1981 New York Jets season
1981 season of NFL team New York Jets
- ← 1980
- Jets seasons
- 1982 →
The 1981 New York Jets season was the 22nd season for the franchise and its twelfth in the National Football League (NFL). It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–12 record from 1980 under head coach Walt Michaels. The Jets sputtered early, starting 0–3 and (combined with the previous season's 4–12 finish) fueling a quarterback controversy and altercation between quarterback Richard Todd and sports writer Steve Serby and speculation about Michaels’ job. After the 0–3 start, however, the Jets would catch fire, and go on a 10–2–1 run. The team ultimately finished the season with a record of 10–5–1 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1969, breaking a twelve-season drought. In the playoffs, however, they fell to their division rivals, the Buffalo Bills, 31–27.
Offseason
Draft
| 1981 New York Jets draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Freeman McNeil * | RB | UCLA | |
| 2 | 30 | Marion Barber Jr. | RB | Minnesota | |
| 3 | 60 | Ben Rudolph | DT | Long Beach State | |
| 4 | 86 | Al Washington | LB | Ohio State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Todd Benson | Linebacker | Maryland |
| Ted Blackwell | Running back | Rutgers |
| Kent Clausen | Linebacker | Montana |
| Gary England | Guard | Nebraska |
| Scott Fanz | Guard | Maryland |
| John Nitti | Running back | Yale |
| John Wojtowicz | Guard | Penn State |
Personnel
Staff
| Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | ||||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–31 | 0–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,754 | |
| 2 | September 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 30–31 | 0–2 | Shea Stadium | 49,454 | |
| 3 | September 20 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–38 | 0–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 52,973 | |
| 4 | September 27 | Houston Oilers | W 33–17 | 1–3 | Shea Stadium | 50,309 | |
| 5 | October 4 | at Miami Dolphins | T 28–28 | 1–3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 68,723 | |
| 6 | October 11 | New England Patriots | W 28–24 | 2–3–1 | Shea Stadium | 55,093 | |
| 7 | October 18 | Buffalo Bills | W 33–14 | 3–3–1 | Shea Stadium | 54,607 | |
| 8 | October 25 | Seattle Seahawks | L 3–19 | 3–4–1 | Shea Stadium | 49,678 | |
| 9 | November 1 | at New York Giants | W 26–7 | 4–4–1 | Giants Stadium | 74,740 | |
| 10 | November 8 | at Baltimore Colts | W 41–14 | 5–4–1 | Memorial Stadium | 31,521 | |
| 11 | November 15 | at New England Patriots | W 17–6 | 6–4–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 45,342 | |
| 12 | November 22 | Miami Dolphins | W 16–15 | 7–4–1 | Shea Stadium | 59,962 | |
| 13 | November 29 | Baltimore Colts | W 25–0 | 8–4–1 | Shea Stadium | 53,593 | |
| 14 | December 6 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 23–27 | 8–5–1 | Kingdome | 53,105 | |
| 15 | December 12 | at Cleveland Browns | W 14–13 | 9–5–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 56,866 | |
| 16 | December 20 | Green Bay Packers | W 28–3 | 10–5–1 | Shea Stadium | 56,340 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 15 at Browns
Week Fifteen: New York Jets (8–5–1) at Cleveland Browns (5–9)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Browns | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
at Municipal Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio
- Date: December 12
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
- Game attendance: 56,866
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | December 27 | Buffalo Bills (5) | L 27–31 | 0–1 | Shea Stadium | 57,050 |
TV Announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Len Dawson
AFC: Buffalo Bills 31, New York Jets 27
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets – Game summary
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 17 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
| Jets | 0 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
at Shea Stadium, Flushing, Queens, New York
- Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C), drizzle
- Game attendance: 57,050
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones (play-by-play) and Len Dawson (color commentator)
| Game information |
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Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins(2) | 11 | 4 | 1 | .719 | 5–2–1 | 8–3–1 | 345 | 275 | W4 |
| New York Jets(4) | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–1–1 | 8–5–1 | 355 | 287 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills(5) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 311 | 276 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 259 | 533 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–8 | 2–10 | 322 | 370 | L9 |
References
External links
- 1981 statistics
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