NFL team season
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.
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
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]
1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note | Player | Position | College |
| Scott McGhee | Wide receiver | Eastern Illinois |
| Todd Sheets | Wide receiver | Northwestern |
Roster
1981 Chicago Bears final roster | |
| | Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | | Offensive linemen Defensive linemen | | Linebackers Defensive backs Special teams | | Reserve lists - 14 Tim Clifford QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
 - -- T. K. Ehlebracht WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 85 Bob Fisher TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 82 Kris Haines WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 70 Dennis Lick T (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 15 Mike Phipps QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- -- Todd Sheets WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 53 Paul Tabor G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
- 23 Len Walterscheid DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
Rookies in italics
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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
| | 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)
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|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | 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 |
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[2]
Week 8
| | 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
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|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | 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 |
|
[3]
Week 15
Chicago Bears (4–10) at Oakland Raiders (7–7)
| Period | 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
| Scoring summary |
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | | Plays | Yards | TOP | CHI | OAK | | 1 | | | | | Bears | Watts 42-yard touchdown reception from Evans, Roveto kick good | 7 | 0 | | 1 | | | | | Raiders | Chandler 27-yard touchdown reception from Wilson, Bahr kick no good | 7 | 6 | | 3 | | | | | Bears | Watts 3-yard touchdown reception from Evans, Roveto kick good | 14 | 6 | | 3 | | | | | Bears | Margerum 22-yard touchdown reception from Evans, Roveto kick good | 21 | 6 | | 4 | | | | | Bears | Wilson tackled in end zone for a safety by Plank | 23 | 6 | | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 23 | 6 | |
Week 16
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | | Broncos | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 | | • Bears | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 | |
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| Scoring summary |
|---|
| | 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 |
|
[4]
Standings
References
- ^ Taylor, Roy. "1982 Chicago Bears". Bearshistory.com.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-11.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-18.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
External links
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