The 1981 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 32nd season with the National Football League. In a highly disappointing season filled with a number of key injuries at different stretches during the campaign, the Browns finished the year with five straight losses for their longest losing streak since 1975 in a skid that saw them lose seven of their final eight games.
Season summary The Browns had a similar kind of season in 1981—eight of the games were decided by six points or less, and five were decided by three points or less. Sipe threw more interceptions (25) than TDs (17), his completion rate fell to just over 55 percent and his quarterback rating plummeted to 68.2. FB Mike Pruitt rushed for more than 1,000 yards (1,103) for the third straight year in 1981, and caught 63 passes for the second season in a row. Tight end Ozzie Newsome set a team record (since broken) for receptions with 69 and had the second-most receiving yards in Browns history at the time with 1,002.
HB Greg Pruitt established a personal best with 65 catches.
Ironically, through the 1981 Browns are the only team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have beaten both eventual Super Bowl participants, the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers and the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals, while finishing with a losing record.
Offseason
NFL draft The following were selected in the 1981 NFL draft. Round Overall Player Position School/Club team122Hanford DixonDefensive back Southern Miss492Mike RobinsonDefensive end Arizona5134Steve CoxPunter Arkansas6160Ron SimmonsDefensive tackle Florida State7187Eddie JohnsonLinebacker Louisville9244Randy SchleusenerGuard Nebraska10271Dean PraterDefensive end Oklahoma State11298Larry FridayDefensive back Mississippi State12325Kevin McGillOffensive tackle Oregon
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 San Diego Chargers L 14–44 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,904 Recap 2 September 13 Houston Oilers L 3–9 0–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,483 Recap 3 September 20 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–17 1–2 Riverfront Stadium 52,170 Recap 4 September 27 Atlanta Falcons W 28–17 2–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,283 Recap 5 October 4 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–27 2–3 Anaheim Stadium 63,924 Recap 6 October 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–13 2–4 Three Rivers Stadium 53,255 Recap 7 October 18 New Orleans Saints W 20–17 3–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,059 Recap 8 October 25 Baltimore Colts W 42–28 4–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,986 Recap 9 November 1 at Buffalo Bills L 13–22 4–5 Rich Stadium 78,266 Recap 10 November 8 at Denver Broncos L 20–23 (OT) 4–6 Mile High Stadium 74,859 Recap 11 November 15 at San Francisco 49ers W 15–12 5–6 Candlestick Park 52,455 Recap 12 November 22 Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–32 5–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,958 Recap 13 November 29 Cincinnati Bengals L 21–41 5–8 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,186 Recap 14 at Houston Oilers L 13–17 5–9 Houston Astrodome 44,502 Recap 15 New York Jets L 13–14 5–10 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 56,866 Recap 16 December 20 at Seattle Seahawks L 21–42 5–11 Kingdome 51,435 RecapNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings
Game summaries
Week 4: vs. Atlanta
References
External links 1981 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1981 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1981 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com