1981 New York Jets season

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.

1981 New York Jets season
OwnerLeon Hess
Head coachWalt Michaels
Home fieldShea Stadium
Results
Record10–5–1
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Bills) 27–31
Pro BowlersC Joe Fields
T Marvin Powell
DE Joe Klecko
DE Mark Gastineau
The Jets playing the Bills in the 1981 AFC Wild Card game.

Offseason

Draft
Main article: 1981 NFL draft
1981 New York Jets draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Freeman McNeil *  RB UCLA
2 30 Marion Barber Jr.  RB Minnesota
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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
WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteAttendance
1 September 6at Buffalo BillsL 31–0Rich Stadium79,754
2 September 13Cincinnati BengalsL 31–30Shea Stadium49,454
3 September 20at Pittsburgh SteelersL 38–10Three Rivers Stadium52,973
4 September 27Houston OilersW 33–17Shea Stadium50,309
5 October 4at Miami DolphinsT 28–28Miami Orange Bowl68,723
6 October 11New England PatriotsW 28–24Shea Stadium55,093
7 October 18Buffalo BillsW 33–14Shea Stadium54,607
8 October 25Seattle SeahawksL 19–3Shea Stadium49,678
9 November 1at New York GiantsW 26–7Giants Stadium74,740
10 November 8at Baltimore ColtsW 41–14Memorial Stadium31,521
11 November 15at New England PatriotsW 17–6Schaefer Stadium45,342
12 November 22Miami DolphinsW 16–15Shea Stadium59,962
13 November 29Baltimore ColtsW 25–0Shea Stadium53,593
14 December 6at Seattle SeahawksL 27–23Kingdome53,105
15 December 12at Cleveland BrownsW 14–13Cleveland Municipal Stadium56,866
16 December 20Green Bay PackersW 28–3Shea Stadium56,340

Week 15 at Browns
Week Fifteen: New York Jets (8–5–1) at Cleveland Browns (5–9)
1 2 34Total
Jets 0 14 0014
Browns 0 3 7313

at Municipal Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: December 12
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Game attendance: 56,866
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Playoffs
WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteAttendance
Wildcard December 27, 1981Buffalo BillsL 31–27Shea Stadium
57,050

TV Announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Len Dawson

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 11 4 1 .719 5–2–1 8–3–1 345 275 W4
New York Jets(4) 10 5 1 .656 6–1–1 8–5–1 355 287 W2
Buffalo Bills(5) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 9–3 311 276 L1
Baltimore Colts 2 14 0 .125 2–6 2–10 259 533 W1
New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 0–8 2–10 322 370 L9

References
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.