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Contents

   



(Top)
  


1 NFL Draft  




2 Personnel  


2.1  Staff  




2.2  Roster  






3 Regular season  


3.1  Schedule  




3.2  Game summaries  


3.2.1  Week 1 (Sunday, September 6, 1981): vs. Oakland Raiders  




3.2.2  Week 2 (Sunday, September 13, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks  




3.2.3  Week 3 (Sunday, September 20, 1981): vs. Baltimore Colts  




3.2.4  Week 4 (Sunday, September 27, 1981): vs. San Diego Chargers  




3.2.5  Week 5 (Sunday, October 4, 1981): at Oakland Raiders  




3.2.6  Week 6 (Sunday, October 11, 1981): vs. Detroit Lions  




3.2.7  Week 7 (Sunday, October 18, 1981): at Kansas City Chiefs  




3.2.8  Week 8 (Sunday, October 25, 1981): at Buffalo Bills  




3.2.9  Week 9 (Monday, November 2, 1981): vs. Minnesota Vikings  




3.2.10  Week 10 (Sunday, November 8, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns  




3.2.11  Week 11 (Sunday, November 15, 1981): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers  




3.2.12  Week 12 (Sunday, November 22, 1981): at Cincinnati Bengals  




3.2.13  Week 13 (Sunday, November 29, 1981): at San Diego Chargers  




3.2.14  Week 14 (Sunday, December 6, 1981): vs. Kansas City Chiefs  




3.2.15  Week 15 (Sunday, December 13, 1981): vs. Seattle Seahawks  




3.2.16  Week 16 (Sunday, December 20, 1981); at Chicago Bears  






3.3  Standings  






4 References  




5 External links  













1981 Denver Broncos season






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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

1981 Denver Broncos season
OwnerEdgar Kaiser
General managerGrady Alderman
Head coachDan Reeves
Home fieldMile High Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
  • Broncos seasons
  • 1982 →

    • The 1981 Denver Broncos season was the team's 22nd year in professional football and its 12th with the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Dan Reeves,[1] the Broncos were 10–6, tied for first in the AFC West, but failed to make the postseason again due to their loss to the Buffalo Bills, who gained the final berth.

    The Broncos were undefeated at home in 1981,[2] but had six road losses. After a promising 8–3 start, Denver lost three of their final five games, including a critical loss against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 12. Entering the season finale against the Chicago Bears, they had a one-game lead over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West,[2] but the loss at Soldier Field ended their season, losing the tiebreakers for the division and wild card berths.[3][4]

    Prior to this season, ownership changed in February; coaching and front office changes were made in March.[1][5][6][7]

    NFL Draft[edit]

    Main article: 1981 NFL Draft
    1981 Denver Broncos draft
    Round Pick Player Position College Notes
    1 15 Dennis Smith *  S USC
    2 42 Clay Brown  TE BYU
    4 106 Mark Herrmann  QB Purdue
    5 125 Ken Lanier  T Florida State
    6 151 Alvin Lewis  RB Colorado State
    7 181 Steve Busick  LB USC
    9 234 Rusty Olsen  DE Washington
    11 290 Pat Walker  WR Miami (FL)
    12 317 John Hankerd  LB Notre Dame
    12 321 Mandel Robinson  RB Wyoming
          Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

    Personnel[edit]

    Staff[edit]

    1981 Denver Broncos staff

    Front office

    Head coaches

    Offensive coaches

    		Defensive coaches

    Special teams coaches


    Source:[8]

    Roster[edit]

    1981 Denver Broncos roster
    Quarterbacks

    Running backs

    Wide receivers

    Tight ends

    		Offensive linemen

    Defensive linemen

    		Linebackers

    Defensive backs

    Special teams

    		Reserve lists


    Practice squad



    Rookies in italics

    Source:

    Regular season[edit]

    Main article: 1981 NFL season

    Schedule[edit]

    Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
    1 September 6 Oakland Raiders W 9–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 74,796
    2 September 13 atSeattle Seahawks L 10–13 1–1 Kingdome 58,513
    3 September 20 Baltimore Colts W 28–10 2–1 Mile High Stadium 74,804
    4 September 27 San Diego Chargers W 42–24 3–1 Mile High Stadium 74,822
    5 October 4 atOakland Raiders W 17–0 4–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,035
    6 October 11 Detroit Lions W 27–21 5–1 Mile High Stadium 74,816
    7 October 18 atKansas City Chiefs L 14–28 5–2 Arrowhead Stadium 74,672
    8 October 25 atBuffalo Bills L 7–9 5–3 Rich Stadium 77,757
    9 November 2 Minnesota Vikings W 19–17 6–3 Mile High Stadium 74,834
    10 November 8 Cleveland Browns W 23–20 OT 7–3 Mile High Stadium 74,859
    11 November 15 atTampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–7 8–3 Tampa Stadium 64,518
    12 November 22 atCincinnati Bengals L 21–38 8–4 Riverfront Stadium 57,207
    13 November 29 atSan Diego Chargers L 17–34 8–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,533
    14 December 6 Kansas City Chiefs W 16–13 9–5 Mile High Stadium 74,744
    15 December 13 Seattle Seahawks W 23–13 10–5 Mile High Stadium 74,527
    16 December 20 atChicago Bears L 24–35 10–6 Soldier Field 40,125
    Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

    [9]

    Game summaries[edit]

    Week 1 (Sunday, September 6, 1981): vs. Oakland Raiders[edit]

    Week 2 (Sunday, September 13, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks[edit]

    Week 3 (Sunday, September 20, 1981): vs. Baltimore Colts[edit]

    Week 4 (Sunday, September 27, 1981): vs. San Diego Chargers[edit]

    Week 5 (Sunday, October 4, 1981): at Oakland Raiders[edit]

    Week 6 (Sunday, October 11, 1981): vs. Detroit Lions[edit]

    Week 7 (Sunday, October 18, 1981): at Kansas City Chiefs[edit]

    Week 8 (Sunday, October 25, 1981): at Buffalo Bills[edit]

    Week 9 (Monday, November 2, 1981): vs. Minnesota Vikings[edit]

    Week 10 (Sunday, November 8, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns[edit]

    Week 11 (Sunday, November 15, 1981): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers[edit]

    Week 12 (Sunday, November 22, 1981): at Cincinnati Bengals[edit]

    Week 13 (Sunday, November 29, 1981): at San Diego Chargers[edit]

    Week 14 (Sunday, December 6, 1981): vs. Kansas City Chiefs[edit]

    Week 15 (Sunday, December 13, 1981): vs. Seattle Seahawks[edit]

    Week 16 (Sunday, December 20, 1981); at Chicago Bears[edit]

    Standings[edit]

    AFC West
  • talk
  • edit
    		•  W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
    San Diego Chargers(3) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 478 390 W2
    Denver Broncos 10 6 0 .625 5–3 7–5 321 289 L1
    Kansas City Chiefs 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 343 290 W1
    Oakland Raiders 7 9 0 .438 2–6 5–7 273 343 L2
    Seattle Seahawks 6 10 0 .375 2–6 6–8 322 388 W1

    References[edit]

    1. ^ a b Zimmerman, Paul (October 19, 1981). "Denver is standing mile-high once again". Sports Illustrated. p. 48.
  • ^ a b Mossman, John (December 14, 1981). "Broncos snow Seahawks, 23-13". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 17.
  • ^ "Bears, 35-24". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 21, 1981. p. 3C.
  • ^ "Bears bust Broncos, damage Denver's hopes". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 21, 1981. p. C2.
  • ^ "Red is out, Reeves in at Denver". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 10, 1981. p. 19.
  • ^ Reid, Ron (March 10, 1981). "Miller out, Reeves in as Broncos coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13.
  • ^ "Reeves hired as new Bronco coach". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). Associated Press. March 11, 1981. p. G2.
  • ^ 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide. p. 365. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  • ^ "Viking comeback falls just short". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 3, 1981. p. 18.

    • External links[edit]

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