1981 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Washington Redskins 1981 8–8 4th NFC East Joe Gibbs Bobby Beathard Jack Kent Cooke Edward Bennett Williams Joe Bugel Richie Petitbon RFK Stadium Did not qualify Redskins seasons The 1981 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 44th in Washington, D.C. The team improved on their 6–10 record from 1980, finishing 8–8, but would miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. This was Joe Gibbs' first season as head coach. The team slumped early, losing its first 5 games before defeating the Chicago Bears 24–7 at Soldier Field; they would then lose to the Miami Dolphins to sit at 1–6. Washington would do better in the second half, winning their next 4 games to reach 5–6 and looking like they were going to make the playoffs. However, losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills eliminated them from postseason contention. The team would win its final 3 games to end the season at 8–8, including a close victory at RFK Stadium against the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Offseason NFL draft 1981 NFL draft 1981 Washington Redskins 1 20 Mark May Guard Pittsburgh yes yes 3 69 Russ Grimm Guard Pittsburgh yes yes yes 4 90 Tom Flick Quarterback Washington yes 5 119 Dexter Manley Defensive end Oklahoma State yes yes 5 132 Gary Sayre Guard Cameron 6 148 Larry Kubin Linebacker Penn State yes 8 201 Charlie Brown Wide receiver South Carolina State yes yes 9 231 Darryl Grant Guard Rice yes 10 257 Phil Kessel Quarterback Northern Michigan 10 267 Allan Kennedy Offensive tackle Washington State 11 284 Jerry Hill Wide receiver North Alabama 12 314 Clint Didier Tight end Portland State yes https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/1981_draft.htm 1981 Washington Redskins draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 16, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1981 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJoe JacobyTackleLouisvilleMel KaufmanLinebackerCal PolyLeCharls McDanielCornerbackCal PolyJay MegnaDefensive backEast Tennessee State Personnel Staff 1981 Washington Redskins Chairman of the Board/Chief Executive Officer – Jack Kent Cooke President – Edward Bennett Williams General manager – Bobby Beathard Assistant general manager – Bobby Mitchell Assistant general manager – Joel Margolis Assistant general manager – Dick Meyers Director of player personnel – Mike Allman Director of Pro Scouting – Kirk Mee Director of College Scouting – Dick Daniels Personnel Scouts – Charley Casserly, Charley Taylor Head coach – Joe Gibbs Assistant head coach – Dan Henning Offensive Coordinator – Joe Bugel Offensive Backfield – Don Breaux Tight Ends/Offensive Scouting Reports – Rennie Simmons Defensive Coordinator – Richie Petitbon Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Linebackers – Larry Peccatiello Admin. Asst./Defensive Scouting Reports – Bill Hickman Special Teams – Wayne Sevier Washington Redskins 1981 Press Guide 2–21 https://archive.org/details/redskins-1981-media-guide-washington-c/page/n3/mode/2up 1981 Washington Redskins Media Guide Washington Redskins Archive.org (2) Roster 1981 Washington Redskins 12 Tom Flick y  7 Joe Theismann 35 Rickey Claitt 30 Nick Giaquinto 26 Terry Metcalf 44 John Riggins 25 Joe Washington 81 Art Monk 80 Virgil Seay 83 Ricky Thompson 86 Bob Raba 88 Rick Walker 85 Don Warren 53 Jeff Bostic C 79 Mike Daum no T 77 Darryl Grant y G/T 68 Russ Grimm y G 66 Joe Jacoby y T 61 Melvin Jones American football G 73 Mark May y T 64 Ron Saul G 74 George Starke T 69 Perry Brooks DT 65 Dave Butz DT 99 Calvin Clark no y DE 78 Dallas Hickman DE 71 Karl Lorch DE 72 Dexter Manley y DE 76 Mat Mendenhall DE 79 Pat Ogrin DT 51 Monte Coleman OLB 54 Peter Cronan MLB 59 Brad Dusek OLB 56 Quentin Lowry OLB 57 Rich Milot OLB 22 Curtis Jordan SS 20 Joe Lavender CB 46 LeCharls McDaniel y CB 29 Mark Murphy American football executive FS 21 Mike Nelms FS 24 Lemar Parrish CB 23 Tony Peters SS 45 Jeris White CB 10 Mike Connell American football P  3 Mark Moseley K 87 Charlie Brown wide receiver, born 1958 y WR IR 82 Rich Caster TE IR 75 Mike Clark defensive end y DE IR 28 Cris Crissy y CB IR 63 Fred Dean offensive lineman G IR 86 Clint Didier y TE IR 89 Alvin Garrett WR IR 38 Clarence Harmon American football RB IR 40 Wilbur Jackson RB IR 55 Mel Kaufman y OLB IR 11 Phil Kessel American football y QB IR 50 Larry Kubin y LB IR -- Bob Kuziel C IR 84 Greg McCrary TE IR 52 Neal Olkewicz LB IR -- Dan Peiffer C IR -- Gary Sayre y no G Left Squad 76 Jerry Scanlan T IR 47 Ray Waddy CB PUP 58 Charlie Weaver LB IR 39 Otis Wonsley RB IR https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/was/1981_roster.htm 1981 Washington Redskins starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com December 16, 2014 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 6 Dallas Cowboys L 10–26 0–1 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap 2 September 13 New York Giants L 7–17 0–2 RFK Stadium 53,343 Recap 3 September 20 at St. Louis Cardinals L 30–40 0–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,592 Recap 4 September 27 at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–36 0–4 Veterans Stadium 70,664 Recap 5 October 4 San Francisco 49ers L 17–30 0–5 RFK Stadium 51,843 Recap 6 October 11 at Chicago Bears W 24–7 1–5 Soldier Field 57,683 Recap 7 October 18 at Miami Dolphins L 10–13 1–6 Miami Orange Bowl 47,367 Recap 8 October 25 New England Patriots W 24–22 2–6 RFK Stadium 50,394 Recap 9 November 1 St. Louis Cardinals W 42–21 3–6 RFK Stadium 50,643 Recap 10 November 8 Detroit Lions W 33–31 4–6 RFK Stadium 52,096 Recap 11 November 15 at New York Giants W 30–27 (OT) 5–6 Giants Stadium 63,133 Recap 12 November 22 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–24 5–7 Texas Stadium 64,587 Recap 13 November 29 at Buffalo Bills L 14–21 5–8 Rich Stadium 59,624 Recap 14 December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 15–13 6–8 RFK Stadium 52,206 Recap 15 December 13 Baltimore Colts W 38–14 7–8 RFK Stadium 46,706 Recap 16 December 20 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–7 8–8 Anaheim Stadium 52,224 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References External links 1981 Washington Redskins at Pro-Football-Reference.com Washington Category:Washington Redskins seasons Wash