1981 Chicago Bears 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.

1981 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerJim Finks
Head coachNeill Armstrong
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record6–10
Division place5th NFC Central

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
Main article: 1981 NFL Draft
1981 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 11 Keith Van Horne  Offensive tackle USC
2 38 Mike Singletary * †  Linebacker Baylor
3 67 Ken Margerum  Wide receiver Stanford
4 65 Todd Bell *  Safety Ohio State
6 150 Reuben Henderson  Cornerback San Diego State
7 177 Jeff Fisher  Cornerback USC
8 205 Scott Zettek  Wide receiver Notre Dame
9 232 Frank Ditta  Offensive guard Baylor
10 260 Tim Clifford  Quarterback Indiana
11 287 Lonnie Johnson  Running back Indiana
12 316 Bob Shupryt  Linebacker New Mexico
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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]

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

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 3
1 234Total
Buccaneers 7 073 17
• Bears 0 1477 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)
Scoring summary
Q1TBWashington 29 yard interception return (Yepremian kick)TB 7–0
Q2CHISuhey 1 yard run (Nielsen kick)Tie 7–7
Q2CHIFisher 88 yard interception return (Nielsen kick)CHI 14–7
Q3TBHouse 11 yard pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)Tie 14–14
Q3CHIEvans 8 yard run (Nielsen kick)CHI 21–14
Q4TBYepremian 32 yard field goalCHI 21–17
Q4CHIWilliams 18 yard pass from Evans (Nielsen kick)CHI 28–17

[2]

Week 8
1 234OTTotal
Chargers 0 30140 17
• Bears 7 3073 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
Scoring summary
Q1CHISuhey 7 yard run (Roveto kick)CHI 7–0
Q2SDBenirschke 18 yard field goalCHI 7–3
Q2CHIRoveto 31 yard field goalCHI 10–3
Q4SDJoiner 22 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)Tie 10–10
Q4CHIPayton 2 yard run (Roveto kick)CHI 17–10
Q4SDChandler 39 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)Tie 17–17
OTCHIRoveto 26 yard field goalCHI 20–17

[3]

Week 15
See also: 1981 Oakland Raiders season
Chicago Bears (4–10) at Oakland Raiders (7–7)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 0 14223
Raiders 6 0 006

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
Game information

Week 16
1 234Total
Broncos 3 0147 24
• Bears 0 14147 35
Scoring summary
1DENFred Steinfort 46 yard field goalBroncos 3–0
2CHIWalter Payton 19 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick)Bears 7–3
2CHIRoland Harper 4 yard run (John Roveto kick)Bears 14–3
3CHIGary Fencik 69 yard interception return (John Roveto kick)Bears 21–3
3DENRiley Odoms 6 yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick)Bears 21–10
3CHIAl Harris 44 yard interception return (John Roveto kick)Bears 28–10
3DENRick Upchurch 25 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick)Bears 28–17
4CHIWalter Payton 7 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick)Bears 35–17
4DENRick Upchurch 39 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick)Bears 35–24

[4]

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(3) 9 7 0 .563 6–2 9–3 315 268 W1
Detroit Lions 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 397 322 L1
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–7 324 361 L1
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 325 369 L5
Chicago Bears 6 10 0 .375 2–6 2–10 253 324 W3

References
  1. Taylor, Roy. "1982 Chicago Bears". Bearshistory.com.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Dec-11.
  3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-18.
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
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