 64% humidity, wind SE 17 miles per hour (27 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 49,678
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 9: at Green Bay Packers

Week Nine: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 14 3024
Packers 7 14 7634

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 1:02 pm local
  • Game weather: clear, 56 °F (13 °C), 75% humidity, wind NE 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 49,467
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Dave Rowe
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 7 14 0021
Seahawks 3 7 01424

at Kingdome, Seattle

Game information

Week 11: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week Eleven: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 10 0623
Seahawks 0 24 14644

at Kingdome, Seattle

Game information

Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 3 3 7013
Chiefs 3 17 71340

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 1:01 pm local
  • Game weather: clear, 53 °F (12 °C), 40% humidity, wind SE 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 49,002
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV: NBC
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week Thirteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 3 82132
Seahawks 0 10 14731

at Kingdome, Seattle

  • Date: November 29
  • Game time: 1:02 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,147
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Gene Washington
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 14: vs. New York Jets

Week Fourteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jets 0 9 7723
Seahawks 6 7 7727

at Kingdome, Seattle

Game information

Week 15: at Denver Broncos

Week Fifteen: Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 0 3 3713
Broncos 7 3 6723

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: December 13
  • Game time: 2:00 pm local
  • Game weather: partly cloudy, 45 °F (7 °C), 42% humidity, wind NE 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 74,527
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Jim Turner
  • Gamebook
Game information

Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week Sixteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 7 7721
Seahawks 14 14 14042

at Kingdome, Seattle

  • Date: December 20
  • Game time: 1:03 pm local
  • Game weather: indoors
  • Game attendance: 51,435
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Gamebook
Game information

References

  1. "Home". pro-football-reference.com.
  2. 1981 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
  3. 1982 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
  4. 1981 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
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