1981 Green Bay Packers season

1981 Green Bay Packers season
Head Coach	Bart Starr
Home Field	Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Place	3rd Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1980	1982

The 1981 Green Bay Packers season was their 63rd season overall and their 61st in the National Football League. The club posted an 8–8 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division. Led by the defense the Packers were number one in turnovers forced and number 9th overall. The offense did improve but still finished in the bottom half of the League. They are still had a possibility at a wildcard on the last regular-season game but were defeated by the Jets 28 - 3. Packers managed only 84 total yards against the Jets.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	6	Rich Campbell	Quarterback	California
2	35	Gary Lewis	Tight End	Texas-Arlington
3	62	Ray Stachowicz	Punter	Michigan State
4	105	Richard Turner	Defensive tackle	Oklahoma
5	117	Byron Braggs	Defensive End	Alabama
7	172	Bill Whitaker	Defensive back	Missouri
8	200	Larry Werts	Linebacker	Jackson State
9	227	Tim Huffman	Guard	Notre Dame
10	255	Nickie Hall	Quarterback	Tulane
11	282	Forrest Valora	Linebacker	Oklahoma
12	311	Cliff Lewis	Linebacker	Southern Miss

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
David Petway	Safety	Northern Illinois
Randy Scott	Linebacker	Alabama

Personnel

Staff

1981 Green Bay Packers staff
	Front office President – Dominic Olejniczak Vice President – Robert J. Parins Corporate Assistant to the President – Bob Harlan Director of Player Personnel – Dick Corrick Head coaches Head Coach – Bart Starr Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Offensive Backs – Zeke Bratkowski Receivers – Lew Carpenter Offensive Line – Ernie McMillan Special Assistant – Pete Kettela			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – John Meyer Defensive Line – Doc Urich Linebackers – John Marshall Defensive Backs – Ross Fichtner Special teams coaches Special Teams – Dick Rehbein

Roster

1981 Green Bay Packers roster
	Quarterbacks 19 Rich Campbell 12 Lynn Dickey 17 David Whitehurst Running backs 31 Gerry Ellis 25 Harlan Huckleby 33 Jim Jensen 34 Terdell Middleton 26 Eric Torkelson 20 Delvin Williams Wide receivers 88 Ron Cassidy 83 John Jefferson 80 James Lofton 84 Fred Nixon Tight ends 82 Paul Coffman 81 Gary Lewis 87 John Thompson		Offensive linemen 61 Charlie Ane C 57 Derrel Gofourth G 69 Leotis Harris 74 Tim Huffman G 64 Syd Kitson G 68 Greg Koch T 79 Mark Koncar T 54 Larry McCarren C 67 Karl Swanke T Defensive linemen 73 Byron Braggs DE 77 Mike Butler DE 90 Ezra Johnson DE 63 Terry Jones DT 78 Casey Merrill DE 75 Richard Turner DT		Linebackers 60 Kurt Allerman 59 John Anderson 52 George Cumby 53 Mike Douglass 56 Cliff Lewis 51 Guy Prather 55 Randy Scott 50 Rich Wingo Defensive backs 24 Johnnie Gray SS 23 Maurice Harvey SS 38 Estus Hood CB 22 Mark Lee CB 37 Mark Murphy FS 29 Mike McCoy CB 47 David Petway S 30 Bill Whitaker S Special teams 16 Ray Stachowicz P 10 Jan Stenerud K		Reserve lists 21 Mike Jolly CB (IR) 40 Eddie Lee Ivery RB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics 00 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	at Chicago Bears	W 16–9	Soldier Field	62,411
2	September 13, 1981	Atlanta Falcons	L 31–17	Lambeau Field	55,382
3	September 20, 1981	at Los Angeles Rams	L 35–23	Anaheim Stadium	61,286
4	September 27, 1981	Minnesota Vikings	L 30–13	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,012
5	October 4, 1981	at New York Giants	W 27–14	Giants Stadium	73,684
6	October 11, 1981	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 21–10	Lambeau Field	55,264
7	October 18, 1981	San Francisco 49ers	L 13–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	50,171
8	October 25, 1981	at Detroit Lions	L 31–27	Pontiac Silverdome	76,063
9	November 1, 1981	Seattle Seahawks	W 34–24	Lambeau Field	49,467
10	November 8, 1981	New York Giants	W 26–24	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,138
11	November 15, 1981	Chicago Bears	W 21–17	Lambeau Field	55,338
12	November 22, 1981	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 37–3	Tampa Stadium	63,251
13	November 29, 1981	at Minnesota Vikings	W 35–23	Metropolitan Stadium	46,025
14	December 6, 1981	Detroit Lions	W 31–17	Lambeau Field	54,481
15	December 13, 1981	at New Orleans Saints	W 35–7	Louisiana Superdome	45,518
16	December 20, 1981	at New York Jets	L 28–3	Shea Stadium	56,340

Game summaries

Week 1

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total • Packers 7 6 0 3 16 Bears 0 0 6 3 9 Date: September 6 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game weather: 63°F; wind 8 Scoring summary Q1 GB Ivery 2-yard run (Wingo pass from Stachowicz GB 8–0 Q2 GB Ellis 5-yard run (kick blocked) GB 13–0 Q3 CHI Payton 11-yard run (kick failed) GB 13–6 Q4 GB Stenerud 33-yard field goal GB 16–6 Q4 3:57 CHI Thomas 25-yard field goal GB 16–9

Week 11

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Bears 10 0 0 7 17 • Packers 7 14 0 0 21 Date: November 15 Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 44°F; wind 7 Scoring summary Q1 CHI Roveto 36-yard field goal CHI 3–0 Q1 GB Huckleby 1-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick) GB 7–3 Q1 CHI Suhey 1-yard run (Roveto kick) CHI 10–7 Q2 GB Huckleby 39-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick) GB 14–10 Q2 GB Middleton 2-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick) GB 21—10 Q4 CHI Payton 2-yard run (Roveto kick) GB 21–17

Standings

Template:1981 NFC Central standings