1981 Green Bay Packers season
Head coachBart Starr
Home fieldLambeau Field
Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1981 Green Bay Packers season was their 63rd season overall and their 61st in the National Football League. The team posted an 8–8 record under coach Bart Starr, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division. Led by the defense the Packers were number one in turnovers forced and number 9th overall. The offense did improve but still finished in the bottom half of the league. Needing a Giants loss or an Eagles win during the final week of the regular season (due to tiebreakers), the Packers gained control of their destiny at earning the final Wild Card spot by winning in their last regular season game but were defeated by the Jets 28–3. The Packers managed only 84 total yards against the Jets.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft
1981 Green Bay Packers draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 6 Rich Campbell QB California
2 35 Gary Lewis TE Texas-Arlington
3 62 Ray Stachowicz P Michigan State
4 105 Richard Turner DT Oklahoma
5 117 Byron Braggs DE Alabama
7 172 Bill Whitaker S Missouri
8 200 Larry Werts LB Jackson State
9 227 Tim Huffman G Notre Dame
10 255 Nickie Hall QB Tulane
11 282 Forrest Valora LB Oklahoma
12 311 Cliff Lewis LB Southern Miss

Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Craig Chrest Wide receiver Wisconsin–La Crosse
Bill Kazmaier Guard Wisconsin
Rick Kehr Guard Carthage
Greg Knafelc Tight end Notre Dame
David Petway Safety Northern Illinois
Randy Scott Linebacker Alabama
Robert Shackelford Guard St. Norbert
Pete Thompson Wide receiver Carroll (MT)

Personnel

Staff

1981 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


[1]

Roster

1981 Green Bay Packers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 00 active, 0 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
1 September 6 at Chicago Bears W 16–9 Soldier Field
62,411
2 September 13 Atlanta Falcons L 31–17 Lambeau Field
55,382
3 September 20 at Los Angeles Rams L 35–23 Anaheim Stadium
61,286
4 September 27 Minnesota Vikings L 30–13 Milwaukee County Stadium
55,012
5 October 4 at New York Giants W 27–14 Giants Stadium
73,684
6 October 11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–10 Lambeau Field
55,264
7 October 18 San Francisco 49ers L 13–3 Milwaukee County Stadium
50,171
8 October 25 at Detroit Lions L 31–27 Pontiac Silverdome
76,063
9 November 1 Seattle Seahawks W 34–24 Lambeau Field
49,467
10 November 8 New York Giants W 26–24 Milwaukee County Stadium
54,138
11 November 15 Chicago Bears W 21–17 Lambeau Field
55,338
12 November 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 37–3 Tampa Stadium
63,251
13 November 29 at Minnesota Vikings W 35–23 Metropolitan Stadium
46,025
14 December 6 Detroit Lions W 31–17 Lambeau Field
54,481
15 December 13 at New Orleans Saints W 35–7 Louisiana Superdome
45,518
16 December 20 at New York Jets L 28–3 Shea Stadium
56,340

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
• Packers 7 603 16
Bears 0 063 9
  • Date: September 6
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
Scoring summary
Q1GBIvery 2-yard run (Wingo pass from StachowiczGB 8–0
Q2GBEllis 5-yard run (kick blocked)GB 13–0
Q3CHIPayton 11-yard run (kick failed)GB 13–6
Q4GBStenerud 33-yard field goalGB 16–6
Q43:57CHIThomas 25-yard field goalGB 16–9

[2]

Week 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 0 03131
Packers 7 7 3017

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Week 7: vs. San Francisco 49ers

See also: 1981 San Francisco 49ers season
Week 7: San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers
Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 0 3 7313
Packers 0 3 003

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Date: October 18, 1981
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
  • [1]
Game information

Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 9: Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 14 3024
Packers 7 14 7634

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Game information

Week 11

1 234Total
Bears 10 007 17
• Packers 7 1400 21
Scoring summary
Q1CHIRoveto 36-yard field goalCHI 3–0
Q1GBHuckleby 1-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick)GB 7–3
Q1CHISuhey 1-yard run (Roveto kick)CHI 10–7
Q2GBHuckleby 39-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick)GB 14–10
Q2GBMiddleton 2-yard pass from Whitehurst (Stenerud kick)GB 21—10
Q4CHIPayton 2-yard run (Roveto kick)GB 21–17

[3]

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(3) 9 7 0 .563 6–2 9–3 315 268 W1
Detroit Lions 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 397 322 L1
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–7 324 361 L1
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 325 369 L5
Chicago Bears 6 10 0 .375 2–6 2–10 253 324 W3

References

  1. ^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-14.


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