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NFL team season
The Bengals playing against the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI. The 1981 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 14th overall. The team won their first AFC Championship, but lost Super Bowl XVI to San Francisco .
Cincinnati had at least a share of the AFC Central lead the entire season. On December 13, quarterback Ken Anderson threw two touchdown passes as the Bengals clinched the division with a 17–10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers , the Bengals' only other rival for the division title by that point in the season.
Ken Anderson led the NFL in passing in 1981 with a 98.5 rating .
On January 3, 1982, the Bengals beat Buffalo , 28–21, in an AFC divisional playoff game . A week later, playing in their first AFC Championship Game in brutally cold weather, the Bengals defeated San Diego 27–7 at Riverfront Stadium . In a temperature of −9 °F (−23 °C) with a wind-chill factor of −59 °F (−51 °C), this game is referred to as the Freezer Bowl .
In Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982, in Pontiac, Michigan , the Bengals trailed 20–0 at halftime and lost to San Francisco, 26–21.
Before the season, the Bengals unveiled new uniforms with tiger-striped helmets, jerseys and pants.
[ 1]
Undrafted free agents [ edit ]
1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player
Position
College
Ken Brown
Wide receiver
Nebraska
Jim Destefano
Linebacker
Cornell
Dennis Dunn
Safety
Yale
1981 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
Owner/General Manager – Paul Brown
President – John Sawyer
Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Special Teams – Bruce Coslet Strength and conditioning
Source: [ 2] [ 3]
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Location
TV Time(EST)
TV Announcers
Attendance
1
September 6
Seattle Seahawks
W 27–21
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Mike Adamle & Rocky Bleier
41,177
2
September 13
at New York Jets
W 31–30
Shea Stadium
NBC 4:00pm
Charlie Jones & Len Dawson
49,454
3
September 20
Cleveland Browns L 20–17
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy
52,170
4
September 27
Buffalo Bills
W 27–24
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Jay Randolph & Mike Haffner
46,418
5
October 4
at Houston Oilers
L 17–10
Astrodome
NBC 1:00 pm
Marv Albert & Jim Turner
44,350
6
October 11
at Baltimore Colts
W 41–19
Memorial Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy
33,060
7
October 18
Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–7
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Don Criqui & John Brodie
57,090
8
October 25
at New Orleans Saints
L 17–7
Louisiana Superdome
NBC 1:00 pm
Mike Adamle & Mike Haffner
46,336
9
November 1
Houston Oilers
W 34–21
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy
54,736
10
November 8
at San Diego Chargers
W 40–17
Jack Murphy Stadium
NBC 4:00 pm
Dick Enberg & Merlin Olsen
51,259
11
November 15
Los Angeles Rams
W 24–10
Riverfront Stadium
CBS 1:00 pm
Vin Scully & Hank Stram
56,836
12
November 22
Denver Broncos
W 38–21
Riverfront Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Bob Costas & Gene Washington
57,207
13
November 29
at Cleveland Browns
W 41–21
Cleveland Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Bob Costas & Bob Trumpy
75,186
14
December 6
San Francisco 49ers
L 21–3
Riverfront Stadium
CBS 1:00 pm
Tim Ryan & Fred Dryer
56,796
15
December 13
at Pittsburgh Steelers
W 17–10
Three Rivers Stadium
NBC 1:00 pm
Don Criqui & John Brodie
50,623
16
December 20
at Atlanta Falcons
W 30–28
Fulton County Stadium
NBC 4:00 pm
Charlie Jones & Len Dawson
35,972
1
2 3 4 Total
Seahawks
21
0 0 0
21
• Bengals
0
10 10 7
27
Date: September 6Location: Riverfront Stadium , Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 41,177Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)Referee: Bob FredericTelevision network: NBC Scoring summary Q1 SEA Harris 29 yard interception return (Herrera kick) SEA 7–0 Q1 SEA Largent 36 yard pass from Zorn (Herrera kick)SEA 14–0 Q1 SEA Jodat 1 yard run (Herrera kick)SEA 21–0 Q2 CIN Breech 25 yard field goalSEA 21–3 Q2 CIN Johnson 3 yard run (Breech kick)SEA 21–10 Q3 CIN Breech 40 yard field goal SEA 21–13 Q3 CIN Griffin 3 yard run (Breech kick)SEA 21–20 Q4 CIN Johnson 2 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 27–21
[ 4]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
0
10 7 14
31
Jets
0
17 3 10
30
1
2 3 4 Total
• Browns
3
10 0 7
20
Bengals
0
0 3 14
17
Date: September 20Location: Riverfront StadiumReferee: Red CashionTelevision network: NBC
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Bills
0
14 0 10 0
24
• Bengals
0
10 0 14 3
27
Date: September 27Location: Riverfront Stadium
1
2 3 4 Total
Bengals
3
0 7 0
10
• Oilers
0
7 7 3
17
Date: October 4Location: Astrodome Game weather: Indoors (dome)
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
3
14 7 17
41
Colts
0
5 0 14
19
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
0 0 7
7
• Bengals
10
3 14 7
34
Date: October 18Location: Riverfront StadiumReferee: Jerry MarkbreitTV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie
1
2 3 4 Total
Bengals
0
0 0 7
7
• Saints
0
0 7 10
17
1
2 3 4 Total
Oilers
7
0 0 14
21
• Bengals
0
24 3 7
34
Date: November 1Location: Riverfront Stadium
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
10
21 0 9
40
Chargers
0
10 0 7
17
1
2 3 4 Total
Rams
0
3 0 7
10
• Bengals
10
0 0 14
24
Date: November 15Location: Riverfront StadiumReferee: Bob McElweeTV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Hank Stram
1
2 3 4 Total
Broncos
0
7 0 14
21
• Bengals
14
14 0 10
38
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
14
14 0 13
41
Browns
0
7 0 14
21
Scoring summary Q1 CIN Johnson 5 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 7–0 Q1 CIN Collinsworth 39 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 14–0 Q2 CIN Collinsworth 7 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick) CIN 21–0 Q2 CLE Feacher 30 yard pass from Sipe (Bahr kick)CIN 21–7 Q2 CIN Harris 2 yard pass from Anderson (Breech kick)CIN 28–7 Q4 CLE Pruitt 1 yard run (Bahr kick)CIN 28–14 Q4 CIN Johnson 11 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 35–14 Q4 CIN Johnson 1 yard run (Breech kick) CIN 42–14 Q4 CLE Pruitt 7 yard pass from McDonald (Bahr kick) CIN 42–21
[ 5]
1
2 3 4 Total
• 49ers
7
7 0 7
21
Bengals
0
3 0 0
3
Date: December 6Location: Riverfront StadiumReferee: Jerry SeemanTV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Fred Dryer
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
0
10 7 0
17
Steelers
0
3 0 7
10
Date: December 13Location: Three Rivers Stadium Referee: Red CashionTV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bengals
10
17 0 3
30
Falcons
0
21 0 7
28
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
0
7 7 7
21
• Bengals
14
0 7 7
28
Date: January 3Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Conference Championship [ edit ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Chargers
0
7 0 0
7
• Bengals
10
7 3 7
27
Date: January 10Location: Riverfront StadiumReferee: Fred SilvaTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
1
2 3 4 Total
• 49ers
7
13 0 6
26
Bengals
0
0 7 14
21
Date: January 24Location: Pontiac Silverdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Ken Anderson, NFL MVP [ 6]
Ken Anderson, Bert Bell Award [ 7]
Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Touchdown Passes, 29 Passes [ 8]
Ken Anderson, Led NFL, Passer Rating, 98.4 Rating [ 9] Ken Anderson, Franchise Record (since broken), Most Touchdown Passes in One Season, 29 Passes [ 8]
Cris Collinsworth, 1st 1,000 Yard Receiving Season (1,009 yards) [ 10]
Pete Johnson, 1,000 Yard Rushing Season (1,077 yards) [ 11]
^ "1981 Cincinnati Bengals draftees" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved October 6, 2014 .^ "1981 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved October 8, 2014 .^ "Team rosters" . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington). January 23, 1982. p. 12.^ "Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals - September 6th, 1981" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved February 7, 2022 .^ "Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - November 29th, 1981" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved February 7, 2022 .^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book , Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 400^ "The Bert Bell Award" . Maxwell Football Club . Retrieved February 7, 2022 .^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book , Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 37^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book , Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 447^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book , Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 442^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book , Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2 , p. 437
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (11) Conference championships (3) Retired numbers Ring of Honor Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
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