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
1981 Cincinnati Bengals roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics
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