1981 San Diego Chargers season

1981 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach Don Coryell
Home field Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record 10–6
Division Place 1st AFC West
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) (41–38 OT)
Lost Conference Playoffs (Bengals) (27–7)
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1980 1982

The 1981 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 1980. In the playoffs they beat the Dolphins in a game known as the Epic in Miami and lost to the Bengals in a game known as the Freezer Bowl.

During this season, the Chargers lost two key players by way of trade. Before Week 3, wide receiver John Jefferson was dealt to the Green Bay Packers, while defensive end Fred Dean would be dealt to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers by Week 5. The season was chronicled on September 18, 2008 for America's Game: The Missing Rings, as one of the five greatest NFL teams to never win the Super Bowl.

Contents

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 7, 1981 at Cleveland Browns W 44–14
78,904
2 September 13, 1981 Detroit Lions W 28–23
51,264
3 September 20, 1981 at Kansas City Chiefs W 42–31
63,866
4 September 27, 1981 at Denver Broncos L 42–24
74,822
5 October 4, 1981 Seattle Seahawks W 24–10
51,463
6 October 11, 1981 Minnesota Vikings L 33–31
50,708
7 October 18, 1981 at Baltimore Colts W 43–14
41,921
8 October 25, 1981 at Chicago Bears L 20–17
52,906
9 November 1, 1981 Kansas City Chiefs W 22–20
51,307
10 November 8, 1981 Cincinnati Bengals L 40–17
51,259
11 November 16, 1981 at Seattle Seahawks L 44–23
58,628
12 November 22, 1981 at Oakland Raiders W 55–21
50,199
13 November 29, 1981 Denver Broncos W 34–17
51,533
14 December 6, 1981 Buffalo Bills L 28–27
51,488
15 December 13, 1981 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–23
67,388
16 December 21, 1981 Oakland Raiders W 23–10
52,279

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional January 2, 1982 at Miami Dolphins W 41–38
73,735
Conference Championship January 10, 1982 at Cincinnati Bengals L 27–7
46,302

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT PF PA
San Diego Chargers 10 6 0 .625 478 390
Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 321 289
Kansas City Chiefs 9 7 0 .563 343 290
Oakland Raiders 7 9 0 .438 273 343
Seattle Seahawks 6 10 0 .375 322 388

[1]

References

  1. ^ (PDF) 2010 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 385. http://www.nfl.info/download/2010%20NFL%20Record%20and%20Fact%20Book.pdf. Retrieved March 7, 2011. 

See also

Formerly the Los Angeles Chargers • Founded in 1960 • Based in San Diego, California
Franchise
Stadiums
Culture
Lore
Division Championships (14)
1960 • 1961 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1992 • 1994 • 2004 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009
Super Bowl appearances (1)
League Championships (1)
Retired numbers
14 • 19
Current league affiliations
League: National Football League • Conference: American Football Conference • Division: West
AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Baltimore Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Buffalo Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Los Angeles
Miami Houston Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1981 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XVI