1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head Coach	Chuck Noll
Home Field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	8-8
Place	2nd in AFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	CB Mel Blount LB Jack Lambert S Donnie Shell C Mike Webster
Team MVP	Jack Lambert
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1980	1982

Pre-Season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Location	Time (ET)	TV	Result	Record
1	Unknown	at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Stadium	Unknown	UNK	W 34–31	1-0
2	Saturday August 15	at Philadelphia Eagles	Veterans Stadium	Unknown	UNK	L 36–20	1-1
3	Unknown	at Dallas Cowboys	Texas Stadium	Unknown	UNK	L 24–14	1-2
4	Unknown	New York Giants	Three Rivers Stadium	Unknown	UNK	W 31–6	2-2

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Location	Time (ET)	TV	Result	Record
1	Sunday September 6	Kansas City Chiefs	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	L 37–33	0-1
2	Thursday September 10	at Miami Dolphins	Miami Orange Bowl	8:30 pm	ABC	L 30–10	0-2
3	Sunday September 20	New York Jets	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	W 38–10	1-2
4	Sunday September 27	New England Patriots	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	W 27–21 (OT)	2-2
5	Sunday October 4	at New Orleans Saints	Louisiana Superdome	2:00 pm	NBC	W 20–6	3-2
6	Sunday October 11	Cleveland Browns	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	W 13–7	4-2
7	Sunday October 18	at Cincinnati Bengals	Riverfront Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	L 34–7	4-3
8	Monday October 26	Houston Oilers	Three Rivers Stadium	9:00 pm	ABC	W 26–13	5-3
9	Sunday November 1	San Francisco 49ers	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	L 17–14	5-4
10	Sunday November 8	at Seattle Seahawks	Kingdome	4:00 pm	NBC	L 24–21	5-5
11	Sunday November 15	at Atlanta Falcons	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	W 34–20	6-5
12	Sunday November 22	at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	W 32–10	7-5
13	Sunday November 29	Los Angeles Rams	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	CBS	W 24–0	8-5
14	Monday December 7	at Oakland Raiders	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	9:00 pm	ABC	L 30–27	8-6
15	Sunday December 13	Cincinnati Bengals	Three Rivers Stadium	1:00 pm	NBC	L 17–10	8-7
16	Sunday December 20	at Houston Oilers	Astrodome	1:00 pm	NBC	L 21–20	8-8

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 6, 1981): vs. Kansas City Chiefs

	1	2	3	4	OT
Chiefs	10	3	10	14	37
Steelers	6	13	7	7	33

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 53,305
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Swann 18 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
• Kansas City - Marshall 48 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
• Kansas City - FG Lowery 35
• Pittsburgh - Harris 7 run (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh - Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
• Kansas City - FG Lowery 40
• Kansas City - Carson 53 pass from Kenney (Lowery kick)
• Pittsburgh - Hawthorne 1 run (Trout kick)
• Kansas City - FG Lowery 42
• Kansas City - McKnight 3 run (Lowery kick)
• Pittsburgh - Smith 41 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Kansas City - Howard 65 fumble return (Lowery kick)

Week 2 (Thursday September 10, 1981): at Miami Dolphins

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	3	7	0	0	10
Dolphins	0	13	14	3	30

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Game time: 8:30 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 74,190
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Fran Tarkenton & Howard Cosell (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 23
• Miami - Woodley 1 run (kick failed)
• Miami - Franklin 1 run (von Schamann kick)
• Pittsburgh - Smith 32 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Miami - Nathan 13 pass from Woodley (von Schamann kick)
• Miami - Vigorito 87 punt return (von Schamann kick)
• Miami - FG von Schamann 32

Week 3 (Sunday September 20, 1981): vs. New York Jets

	1	2	3	4	OT
Jets	0	3	0	7	10
Steelers	7	10	14	7	38

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 52,973
• Referee: Gordon McCarter
• TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Davis 9 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 25
• Pittsburgh - Pollard 23 run (Trout kick)
• New York Jets - FG Leahy 47
• Pittsburgh - Bradshaw 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Pollard 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Thornton 1 run (Trout kick)
• New York Jets - McNeil 17 pass from Ryan (Leahy kick)

Week 4 (Sunday September 27, 1981): vs. New England Patriots

	1	2	3	4	OT
Patriots	0	7	0	14	21
Steelers	7	7	7	0	27

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 53,344
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Cunningham 1 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• New England - Cavanaugh 1 run (Smith kick)
• Pittsburgh - Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
• New England - Collins 10 run (Smith kick)
• New England - Morgan 12 pass from Cavanaugh (Smith kick)
• Pittsburgh - Swann 24 pass from Bradshaw

Week 5 (Sunday October 4, 1981): at New Orleans Saints

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	7	6	0	7	20
Saints	0	3	3	0	6

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Game time: 2:00 pm EDT
• Game weather: Dome
• Game attendance: 64,578
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Harmon Wages (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Swann 16 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 25
• New Orleans - FG Ricardo 26
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 43
• New Orleans - FG Ricardo 33
• Pittsburgh - Stallworth 47 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)

Week 6 (Sunday October 11, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	OT
Browns	0	7	0	0	7
Steelers	7	3	0	3	13

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 53,255
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Stallworth 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 19
• Cleveland - Newsome 29 pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 23

Week 7 (Sunday October 18, 1981): at Cincinnati Bengals

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	0	0	0	7	7
Bengals	10	3	14	7	34

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 pm EDT
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 57,090
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Cincinnati - FG Breech 27
• Cincinnati - Johnson 3 run (Breech kick)
• Cincinnati - FG Breech 23
• Cincinnati - Verser 73 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
• Cincinnati - Alexander 3 run (Breech kick)
• Cincinnati - Johnson 5 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
• Pittsburgh - Smith 17 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)

Week 8 (Monday October 26, 1981): vs. Houston Oilers

	1	2	3	4	OT
Oilers	0	3	0	10	13
Steelers	10	3	0	13	26

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 9:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 52,732
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 19
• Pittsburgh - Smith 46 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Houston - FG Fritsch 34
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 19
• Houston - Casper 52 pass from Stabler (Fritsch kick)
• Houston - FG Fritsch 44
• Pittsburgh - FG Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh - Harris 1 run (Trout kick)

Week 9 (Sunday November 1, 1981): vs. San Francisco 49ers

	1	2	3	4	OT
49ers	0	10	0	7	17
Steelers	0	0	14	0	14

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 52,878
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• San Francisco - Young 5 pass from Montana (Wersching kick)
• San Francisco - FG Wersching 45
• Pittsburgh - Blount 50 interception return (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Smith 22 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• San Francisco - Easley 1 run (Wersching kick)

Week 10 (Sunday November 8, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	7	14	0	0	21
Seahawks	3	7	0	14	24

at The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

• Game time: 4:00 pm EST
• Game weather: Dome
• Game attendance: 59,058
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Jim Turner (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Harris 6 run (Trout kick)
• Seattle - FG Herrera 37
• Pittsburgh - Malone 90 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Thornton 4 run (Trout kick)
• Seattle - Doornink 44 pass from Zorn (Herrera kick)
• Seattle - T. Brown 1 run (Herrera kick)
• Seattle - T. Brown 1 run (Herrera kick)

Week 11 (Sunday November 15, 1981): at Atlanta Falcons

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	7	7	13	7	34
Falcons	0	7	3	10	20

at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 57,485
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers: (NBC) Bob Costas (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Cunningham 18 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Stallworth 6 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta - Jackson 35 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
• Pittsburgh - Stallworth 19 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta - FG Luckhurst 43
• Pittsburgh - Grossman 14 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked)
• Atlanta - Jenkins 30 pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick)
• Pittsburgh - Swann 22 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Atlanta - FG Luckhurst 22

Week 12 (Sunday November 22, 1981): at Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	12	0	6	14	32
Browns	3	7	0	0	10

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 77,958
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Cleveland - FG Bahr 33
• Pittsburgh - Hawthorne 1 run (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh - Thornton 3 run (kick failed)
• Cleveland - Logan 13 pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh - Harris 2 run (kick failed)
• Pittsburgh - Pinney 1 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Moser 5 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)

Week 13 (Sunday November 29, 1981): vs. Los Angeles Rams

	1	2	3	4	OT
Rams	0	0	0	0	0
Steelers	7	14	3	0	24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 51,854
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers: (CBS) Vin Scully (play by play), Hank Stram (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Harris 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Swann 9 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Bradshaw 1 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 21

Week 14 (Monday December 7, 1981): at Oakland Raiders

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	7	7	6	7	27
Raiders	0	7	7	16	30

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

• Game time: 9:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 51,769
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers: (ABC) Frank Gifford (play by play), Don Meredith & Howard Cosell (color commentators)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - Cunningham 5 pass from Bradshaw (Trout kick)
• Oakland - Ramsey 25 pass from Wilson (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh - Smith 19 pass from Malone (Trout kick)
• Oakland - Whittington 17 pass from Wilson (Bahr kick)
• Pittsburgh - Malone 11 run (kick failed)
• Oakland - Chandler 36 pass from Wilson (kick failed)
• Oakland - Watts 53 punt return (Bahr kick)
• Oakland - FG Bahr 29
• Pittsburgh - Smith 17 pass from Malone (Trout kick)

Week 15 (Sunday December 13, 1981): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

	1	2	3	4	OT
Bengals	0	10	7	0	17
Steelers	0	3	0	7	10

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,623
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Dave Rowe (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 48
• Cincinnati - FG Breech 38
• Cincinnati - Curtis 2 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
• Cincinnati - Kreider 22 pass from Ken Anderson (Breech kick)
• Pittsburgh - Harris 2 pass from Malone (Trout kick)

Week 16 (Sunday December 20, 1981): at Houston Oilers

	1	2	3	4	OT
Steelers	3	3	14	0	20
Oilers	7	7	0	7	21

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

• Game time: 1:00 pm EST
• Game weather: Dome
• Game attendance: 41,056
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• TV announcers: (NBC) Phil Stone (play by play), Gene Washington (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 40
• Houston - Casper 15 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)
• Houston - Casper 23 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)
• Pittsburgh - FG Trout 37
• Pittsburgh - Thornton 17 run (Trout kick)
• Pittsburgh - Malone 2 run (Trout kick)
• Houston - Casper 16 pass from Neilsen (Fritsch kick)

Standings

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Cincinnati Bengals	12	4	0	.750	421	304
Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	0	.500	356	297
Houston Oilers	7	9	0	.438	281	355
Cleveland Browns	5	11	0	.313	276	375

References

1. Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide 1982