1981 San Diego Chargers season

1981 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Don Coryell (4th season)
General manager	Johnny Sanders (Since 1976)
Owner	Gene Klein (Since 1966)
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) (41–38 OT) Lost AFC Championship (Bengals) (7–27)
Pro Bowlers	5^[1] QB Dan Fouts RB Chuck Muncie TE Kellen Winslow G Doug Wilkerson DT Gary Johnson
AP All-Pros	6^[2] QB Dan Fouts RB Chuck Muncie TE Kellen Winslow G Doug Wilkerson DT Gary Johnson DT Louie Kelcher

The 1981 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 1980. In the playoffs they beat the Dolphins in a game known as the Epic in Miami and lost to the Bengals in a game known as the Freezer Bowl.

1981 was the second straight season in which the Chargers reached the AFC Championship Game,^[3] as well as their second consecutive loss.

Running back Chuck Muncie enjoyed his best season, running for 1,144 yards and 19 touchdowns, tying the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns.^[4]^[5]

During this season, the Chargers lost two key players by way of trade. Before Week 3, wide receiver John Jefferson was dealt to the Green Bay Packers, while defensive end Fred Dean would be dealt to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers by Week 5. The season was chronicled on September 18, 2008 for America's Game: The Missing Rings, as one of the five greatest NFL teams to never win the Super Bowl.

1981 NFL Draft

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1981 San Diego Chargers draft
1	24	James Brooks *	Running back	Auburn
3	77	Irvin Phillips	Cornerback	Arkansas Tech University
4	107	Eric Sievers	Tight end	University of Maryland
5	131	Keith Ferguson	Linebacker	Ohio State
6	141	Andrew Gissinger	Tackle	Syracuse
6	162	Bobby Duckworth	Wide receiver	Arkansas
7	189	Pete Holohan	Tight end	Notre Dame
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

1981 San Diego Chargers staff

Front office

Owner – Gene Klein

Head coaches

Head Coach – Don Coryell

Offensive coaches

Offensive Coordinator – Larrye Weaver

Defensive coaches

Defensive Coordinator – Jack Pardee

^[6]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1981	at Cleveland Browns	W 44–14	78,904
2	September 13, 1981	Detroit Lions	W 28–23	51,264
3	September 20, 1981	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 42–31	63,866
4	September 27, 1981	at Denver Broncos	L 42–24	74,822
5	October 4, 1981	Seattle Seahawks	W 24–10	51,463
6	October 11, 1981	Minnesota Vikings	L 33–31	50,708
7	October 18, 1981	at Baltimore Colts	W 43–14	41,921
8	October 25, 1981	at Chicago Bears	L 20–17	52,906
9	November 1, 1981	Kansas City Chiefs	W 22–20	51,307
10	November 8, 1981	Cincinnati Bengals	L 40–17	51,259
11	November 16, 1981	at Seattle Seahawks	L 44–23	58,628
12	November 22, 1981	at Oakland Raiders	W 55–21	50,199
13	November 29, 1981	Denver Broncos	W 34–17	51,533
14	December 6, 1981	Buffalo Bills	L 28–27	51,488
15	December 13, 1981	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 24–23	67,388
16	December 21, 1981	Oakland Raiders	W 23–10	52,279

Game summaries

Week 1: at Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Chargers	10	10	14	10	44
Browns	0	7	7	0	14

Date: September 7
Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Game start: 9:00 p.m.
Game weather: 66°F; wind 6
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

Scoring summary

Q1	SD	Brooks 4 yard run (Benirschke kick)	SD 7–0

Q1	SD	Benirschke 50 yard field goal	SD 10–0

Q2	CLE	Feacher 18 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick)	SD 10–7

Q2	SD	Muncie 9 yard run (Benirschke kick)	SD 17–7

Q2	SD	Benirschke 43 yard field goal	SD 20–7

Q3	SD	Brooks 13 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)	SD 27–7

Q3	CLE	Pruitt 4 yard pass from Sipe (Jacobs kick)	SD 27–14

Q3	SD	Bauer 4 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)	SD 34–14

Q4	SD	Benirschke 32 yard field goal	SD 37–14

Q4	SD	Smith 38 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)	SD 44–14

Dan Fouts 19/25, 330 Yds
Chuck Muncie 24 Rush, 161 Yds
Charlie Joiner 6 Rec, 191 Yds

^[7]

Week 2 vs. Detroit Lions

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	0	10	10	23
• Chargers	7	0	7	14	28

Date: September 13
Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 73°F; wind 11

Scoring summary

Q1	SD	Muncie 1 yard run (Benirschke kick)	SD 7–0

Q1	DET	Murray 18 yard field goal	SD 7–3

Q3	DET	Danielson 11 yard run (Murray kick)	DET 10–7

Q3	DET	Murray 37 yard field goal	DET 13–7

Q3	SD	Winslow 7 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)	SD 14–13

Q4	DET	Sims 12 yard run (Murray kick)	DET 20–14

Q4	SD	Muncie 1 yard run (Benirschke kick)	SD 21–20

Q4	DET	Murray 30 yard field goal	DET 23–21

Q4	SD	Cappelletti 2 yard run (Benirschke kick)	SD 28–23

Dan Fouts 18/25, 316 Yds
Charlie Joiner 7 Rec, 166 Yds

^[8]

Week 12: at Oakland Raiders

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Chargers	7	21	20	7	55
Raiders	7	14	0	0	21

Date: November 22
Location: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 60°F, wind 9 mph

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Raiders	Derrick Ramsey 66-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick)	Raiders 7–0

1	Chargers	Chuck Muncie 1-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Tie 7–7

2	Raiders	Derrick Jensen 2-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)	Raiders 14–0

2	Chargers	James Brooks 12-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Tie 14–14

2	Raiders	Marc Wilson 12-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)	Raiders 21–14

2	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 15-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Tie 21–21

2	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 29-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 28–21

3	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 4-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 35–21

3	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 5-yard pass from Dan Fouts (kick failed)	Chargers 41–21

3	Chargers	Charlie Joiner 6-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 48–21

4	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 3-yard pass from Chuck Muncie (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 55–21

Stats

Dan Fouts 28/44, 296 Yds, 6 TD, INT
Kellen Winslow 13 Rec, 144 Yds, 5 TD

Week 14: vs. Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bills	7	7	14	0	28
Chargers	7	14	3	3	27

Date: December 6
Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
Game start: 4:00pm PST
Game weather: 59°F, wind 9 mph

Source:

Scoring summary

1	Chargers	Chuck Muncie 9 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chergers 7–0

1	Bills	Joe Ferguson 3-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Tie 7–7

2	Chargers	Wes Chandler 17-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 14–7

2	Bills	Roosevelt Leaks 9-yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer)	Tie 14–14

2	Chargers	Kellen Winslow 67-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 21–14

3	Bills	Roosevelt Leaks 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Tie 21–21

3	Chargers	Rolf Benirschke 29-yard field goal	Chargers 24–21

3	Bills	Joe Cribbs 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)	Bills 28–24

4	Chargers	Rolf Benirschke 27-yard field goal	Bills 28–27

Stats

Dan Fouts 28/42, 343 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Chuck Munci 22 Rush, 113 Rush Yds, 1 Rush TD
Kellen Winslow 6 Rec, 126 Yds, 1 TD
Joe Ferguson 13/29, 248 Yds, 4 Rush Yds, 1 Rush TD
Roosevelt Leaks 8 Rush, 28 Rush Yds, 2 Rush TDs
Frank Lewis 5 Rec, 113 Yds

Week 15: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The game came down to the wire. A late interception from Buccaneers Quarterback Doug Williams at the Chargers own 1 yard-line sealed the deal for San Diego

Week 16: vs. Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	7	0	10
• Chargers	7	10	3	3	23

Date: December 21
Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
Game start: 6:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 63°F, wind 13 mph
Television network: ABC

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Chargers	James Brooks 28-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 7–0

2	Raiders	Chris Bahr 34-yard field goal	Chargers 7–3

2	Chargers	Rolf Benirschke 24-yard field goal	Chargers 10–3

2	Chargers	Charlie Joiner 29-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)	Chargers 17–3

3	Raiders	Mark van Eeghen 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)	Chargers 17–10

3	Chargers	Rolf Benirschke 27-yard field goal	Chargers 20–10

4	Chargers	Rolf Benirschke 39-yard field goal	Chargers 23–10

Last regular season game of NFL season.

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Nickname
Divisional	January 2, 1982	at Miami Dolphins	W 41–38	73,735	"The Epic in Miami"
Conference Championship	January 10, 1982	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 27–7	46,302	"The Freezer Bowl"

Standings

AFC West
	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

Roster

1981 San Diego Chargers Team Starters
Rookies in italics

Offense

14   Dan Fouts          QB
46   Chuck Muncie       RB
89   Wes Chandler       WR
18   Charlie Joiner     WR
85   Eric Sievers       TE
80   Kellen Winslow     TE

66   Billy Shields      LT
63   Doug Wilkerson     LG
62   Don Macek          C
67   Ed White           RG
70   Russ Washington    RT

Defense

68   Leroy Jones       LDE
74   Louie Kelcher     LDT
79   Gary Johnson      RDT
90   John Woodcock     RDE

57   Linden King       LB
55   Bob Horn          LB
51   Woodrow Lowe      LB

28   Willie Buchanon   LCB
29   Mike Williams     RCB
44   Pete Shaw         SS
27   Glen Edwards      FS

Kicking Team

6   Rolf Benirschke    K
4   George Roberts     P
21  James Brooks       PR
21  James Brooks       KR

References

↑ "1981 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
↑ "1981 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
↑ The Chargers lost to the Raiders the season before
↑ "Chuck Muncie dies at age 60". ESPN.com. May 14, 2013. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
↑ "AFC West". Sports Illustrated. September 1, 1982. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-20.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-20.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-20.

External links

1981 San Diego Chargers at pro-football-reference.com

San Diego Chargers

Founded in 1960 Played inaugural season in Los Angeles Based and headquartered in San Diego, California

Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Retired numbers Chargers Hall of Fame Anniversary teams 40th 50th First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Players Coaches

Stadiums	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Balboa Stadium Qualcomm Stadium Future proposals City of Champions Stadium

Culture	Fearsome Foursome Air Coryell "San Diego Super Chargers" Bruise Brothers Marty Ball San Diego Sports Curse San Diego Charger Girls

Rivalries	Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders

Lore	Holy Roller Epic in Miami Freezer Bowl

Division championships (15)	1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1979 1980 1981 1992 1994 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009

Conference championships (1)	1994

League championships (1)	1963

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division

Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

Seasons (56)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers seasons

Los Angeles 1960 San Diego 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1981 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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