1981 Buffalo Bills season
| 1981 Buffalo Bills season |
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| Head coach |
Chuck Knox |
| Home field |
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| Results |
| Record |
10–6 |
| Division Place |
3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish |
Lost Division Round |
| Timeline |
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| Previous season |
Next season |
| 1980 |
1982 |
The 1981 Buffalo Bills season was the 22nd season for the club and its 12th in the National Football League.
Offseason
NFL Draft
Main article:
1981 NFL Draft
| Round |
Pick |
Player |
Position |
School/Club Team |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Attendance |
| 1 |
September 6, 1981 |
New York Jets |
W 31–0 |
79,754
|
| 2 |
September 13, 1981 |
at Baltimore Colts |
W 35–3 |
44,950
|
| 3 |
September 17, 1981 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
L 20–14 |
78,331
|
| 4 |
September 27, 1981 |
at Cincinnati Bengals |
L 27–24 |
46,418
|
| 5 |
October 4, 1981 |
Baltimore Colts |
W 23–17 |
77,811
|
| 6 |
October 12, 1981 |
Miami Dolphins |
W 31–21 |
78,576
|
| 7 |
October 18, 1981 |
at New York Jets |
L 33–14 |
54,607
|
| 8 |
October 25, 1981 |
Denver Broncos |
W 9–7 |
77,757
|
| 9 |
November 1, 1981 |
Cleveland Browns |
W 22–13 |
78,266
|
| 10 |
November 9, 1981 |
at Dallas Cowboys |
L 27–14 |
62,583
|
| 11 |
November 15, 1981 |
at St. Louis Cardinals |
L 24–0 |
46,214
|
| 12 |
November 22, 1981 |
New England Patriots |
W 20–17 |
71,593
|
| 13 |
November 29, 1981 |
Washington Redskins |
W 21–14 |
59,624
|
| 14 |
December 6, 1981 |
San Diego Chargers |
W 28–27 |
51,488
|
| 15 |
December 13, 1981 |
at New England Patriots |
W 19–10 |
42,549
|
| 16 |
December 19, 1981 |
at Miami Dolphins |
L 16–6 |
72,596
|
Standings
Roster
Playoffs
| Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Attendance |
| Wildcard |
December 27, 1981 |
at New York Jets |
W 31–27 |
57,050
|
| Divisional |
January 3, 1982 |
at Cincinnati Bengals |
L 28–21 |
55,420
|
AFC Wild Card
The Bills traveled to Shea Stadium, where the Jets were playing in their first playoff game since the 1970 merger. In a cold rain the Jets got off to a poor start as Bruce Harper fumbled the opening kickoff at his 25 and Charles Romes ran back the fumble for a touchdown. The Bills raced to a 24–0 lead in the second quarter as Frank Lewis caught two Joe Ferguson passes for touchdowns; the first was a pass from the Bills 40 yard line caught by Lewis at the Jets 32 and run in, then Joe Cribbs caught a 50-yarder, setting up Lewis' second catch; later Rufus Bess picked off Richard Todd and ran back 49 yards, setting up a field goal. But in the second the Jets began clawing back as Mickey Shuler caught a 30-yard touchdown in traffic (it was Shuler's first catch of the entire 1981 season) from Todd and following a Greg Buttle interception of Ferguson Pat Leahy booted a 26-yard field goal. A 19-yarder from Leahy was the only score in the third, then early in the fourth Ferguson was picked off by Donald Dykes, but Todd was intercepted by Bill Simpson. Following the Simpson pick Ferguson was intercepted again, by Jerry Holmes, but the Bills defense forced a mediocre punt by Chuck Ramsey caught at the 50. Three plays later Joe Cribbs caught a toss-sweep and ran in a 45-yard touchdown for Buffalo. But the Jets refused to give in; Todd tossed a 30-yard score to Bobby Jones and later Kevin Long ran in a 1-yard score. The Jets got the ball back in the final minutes, but a sack by Fred Smerlas led to a last-ditch Todd drive to the endzone; after completions to Gaffney and Scott Dierking Todd fired from the Bills 11 for the endzone but was picked off by Bill Simpson, ending a 31–27 Bills playoff win, only the third in the team's history and first since winning back-to-back AFL titles in the 1964 and '65 seasons.
Awards and honors
References
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Buffalo Bills
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| The Franchise |
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| Stadiums |
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| Culture |
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| Lore |
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| Head Coaches |
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| Division Championships (10) |
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| Super Bowl Appearances (4) |
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| League Championships (2) |
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| Wall of Fame |
Simpson, Kemp, McGroder, Sestak, Shaw, Wilson, 12th Man, Dubenion, Stratton, Ferguson, Levy, DeLamielleure, James, Abramoski, Kalsu, Saimes, Kelly, Smerlas, Hull, Talley, Ritcher, Thomas, Reed, Tasker, Smith, Edgerson, Hansen
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| Seasons |
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| Media |
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| Current League Affiliations |
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| Rivalries |
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