| 1981 Seattle Seahawks season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | The Nordstrom family |
| General manager | John Thompson |
| Head coach | Jack Patera |
| Home stadium | Kingdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–10 |
| Division place | 5thAFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | None |
| Pro Bowlers | WRSteve Largent |
The1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with theNational Football League (NFL). The Seahawks got off to a terrible start, losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6–10 season. Steve Largent would have a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Jim Zorn was having a bounce back season, completing a career high 59% of his passes, 13 TDs 9 INT’s 6.2 yards per attempt before his injury against the Raiders at home. Seattle opened their season atCincinnati, and held a 21–0 lead before theBengals rallied for an improbable 27–21 win. This loss was a portent into the season. The Seahawks also blew a 24–3 3rd quarter lead at home to the Raiders before losing 32–31. Seven of their 10 losses were by two possessions or more.
The Achilles heel for the team was the running game on offense and defense. On offense they ranked 27th in yards and 26th in yards per attempt. On defense the ranking was 27th in yards 28th in yards per attempt. Only once did the defense hold a team under 100 yards rushing which was against the Chargers in San Diego, losing 24–10.
The disappointing season had some memorable highlights. At the time the biggest come from behind victory, at home against the Steelers, down 21–3 winning 24–21. On Monday night, the team’s first victory over the San Diego Chargers, losing their first seven meetings, winning 44–23.
| 1981 Seattle Seahawks draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kenny Easley * † | Safety | UCLA | |
| 2 | 31 | David Hughes | Running back | Boise State | |
| 3 | 58 | Bill Dugan | Guard | Penn State | |
| 4 | 87 | Scott Phillips | Wide receiver | BYU | |
| 5 | 114 | Edwin Bailey | Guard | South Carolina State | |
| 6 | 140 | Steve Durham | Defensive end | Clemson | |
| 7 | 170 | Ron Johnson | Wide receiver | Long Beach State | |
| 7 | 186 | Brad Scovill | Tight end | Penn State | |
| 8 | 196 | Eric Lane | Running back | BYU | |
| 9 | 223 | Jim Stone | Running back | Notre Dame | |
| 9 | 236 | Jimbo Whatley | Wide receiver | Washington State | |
| 10 | 252 | Ken Dawson | Running back | Savannah State | |
| 11 | 279 | Lance Olander | Running back | Colorado | |
| 12 | 306 | Jeff Bednarek | Defensive tackle | Pacific | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Babb | Punter | Oregon |
| Kim Baker | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| David Bayle | Tight End | Washington |
| Dan Boomhower | Running back | Kearney State |
| Dave Boschma | Safety | Linfield |
| Chris Buono | Safety | Furman |
| Brad Chace | Safety | Colorado |
| Bob Chauza | Tackle | Northwest Missouri State |
| Bob Danenhauer | Linebacker | Nebraska–Omaha |
| Bill Fenn | Fullback | Illinois State |
| Steve Griffiths | Linebacker | Penn State |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST)
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 5 | San Francisco 49ers | L 24–27(OT) | 0–1 | Kingdome | Recap |
| 2 | August 14 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 21–30 | 0–2 | Kingdome | Recap |
| 3 | August 22 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 17–24 | 0–3 | Candlestick Park | Recap |
| 4 | August 28 | Baltimore Colts | W 31–17 | 1–3 | Kingdome | Recap |
| 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 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 49ers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
atCandlestick Park, San Francisco
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Bengals | 0 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Seahawks | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Raiders | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
atOakland–Alameda County Coliseum,Oakland, California
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Chargers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
atJack Murphy Stadium,San Diego
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 35 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 3 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 32 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
| Jets | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
atShea Stadium, New York
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| Packers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 34 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Seahawks | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 44 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| Chiefs | 3 | 17 | 7 | 13 | 40 |
atArrowhead Stadium,Kansas City, Missouri
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 32 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 0 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| Seahawks | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| Broncos | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
atMile High Stadium,Denver,Colorado
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Seahawks | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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