NFL team season
The 1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League (NFL). The Seahawks got off to a terrible start, losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6–10 season. Steve Largent would have a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Seattle opened their season at Cincinnati , and held a 21–0 lead before the Bengals rallied for an improbable 27–21 win. This loss proved to be the beginning of the end for the Seahawks in 1981, as they would struggle as the season progressed.
Undrafted free agents [ edit ] 1981 Seattle Seahawks staff Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Head trainer – Bruce Scott Assistant trainer – Jim Whitesel
1981 Seattle Seahawks final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics 55 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad
[ 1]
Starters in bold. (*) Denotes players that were selected for the 1982 Pro Bowl . Source: Seahawks Media Guides[ 2] [ 3] Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 1981 NFL season results[ 4] Week P1: vs. San Francisco 49ers [ edit ] Preseason Week One: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 OT Total 49ers 7 7 3 7 3 27 Seahawks 7 3 0 14 0 24
at Kingdome , Seattle
Week P2: vs. St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Preseason Week Two: Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 6 7 7 10 30 Seahawks 0 7 7 7 21
at Kingdome , Seattle
Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers [ edit ] Preseason Week Three: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 17 0 0 0 17 49ers 7 0 7 10 24
at Candlestick Park , San Francisco
Date : Game time : 6:05 pm local Game weather : cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C), wind NE 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)Game attendance : 37,563Referee : Bob McElwee TV : KIRO Gamebook
Week P4: vs. Baltimore Colts [ edit ] Preseason Week Four: Seattle Seahawks vs. Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 7 7 0 3 17 Seahawks 10 0 14 7 31
at Kingdome , Seattle
Week 1: at Cincinnati Bengals [ edit ] Week One: Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 21 0 0 0 21 Bengals 0 10 10 7 27
at Riverfront Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio
Date : September 6Game time : 1:00 pm local Game weather : partly cloudy, 70 °F (21 °C), 71% humidity, wind NE 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)Game attendance : 41,177Referee : Bob FredericTV : NBC Gamebook
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
CIN – Jim Breech 25-yard field goal, 10:44 (SEA 21–3) CIN – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Jim Breech kick), 0:57 (SEA 21–10) Third quarter
CIN – Jim Breech 40-yard field goal, 11:32 (SEA 21–13) CIN – Archie Griffin 3-yard run (Jim Breech kick), 2:52 (SEA 21–20) Fourth quarter
CIN – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Jim Breech kick), 5:04 (CIN 27–21) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA –230 – 60 – 290 – 4 CIN – 165 – 210 – 375 – 4
Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos [ edit ] Week Two: Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Broncos 3 7 0 0 10 Seahawks 7 3 3 0 13
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 43-yard field goal, 2:39 (SEA 10–3) DEN – Riley Odoms 11-yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick), 1:06 (Tied 10–10) Third quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 22-yard field goal, 5:53 (SEA 13–10) Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
DEN – 142 – 110 – 252 – 2 SEA – 156 – 111 – 267 – 2
Week 3: at Oakland Raiders [ edit ] Week Three: Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 3 7 0 10 Raiders 7 6 0 7 20
at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum , Oakland, California
Date : September 20Game time : 1:01 pm local Game weather : clear, 68 °F (20 °C), 58% humidity, wind SW 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)Game attendance : 45,725Referee : Pat Haggerty TV announcers (NBC ) : Phil Stone and Gene WashingtonGamebook
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 308 – 82 – 390 – 2 OAK – 242 – 190 – 432 – 3
Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs [ edit ] Week Four: Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 7 13 0 0 20 Seahawks 0 7 7 0 14
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
KC – Bill Kenney 1-yard run (Nick Lowery kick), 13:41 (KC 14–0) KC – Nick Lowery 30-yard field goal, 6:40 (KC 17–0) KC – Nick Lowery 38-yard field goal, 5:28 (KC 20–0) SEA – Sam McCullum 11-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efrén Herrera kick), 1:58 (KC 20–7) Third quarter
SEA – Sherman Smith 2-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 11:01 (KC 20–14) Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
KC – Joe Delaney : 15 car, 45 yds SEA – Jim Zorn: 4 car, 48 yds Top receivers
Team – – – –
KC – 227 – 154 – 381 – 2 SEA – 277 – 82 – 359 – 1
Week 5: at San Diego Chargers [ edit ] Week Five: Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 7 0 3 10 Chargers 0 10 7 7 24
at Jack Murphy Stadium , San Diego
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
SD – Charlie Joiner 12-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick), 4:50 (SD 17–7) Fourth quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 11-yard field goal, 10:30 (SD 17–10) SD – Charlie Joiner 11-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick), 3:56 (SD 24–10) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 200 – 92 – 292 – 1 SD – 272 – 99 – 371 – 2
Week 6: at Houston Oilers [ edit ] Week Six: Seattle Seahawks at Houston Oilers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 10 0 0 7 17 Oilers 7 7 0 21 35
at Astrodome , Houston , Texas
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
HOU – Earl Campbell 1-yard run (Toni Fritsch kick), 1:16 (HOU 14–10) Third quarter
Fourth quarter
HOU – Dave Casper 32-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Toni Fritsch kick), 14:54 (HOU 21–10) HOU – Ken Burrough 24-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Toni Fritsch kick), 11:55 (HOU 28–10) HOU – Earl Campbell 4-yard run (Toni Fritsch kick), 6:59 (HOU 35–10) SEA – Steve Largent 31-yard pass from Sam Adkins (Efrén Herrera kick), 5:18 (HOU 35–17) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 214 – 75 – 289 – 3 HOU – 156 – 216 – 372 – 1
Week 7: vs. New York Giants [ edit ] Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Giants 3 10 13 6 32 Seahawks 0 0 0 0 0
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
NYG – Joe Danelo 29-yard field goal, 9:23 (NYG 3–0) Second quarter
NYG – Gary Shirk 6-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick), 12:09 (NYG 10–0) NYG – Joe Danelo 54-yard field goal, 4:30 (NYG 13–0) Third quarter
NYG – Joe Danelo 21-yard field goal, 12:10 (NYG 16–0) NYG – Joe Danelo 47-yard field goal, 5:39 (NYG 19–0) NYG – Rob Carpenter 2-yard run (Joe Danelo kick), 3:5 (NYG 26–0) Fourth quarter
NYG – Joe Danelo 31-yard field goal, 11:15 (NYG 29–0) NYG – Joe Danelo 37-yard field goal, 0:16 (NYG 32–0) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
NYG – 88 – 213 – 301 – 1 SEA – 98 – 29 – 127 – 4
Week 8: at New York Jets [ edit ] Week Eight: Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 7 6 6 19 Jets 0 0 3 0 3
at Shea Stadium , New York
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
SEA – Steve Largent 27-yard pass from Jim Zorn (PAT failed), 12:53 (SEA 13–0) NYJ – Pat Leahy 34-yard field goal, 7:53 (SEA 13–3) Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 163 – 217 – 380 – 1 NYJ – 101 – 118 – 219 – 4
Week 9: at Green Bay Packers [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
SEA – Dan Doornink 12-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efrén Herrera kick), 11:03 (SEA 14–7) GB – David Whitehurst 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 5:19 (Tied 14–14) GB – James Lofton 8-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Jan Stenerud kick), 4:18 (GB 21–14) SEA – Dan Doornink 14-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efrén Herrera kick), 0:24 (Tied 21–21) Third quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 54-yard field goal, 5:54 (SEA 24–21) GB – James Lofton 38-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Jan Stenerud kick), 1:02 (GB 28–24) Fourth quarter
GB – Jan Stenerud 19-yard field goal, 1:58 (GB 31–24) GB – Jan Stenerud 36-yard field goal, 0:45 (GB 34–24) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 102 – 119 – 221 – 3 GB – 195 – 182 – 337 – 3
Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers [ edit ] Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 14 0 0 21 Seahawks 3 7 0 14 24
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
SEA – Theotis Brown 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 13:13 (PIT 21–17) SEA – Theotis Brown 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 9:04 (SEA 24–21) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
PIT – 205 – 162 – 367 – 2 SEA – 260 – 96 – 356 – 1
Week 11: vs. San Diego Chargers [ edit ] Week Eleven: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 7 10 0 6 23 Seahawks 0 24 14 6 44
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 25-yard field goal, 12:43 (SD 7–3) SEA – Theotis Brown 2-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 11:27 (SEA 10–7) SEA – Sherman Smith 18-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efrén Herrera kick), 5:56 (SEA 17–7) SD – Chuck Muncie 73-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick), 4:26 (SEA 17–14) SEA – Theotis Brown 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 0:57 (SEA 24–14) SD – Rolf Benirschke 32-yard field goal, 0:03 (SEA 24–17) Third quarter
SEA – Dan Doornink 80-yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efrén Herrera kick), 5:46 (SEA 31–17) SEA – Dan Doornink 3-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 0:12 (SEA 38–17) Fourth quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 30-yard field goal, 13:05 (SEA 41–17) SD – Charlie Joiner 19-yard pass from Dan Fouts (PAT failed), 11:39 (SEA 41–23) SEA – Efrén Herrera 23-yard field goal, 6:11 (SEA 44–23) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SD – 291 – 195 – 486 – 4 SEA – 212 – 156 – 368 – 0
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs [ edit ] Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 3 3 7 0 13 Chiefs 3 17 7 13 40
at Arrowhead Stadium , Kansas City, Missouri
Date : November 22Game time : 1:01 pm local Game weather : clear, 53 °F (12 °C), 40% humidity, wind SE 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)Game attendance : 49,002Referee : Fred Silva TV : NBC Gamebook
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
KC – Nick Lowery 24-yard field goal, 11:16 (KC 6–3) SEA – Efrén Herrera 30-yard field goal, 2:51 (Tied 6–6) KC – J.T. Smith 14-yard pass from Bill Kenney (Nick Lowery kick), 1:07 (KC 13–6) KC – Lloyd Burruss 46-yard interception return (Nick Lowery kick), 0:31 (KC 20–6) Third quarter
Fourth quarter
KC – Willie Scott 2-yard pass from Bill Kenney (Nick Lowery kick), 14:57 (KC 33–13) KC – Billy Jackson 2-yard run (Nick Lowery kick), 9:36 (KC 40–13) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 256 – 83 – 339 – 2 KC – 181 – 269 – 450 – 0
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders [ edit ] Week Thirteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 3 8 21 32 Seahawks 0 10 14 7 31
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
SEA – Efrén Herrera 22-yard field goal, 12:38 (SEA 3–0) OAK – Chris Bahr 20-yard field goal, 8:26 (Tied 3–3) SEA – Jim Zorn 3-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick), 5:44 (SEA 10–3) Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
OAK – 156 – 181 – 337 – 4 SEA – 314 – 69 – 383 – 1
Week 14: vs. New York Jets [ edit ] Week Fourteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 9 7 7 23 Seahawks 6 7 7 7 27
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
NYJ – Scott Dierking 15-yard run (Pat Leahy kick), 13:19 (NYJ 16–13) SEA – Dave Krieg 1-yard run (Wilson Álvarez kick), 1:04 (SEA 20–16) Fourth quarter
NYJ – Kevin Long 1-yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick), 9:21 (NYJ 23–20) SEA – Steve Largent 57-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Wilson Álvarez kick), 8:21 (SEA 27–23) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
NYJ – 276 – 119 – 395 – 3 SEA – 256 – 127 – 383 – 4
Week 15: at Denver Broncos [ edit ] Week Fifteen: Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 3 3 7 13 Broncos 7 3 6 7 23
at Mile High Stadium , Denver , Colorado
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
SEA – Wilson Álvarez 28-yard field goal, 8:06 (DEN 7–3) DEN – Fred Steinfort 33-yard field goal, 0:00 (DEN 10–3) Third quarter
DEN – Fred Steinfort 43-yard field goal, 11:28 (DEN 13–3) DEN – Fred Steinfort 24-yard field goal, 8:13 (DEN 16–3) SEA – Wilson Álvarez 20-yard field goal, 1:58 (DEN 16–6) Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
SEA – 199 – 86 – 285 – 5 DEN – 136 – 237 – 373 – 3
Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns [ edit ] Week Sixteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 0 7 7 7 21 Seahawks 14 14 14 0 42
at Kingdome , Seattle
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
SEA – Paul Johns 10-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Wilson Álvarez kick), 8:26 (SEA 35–7) SEA – Steve Largent 14-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Wilson Álvarez kick), 7:25 (SEA 42–7) CLE – Dave Logan 16-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Matt Bahr kick), 5:36 (SEA 42–14) Fourth quarter
CLE – Calvin Hill 8-yard pass from Paul McDonald (Matt Bahr kick), 10:02 (SEA 42–21) Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – – – –
CLE – 301 – 151 – 452 – 10 SEA – 182 – 110 – 292 – 5
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (11) Conference championships (3) League championships (1) Retired numbers Affiliations