1981 Dallas Cowboys season
Encyclopedia
The 1981
Dallas Cowboys
season was their 22nd in the league
. The team matched their previous output
of 12–4. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season.
The season began with four straight victories, followed by two losses (including a surprising 45–14 blowout loss to the 49ers in week six). The Cowboys rebounded to win 8 of their 9 games to clinch the NFC East but had to settle for the conference's number two seed behind the 49ers.
The Cowboys easily defeated Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff to earn a rematch with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The game was much closer this time, and the Cowboys still held a 27–21 lead with less than a minute to play. However, Joe Montana led a late drive and hit Dwight Clark in the famous "Catch" to give San Francisco a 28–27 victory.
1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
season was their 22nd in the 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 team matched their previous output
1980 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1980 Dallas Cowboys season was their 21st in the league. The team improved their previous output of 11–5, winning twelve games. They qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the Conference Championship....
of 12–4. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season.
The season began with four straight victories, followed by two losses (including a surprising 45–14 blowout loss to the 49ers in week six). The Cowboys rebounded to win 8 of their 9 games to clinch the NFC East but had to settle for the conference's number two seed behind the 49ers.
The Cowboys easily defeated Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff to earn a rematch with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The game was much closer this time, and the Cowboys still held a 27–21 lead with less than a minute to play. However, Joe Montana led a late drive and hit Dwight Clark in the famous "Catch" to give San Francisco a 28–27 victory.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6, 1981 | at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 26–10 | |
| 2 | September 13, 1981 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 30–17 | |
| 3 | September 21, 1981 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
W 35–21 | |
| 4 | September 27, 1981 | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 18–10 | |
| 5 | October 4, 1981 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 20–17 | |
| 6 | October 11, 1981 | at 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... |
L 45–14 | |
| 7 | October 18, 1981 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
W 29–17 | |
| 8 | October 25, 1981 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 28–27 | |
| 9 | November 1, 1981 | at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 17–14 | |
| 10 | November 9, 1981 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 27–14 | |
| 11 | November 15, 1981 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
L 27–24 | |
| 12 | November 22, 1981 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 24–10 | |
| 13 | November 26, 1981 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 10–9 | |
| 14 | December 6, 1981 | at Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls.... |
W 37–13 | |
| 15 | December 13, 1981 | Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 21–10 | |
| 16 | December 19, 1981 | at New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 13–10 | |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | January 2, 1982 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... |
W 38–0 | |
| Conference | January 10, 1982 | at 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... |
L 28–27 | |
Standings
| NFC East NFC East The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins.... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 367 | 277 | L-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles 1981 Philadelphia Eagles season The 1981 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in an appearance in the postseason.-Offseason:After going 12–4 and winning the NFC title and losing in Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders in the 1980 season the Eagles would be picking next to last in the 12 rounds of the draft-1981 NFL Draft:The 1981... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 368 | 221 | W-1 |
| New York Giants 1981 New York Giants season The 1981 New York Giants season was the 57th season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 18 years with a 9–7 record, which placed them third in the National Football Conference East Division... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 295 | 257 | W-3 |
| Washington Redskins 1981 Washington Redskins season The 1981 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 6-10 record from 1980. This was Joe Gibbs' first season as Head Coach.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 347 | 349 | W-3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals 1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the team was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5-11, winning seven games. Despite the improvement the team failed - for the sixth consecutive season - to reach the playoffs, .... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 315 | 408 | L-2 |
Roster
| Dallas Cowboys 1981 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
|
Offensive Linemen
Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. He previously represented from 1983 to 1995.... T/C Andy Frederick Andrew Brian Frederick is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and the Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of New Mexico and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL Draft.... T Kurt Petersen Kurt David Petersen is a former professional American football player who played guard for eight seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.... G Tom Rafferty Thomas Michael Rafferty is a former American football offensive lineman in the NFL. He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius, New York, and went on to start four years for coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University earning All-American honors in 1975.-Early years:Rafferty attended... C/G Howard Richards Howard Glenn Richards, Jr. is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League. Richards was selected in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys out of the University of Missouri in the 1981 NFL Draft, 26th overall... G Herbert Scott Herbert Carnell Scott is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League... G Glen Titensor Glen Weston Titensor is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League... C/G Steve Wright (offensive lineman) Stephen Hough Wright is a former American football offensive tackle and offensive guard. A 1977 graduate of Wayzata High School, he played college football at Northern Iowa and then played ten professional seasons for four teams from 1981–1992... T Defensive Linemen
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Linebackers
Bob Breunig Robert Paul Breunig is a former American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League from 1975 to 1984... MLB Anthony Dickerson Anthony Charles Dickerson was an American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills... OLB Mike Hegman Michael William Hegman is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Tennessee State University.... OLB Angelo King Angelo King was a professional American football player who played linebacker for seven seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.-References:... MLB/OLB Defensive Backs
Special Teams
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Reserve Lists
Currently vacant Rookies in italics 45 Active, 0 Inactive |
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