1981 Chicago Bears season

1981 Chicago Bears season
Owner(s)	George Halas
Head Coach	Neill Armstrong
General Manager	Jim Finks
Home Field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	6–10
Place	5th NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1980	1982

The 1981 Chicago Bears season was their 62nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 6–10 record under fourth year coach Neill Armstrong, who was fired at the end of the season.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

1981 Chicago Bears roster
	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 8 Vince Evans Running backs 35 Roland Harper 37 Willie McClendon 34 Walter Payton 30 John Skibinski 26 Matt Suhey FB 22 Dave Williams FB Wide receivers 88 Marcus Anderson 84 Brian Baschnagel 89 Ken Margerum 80 Rickey Watts Tight ends 87 Mike Cobb 81 Robin Earl 80 Bob Fisher		Offensive linemen 64 Ted Albrecht T 63 Jay Hilgenberg C 65 Noah Jackson G 62 Dan Jiggetts T 52 Dan Neal C 69 Revie Sorey G 78 Keith Van Horne T 79 Emanuel Zanders G Defensive linemen 99 Dan Hampton DE 90 Al Harris DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 76 Steve McMichael DT 68 Jim Osborne DT 82 Alan Page DT 72 Brad Shearer DT		Linebackers 59 Gary Campbell 51 Bruce Herron 57 Lee Kunz 50 Mike Singletary 55 Otis Wilson Defensive backs 25 Todd Bell 45 Gary Fencik SS 24 Jeff Fisher CB 21 Leslie Frazier CB 20 Reuben Henderson CB 46 Doug Plank FS 44 Terry Schmidt CB 23 Len Walterscheid Special teams 6 Hans Nielsen K 86 Bob Parsons P 9 John Roveto K		Reserve lists 70 Dennis Lick T (IR) 15 Mike Phipps QB (IR) 89 James Scott WR (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	Green Bay Packers	L 16–9	62,411
2	September 13, 1981	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–17	49,520
3	September 20, 1981	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 28–17	60,130
4	September 28, 1981	Los Angeles Rams	L 24–7	62,461
5	October 4, 1981	at Minnesota Vikings	L 24–21	43,827
6	October 11, 1981	Washington Redskins	L 24–7	57,683
7	October 19, 1981	at Detroit Lions	L 48–17	71,273
8	October 25, 1981	San Diego Chargers	W 20–17	52,906
9	November 1, 1981	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–10	63,688
10	November 8, 1981	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 16–13	60,605
11	November 15, 1981	at Green Bay Packers	L 21–17	55,338
12	November 22, 1981	Detroit Lions	L 23–7	50,082
13	November 26, 1981	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–9	63,499
14	December 6, 1981	Minnesota Vikings	W 10–9	50,766
15	December 13, 1981	at Oakland Raiders	W 23–6	40,384
16	December 20, 1981	Denver Broncos	W 35–24	40,125

Game summaries

Week 3

by Quarter 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; wind 8 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

Week 8

by Quarter 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; wind 9 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

Week 15

See also: 1981 Oakland Raiders season

Chicago Bears (4–10) at Oakland Raiders (7–7) 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; wind 7 Pro-Football-Reference.com Game information Bears Vince Evans 15/32, 240 Yds, 3 TD, INT Roland Harper 15 Rush, 49 Yds Rickey Watts 5 Rec, 90 Yds, 2 TD Raiders Marc Wilson 17/38, 240 Yds, TD, INT Arthur Whittington 9 Rush, 32 Yds Bob Chandler 4 Rec, 73 Yds, TD

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 endzone 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

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 3 0 14 7 24 • Bears 0 14 14 7 35 Date: December 20 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 6°F, wind 11 Referee: Gordon McCarter 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

Standings

Template:1981 NFC Central standings

External links

• 1981 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com