1981 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Infobox NFL season
team = Pittsburgh Steelers
year = 1981
record = 8-8
division_place = 2nd in AFC Central
coach = Chuck Noll
stadium = Three Rivers Stadium
playoffs = none
previous = 1980
next = 1982

Offseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game Summaries

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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Chiefs
R1=10
R2=3
R3=10
R4=14
Home=Steelers
H1=6
H2=13
H3=7
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 53,305
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=3
R2=7
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Dolphins
H1=0
H2=13
H3=14
H4=3"at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida"

* Game time: 8:30 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 74,190
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Jets
R1=0
R2=3
R3=0
R4=7
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=10
H3=14
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 52,973
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Patriots
R1=0
R2=7
R3=0
R4=14
R5=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=7
H3=7
H4=0
H5=6"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 53,344
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=6
R3=0
R4=7
Home=Saints
H1=0
H2=3
H3=3
H4=0"at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana"

* Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 64,578
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Browns
R1=0
R2=7
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=3
H3=0
H4=3"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 53,255
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road= Steelers
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=7
Home=Bengals
H1=10
H2=3
H3=14
H4=7"at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 57,090
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Oilers
R1=0
R2=3
R3=0
R4=10
Home=Steelers
H1=10
H2=3
H3=0
H4=13"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 9:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 52,732
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=49ers
R1=0
R2=10
R3=0
R4=7
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=0
H3=14
H4=0"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 52,878
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=14
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Seahawks
H1=3
H2=7
H3=0
H4=14"at The Kingdome, Seattle, Washington"

* Game time: 4:00 PM EST
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 59,058
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=7
R3=13
R4=7
Home=Falcons
H1=0
H2=7
H3=3
H4=10"at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 57,485
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=12
R2=0
R3=6
R4=14
Home=Browns
H1=3
H2=7
H3=0
H4=0"at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 77,958
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Rams
R1=0
R2=0
R3=0
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=7
H2=14
H3=3
H4=0"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 51,854
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=7
R2=7
R3=6
R4=7
Home=Raiders
H1=0
H2=7
H3=7
H4=16"at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California"

* Game time: 9:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 51,769
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Bengals
R1=0
R2=10
R3=7
R4=0
Home=Steelers
H1=0
H2=3
H3=0
H4=7"at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather:
* Game attendance: 50,623
* Referee:
* 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

Linescore Amfootball
Road=Steelers
R1=3
R2=3
R3=14
R4=0
Home=Oilers
H1=7
H2=7
H3=0
H4=7"at Astrodome, Houston, Texas"

* Game time: 1:00 PM EST
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 41,056
* Referee:
* 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)

References