1981 season of NFL team New York Jets
The Jets playing the Bills in the 1981 AFC Wild Card game.
The 1981 New York Jets season was the 22nd season for the franchise and its twelfth in the National Football League . It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–12 record from 1980 under head coach Walt Michaels . The Jets sputtered early, starting 0–3 and (combined with the previous season's 4–12 finish) fueling a quarterback controversy and altercation between quarterback Richard Todd and sports writer Steve Serby and speculation about Michaels’ job. After the 0–3 start, however, the Jets would catch fire, and go on a 10–2–1 run. The team ultimately finished the season with a record of 10–5–1 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1969 , breaking a twelve-season drought. In the playoffs, however, they fell to their division rivals, the Buffalo Bills , 31–27.
Offseason [ ]
Draft [ ]
Main article: 1981 NFL draft
Roster [ ]
1981 New York Jets final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ ]
Schedule [ ]
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Game site
Attendance
1
September 6
at Buffalo Bills
L 31–0
Rich Stadium
79,754
2
September 13
Cincinnati Bengals
L 31–30
Shea Stadium
49,454
3
September 20
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 38–10
Three Rivers Stadium
52,973
4
September 27
Houston Oilers
W 33–17
Shea Stadium
50,309
5
October 4
at Miami Dolphins
T 28–28
Miami Orange Bowl
68,723
6
October 11
New England Patriots
W 28–24
Shea Stadium
55,093
7
October 18
Buffalo Bills
W 33–14
Shea Stadium
54,607
8
October 25
Seattle Seahawks
L 19–3
Shea Stadium
49,678
9
November 1
at New York Giants
W 26–7
Giants Stadium
74,740
10
November 8
at Baltimore Colts
W 41–14
Memorial Stadium
31,521
11
November 15
at New England Patriots
W 17–6
Schaefer Stadium
45,342
12
November 22
Miami Dolphins
W 16–15
Shea Stadium
59,962
13
November 29
Baltimore Colts
W 25–0
Shea Stadium
53,593
14
December 6
at Seattle Seahawks
L 27–23
Kingdome
53,105
15
December 12
at Cleveland Browns
W 14–13
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
56,866
16
December 20
Green Bay Packers
W 28–3
Shea Stadium
56,340
Season summary [ ]
Week 15 at Browns [ ]
Week Fifteen: New York Jets (8–5–1) at Cleveland Browns (5–9)
1
2
3 4 Total
Jets
0
14
0 0 14
Browns
0
3
7 3 13
at Municipal Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio
Date : Game time : 12:30 p.m. EDTGame weather : 32 °F (0 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)Game attendance : 56,866Pro-Football-Reference.com
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
NYJ
CLE
2
Jets
Johnny Lam Jones 28-yard touchdown reception from Richard Todd , Pat Leahy kick good
7
0
2
Browns
26-yard field goal by Matt Bahr
7
3
2
Jets
Bruce Harper 7-yard touchdown reception from Richard Todd, Pat Leahy kick good
14
3
3
Browns
Calvin Hill 8-yard touchdown reception from Brian Sipe , Matt Bahr kick good
14
10
4
Browns
20-yard field goal by Matt Bahr
14
13
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
14
13
Playoffs [ ]
TV Announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Len Dawson
Standings [ ]
References [ ]
External links [ ]
New York Jets
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Key personnel Division championships (4) League championships (1) Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
League: American Football League (1960–1969)
Formerly the New York Titans (1960–1962)
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory