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
Head coachWalt Michaels
OwnerLeon Hess
Home fieldShea Stadium
Results
Record10–5–1
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (Bills) 31–27
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
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
 active, inactive, practice squad

Regular season

Schedule
WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteAttendance
1 September 6, 1981at Buffalo BillsL 31–0Rich Stadium
79,754
2 September 13, 1981Cincinnati BengalsL 31–30Shea Stadium
49,454
3 September 20, 1981at Pittsburgh SteelersL 38–10Three Rivers Stadium
52,973
4 September 27, 1981Houston OilersW 33–17Shea Stadium
50,309
5 October 4, 1981at Miami DolphinsT 28–28Miami Orange Bowl
68,723
6 October 11, 1981New England PatriotsW 28–24Shea Stadium
55,093
7 October 18, 1981Buffalo BillsW 33–14Shea Stadium
54,607
8 October 25, 1981Seattle SeahawksL 19–3Shea Stadium
49,678
9 November 1, 1981at New York GiantsW 26–7Giants Stadium
74,740
10 November 8, 1981at Baltimore ColtsW 41–14Memorial Stadium
31,521
11 November 15, 1981at New England PatriotsW 17–6Schaefer Stadium
45,342
12 November 22, 1981Miami DolphinsW 16–15Shea Stadium
59,962
13 November 29, 1981Baltimore ColtsW 25–0Shea Stadium
53,593
14 December 6, 1981at Seattle SeahawksL 27–23Kingdome
53,105
15 December 12, 1981at Cleveland BrownsW 14–13Cleveland Municipal Stadium
56,866
16 December 20, 1981Green Bay PackersW 28–3Shea Stadium
56,340

Season summary

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
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