1981 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1981 12–4 1st NFC East Tom Landry Ernie Stautner Tex Schramm Clint Murchison, Jr. Texas Stadium Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Buccaneers) 38–0Lost NFC Championship(at 49ers) 27–28 Cowboys seasons The 1981 Dallas Cowboys season was their 22nd in the league. The team matched their previous output of 12–4, winning their fifth division title in six years.1981 Dallas Cowboys They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season. The season began with four straight victories, followed by two losses (including a surprising 45–14 blowout loss to the 49ers in week six). The Cowboys rebounded to win 8 of their last 9 games to clinch the NFC East but had to settle for the conference's number two seed behind the 49ers. The Cowboys easily defeated Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff to earn a rematch with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The game was much closer this time, and the Cowboys still held a 27–21 lead with less than a minute to play. However, Joe Montana led a late drive and hit Dwight Clark in the famous "Catch" to give San Francisco a 28–27 lead. On the ensuing Cowboys possession, Danny White completed a pass to Drew Pearson, and was only an arm's length away from breaking free from Eric Wright and most likely scoring a touchdown. Jim Stuckey recovered a White fumble on the next play, then the 49ers ran out the clock for the win. Offseason NFL draft 1981 NFL draft 1981 Dallas Cowboys 1 26 Howard Richards OT Missouri no yes 2 53 Doug Donley WR Ohio State no yes 3 81 Glen Titensor OG BYU no yes 4 91 Scott Pelluer LB Washington State from San Francisco no yes 4 108 Derrie Nelson LB Nebraska no no 5 137 Danny Spradlin LB Tennessee no yes 6 163 Vince Skillings DB Ohio State no no 7 173 Ron Fellows CB Missouri no yes 7 191 Ken Miller DB Eastern Michigan no no 8 218 Paul Piurowski LB Florida State no no 9 246 Mike Wilson WR Washington State no no 10 273 Pat Graham DT California no no 11 302 Tim Morrison OG Georgia no no 12 329 Nate Lundy WR Indiana no no Undrafted free agents + 1981 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMichael DownsSafetyRiceAngelo KingLinebackerSouth Carolina StateEverson WallsCornerbackGrambling StateSteve WrightTackleNorthern Iowa Roster Dallas Cowboys 1981 roster Quarterbacks 18 Glenn Carano 14 Gary Hogeboom 11 Danny White P Running backs 33 Tony Dorsett 23 James Jones 44 Robert Newhouse 30 Timmy Newsome 20 Ron Springs Wide receivers 83 Doug Donley 80 Tony Hill 86 Butch Johnson 88 Drew Pearson Tight ends 84 Doug Cosbie 89 Billy Joe DuPree 87 Jay Saldi Offensive linemen 61 Jim Cooper T 67 Pat Donovan T 71 Andy Frederick T 65 Kurt Petersen G 64 Tom Rafferty C/G 70 Howard Richards G/T 68 Herbert Scott G 63 Glen Titensor G/C 73 Steve Wright T Defensive linemen 76 Larry Bethea DT 78 John Dutton DT 72 Ed Jones DE 79 Harvey Martin DE 77 Bruce Thornton DE 54 Randy White DTLinebackers 53 Bob Breunig MLB 59 Guy Brown OLB 51 Anthony Dickerson OLB 58 Mike Hegman OLB 57 Angelo King OLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 55 Danny Spradlin MLB Defensive backs 31 Benny Barnes FS 26 Michael Downs FS 27 Ron Fellows CB 32 Dennis Thurman CB 24 Everson Walls CB 41 Charlie Waters SS 45 Steve Wilson CB Special teams  1 Rafael Septién KReserve lists 47 Dextor Clinkscale S (IR) 10px 62 John Fitzgerald C (IR) 10px 42 Randy Hughes S (IR) 10px 56 Bill Roe LB (IR) 10px 52 Robert Shaw C (IR) 10px 60 Don Smerek DE (IR) 10px 75 Ron Spears DE (IR) 10px 66 Norm Wells G (IR) 10px Rookies in italics 45 active, 8 inactive Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 6 at Washington Redskins W 26–10 1–0 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap 2 September 13 St. Louis Cardinals W 30–17 2–0 Texas Stadium 63,602 Recap 3 September 21, 1981 at New England Patriots W 35–21 3–0 Schaefer Stadium 60,311 Recap 4 September 27 New York Giants W 18–10 4–0 Texas Stadium 63,449 Recap 5 October 4 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–20 4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,477 Recap 6 October 11 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–45 4–2 Candlestick Park 57,574 Recap 7 October 18 Los Angeles Rams W 29–17 5–2 Texas Stadium 64,649 Recap 8 October 25 Miami Dolphins W 28–27 6–2 Texas Stadium 64,221 Recap 9 November 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 7–2 Veterans Stadium 72,111 Recap 10 November 9, 1981 Buffalo Bills W 27–14 8–2 Texas Stadium 62,583 Recap 11 November 15 at Detroit Lions L 24–27 8–3 Pontiac Silverdome 79,694 Recap 12 November 22 Washington Redskins W 24–10 9–3 Texas Stadium 64,587 Recap 13 November 26 Chicago Bears W 10–9 10–3 Texas Stadium 63,499 Recap 14 December 6 at Baltimore Colts W 37–13 11–3 Memorial Stadium 54,871 Recap 15 December 13 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–10 12–3 Texas Stadium 64,955 Recap 16 December 19, 1981 at New York Giants L 10–13 (OT) 12–4 Giants Stadium 73,009 Recap Division opponents are in bold text Game notes Week 1 Cowboys 0 14 6 6 Redskins 0 7 3 0 Sunday Sept 6, 1981 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 55,045 75 F, wind 8 mph on Gene Barth Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 2 Cardinals 7 7 0 3 Cowboys 14 13 3 0 Sunday Sep 13, 1981 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 63,602 82 F, wind 9 mph on Pat Haggerty Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach CBS Week 3 Cowboys 7 10 7 11 Patriots 7 7 7 0 Monday Sept 21, 1981 Schaefer Stadium 9:00 p.m. EST 60,311 62 F, wind 13 mph on Jerry Markbreit Frank Gifford, Don Meredith & Howard Cosell ABC Week 4 Giants 0 3 0 7 Cowboys 7 3 0 8 Sunday Sep 27, 1981 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 63,449 82 F, wind 10 mph on Pat Summerall & Hank Stram CBS Week 5 Cowboys 7 3 7 0 Cardinals 10 0 7 3 Sunday Oct 4,1981 Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 49,477 Clear; 64 F, wind 12 mph on Chuck Heberling Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 6 Cowboys 0 7 0 7 49ers 21 3 14 7 Sunday Oct 11, 1981 Candlestick Park 4:00 p.m. EST 57,574 Sunny; 58 F, wind 18 mph on Jim Tunney Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 7 Rams 0 10 7 0 Cowboys 12 14 0 3 Sunday Oct 18, 1981 Texas Stadium 9:00 p.m. EST 64,649 64 F, humidity 55% Gene Barth Frank Gifford, Fran Tarkenton, and Don Meredith ABC Week 8 Dolphins 0 6 7 14 Cowboys 7 7 0 14 Sunday Oct 25, 1981 Texas Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 64,221 54 F, humidity 74% Fred Wyant Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC Week 9 Cowboys 0 3 0 14 Eagles 0 7 7 0 Sunday Nov 1, 1981 Veterans Stadium 4:00 p.m. EST 72,111 53 F, wind 6 mph on Jerry Seeman Pat Summerall & John Madden CBS Week 10 Bills 7 7 0 0 Cowboys 7 0 20 0 November 9 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 9:00 p.m. EST 62,583 50 F C • 20 mph km/h knot Dick Jorgensen Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell ABC yes 1 BUF Jerry Butler 16 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) BUF 7–0 1 DAL Doug Cosbie 12 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Tied 7–7 2 BUF Curtis Brown 9 yard pass from Joe Cribbs (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) BUF 14–7 3 DAL Tony Dorsett 73 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Tied 14–14 3 DAL Tony Hill 37 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 21–14 3 DAL Rafael Septién 47 yard field goal DAL 24–14 3 DAL Rafael Septién 31 yard field goal DAL 27–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 11 Cowboys 7 10 0 7 Lions 0 7 10 10 Sunday Nov 15, 1981 Pontiac Silverdome 4:00 p.m. EST 79,694 Dome Fred Silva Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 12 Redskins 0 7 3 0 Cowboys 7 3 7 7 Sunday, November 22, 1981 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 3:00 p.m. 64,587 51 F; wind 7 mph on Dick Jorgensen Tom Brookshier and Roger Staubach CBS yes 1 DAL Butch Johnson 28 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 7–0 2 DAL Rafael Septién 25 yard field goal DAL 10–0 2 WSH Nick Giaquinto 7 yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick) DAL 10–7 3 WSH Mark Moseley 26 yard field goal Tie 10–10 3 DAL Doug Cosbie 10 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 17–10 4 DAL Ron Springs 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 24–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 13 Bears 0 3 0 6 Cowboys 3 0 0 7 Thursday Nov, 26 1981 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 4:00 p.m. 63,499 68 F; humidity 62% Chuck Heberling Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 14 Cowboys 17 10 0 10 Colts 6 0 7 0 Sunday Dec 6, 1981 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland 2:00 p.m. EST 54,871 39 F, wind 20 mph on, wind chill 29 F Ben Dreith Jim Kelly & John Dockery CBS Week 15 Eagles 3 7 0 0 Cowboys 0 7 7 7 Sunday Dec 13, 1981 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 4:00 p.m. EST 64,955 44 F, humidity 83%, wind 9 mph on Jerry Markbreit Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS Week 16 Cowboys 0 0 0 10 0 Giants 0 0 7 3 3 Saturday Dec 19,1981 Giants Stadium 12:30 p.m. EST 73,009 Overcast; 27 F, wind chill 13 F, wind 20 mph onmph Pat Haggerty Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS yes 3 NYG Tom Mullady 20 yard pass from Scott Brunner (Joe Danelo kick) Giants 7–0 4 DAL Doug Cosbie 3 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) Tie 7–7 4 DAL Rafael Septién 36 yard field goal Cowboys 10–7 4 NYG Joe Danelo 40 yard field goal Tie 10–10 OT NYG Joe Danelo 35 yard field goal Giants 13–10 yes Playoffs 1981–82 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap Wild Card First Round Bye Divisional January 2, 1982 F j, Y Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) W 38–0 Texas Stadium 64,848 Recap NFC Championship January 10, 1982 at San Francisco 49ers (1) L 27–28 Candlestick Park 60,525 Recap Divisional Round Bucs 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 10 21 7 Jan 2,1982 Texas Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 64,848 Sunny; 57 F Jerry Markbreit Conference Championship Cowboys 10 7 0 10 49ers 7 7 7 7 Jan 10,1982 Candlestick Park 4:30 p.m. EST 60,525 Sunny; 43 F, wind 5 mph on Jim Tunney Vin Scully (play-by-play), Hank Stram (color commentator), Irv Cross (sideline reporter) CBS Standings References Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Category:NFC East championship seasons Dallas Cowboys Dallas