1981 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Cleveland Browns 1981 Sam Rutigliano Art Modell Cleveland Municipal Stadium 5–11 4th AFC Central Did not qualify TE Ozzie Newsome Browns seasons 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.http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/year-by-year-results/1981.html Season summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com 2012-03-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20111025155205/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/year-by-year-results/1981.html 2011-10-25 dead Ironically, through 2024 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 Oregon1981 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1981.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20090414152331/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1981.htm 2009-04-14 live 2009-07-24 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1981 Cleveland Browns President and Owner – Art Modell Assistant to the President – Peter Hadhazy Head Coach – Sam Rutigliano Quarterbacks – Paul Hackett Running Backs – Jim Garrett Receivers – Rich Kotite Offensive Line – Rod Humenuik Defensive Coordinator – Marty Schottenheimer Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Dave Adolph Defensive Backs - Len Fontes Special Teams – John Petercuskie Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Director of Pro Personnel - Allan Webb Film Coordinator - Ed Ulinski Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy Roster 1981 Cleveland Browns 1 16 Paul McDonald American football 17 Brian Sipe 12 Rick Trocano y 24 Gary Davis American football 26 Dino Hall 35 Calvin Hill 30 Cleo Miller 34 Greg Pruitt 43 Mike Pruitt 25 Charles White American football 83 Ricky Feacher 86 Danny Fulton 85 Dave Logan American football 33 Reggie Rucker 82 Ozzie Newsome 84 McDonald Oden y 75 Ray Bloch no y T 64 Joe DeLamielleure G 73 Doug Dieken T 68 Robert Jackson G 71 Matt Miller offensive lineman T 63 Cody Risien T 65 Henry Sheppard G 79 Gerry Sullivan C 77 Lyle Alzado DE 91 Henry Bradley American football NT 97 Thomas Brown defensive end DE 94 Elvis Franks DE 92 Mike Robinson defensive end DE y 72 Jerry Sherk NT 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 50 Don Goode OLB 58 Bruce Huther ILB 56 Robert Jackson ILB 51 Eddie Johnson linebacker ILB y 57 Clay Matthews OLB 24 Autry Beamon FS 28 Ron Bolton American football CB 27 Thom Darden FS 29 Hanford Dixon CB y 20 Judson Flint CB 48 Lawrence Johnson American football CB 22 Clarence Scott SS  9 Matt Bahr K 15 Steve Cox American football P y 80 Willis Adams WR IR 49 Clinton Burrell S IR 53 Bill Cowher LB IR 54 Tom DeLeone C IR 41 Larry Friday y S IR 90 Marshall Harris DE IR 70 Kevin McGill no y T IR 69 Joel Patten T IR 55 Curtis Weathers LB IR https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1981_roster.htm 1981 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 7, 1981 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 December 3, 1981 at Houston Oilers L 13–17 5–9 Houston Astrodome 44,502 Recap 15 December 12, 1981 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 Cleveland Browns 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary September 27 1:00 p.m. EDT Falcons 3 7 0 7 Browns 0 21 7 0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio 78,283 70 F, relative humidity 56%, round (wind) 17 mph on Jerry Markbreit CBS Vin Scully (play–by–play) and John Madden (color commentator) First quarter ATL – Luckhurst 35 yard field goal Falcons 3, Browns 0 Second quarter ATL – Jenkins 18 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) Falcons 10, Browns 0 CLE – Pruitt 13 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick) Browns 14, Falcons 10 CLE – Newsome 23 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick) Browns 21, Falcons 10 CLE – Sipe 1 yard rush (Jacobs kick) Browns 21, Falcons 10 Third quarter CLE – Pruitt 1 yard rush (Jacobs kick) Browns 28, Falcons 10 Fourth quarter ATL – Jenkins 5 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) Browns 28, Falcons 17 Top passers ATL – Steve Bartkowski 12/30, 176 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT CLE – Brian Sipe 21/34, 215 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers ATL – William Andrews 16 carr, 97 yds CLE – Mike Pruitt, 20 carr, 99 yds, 1 TD Top receivers ATL – Alfred Jenkins 6 rec, 136 yds, 2 TD CLE – Ozzie Newsome 6 rec, 78 yds, 1 TD Turnovers ATL – 4 CLE – 5 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 1981 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland Category:Long stubs with short prose