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1981 Cincinnati Bengals

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Record: 12-4-0, Finished 1st in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

1981 AFC Champions

Scored 421 points (26.3/g), 3rd of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 304 points (19.0/g), 12th.
 Differential of 117 points (7.3/g), 2nd.
 Expected W-L: 10.9-5.1.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +13 (0.8/g), 4th.

Simple Rating System: Total 5.5, Offense: 4.5, Defense: 1.0, SoS: -1.8, versus averages of 0.0.

Coached by Forrest Gregg (12-4-0)

1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Day Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 6 box W 1-0 Seattle Seahawks 27 21 24 375 165 210 4 17 290 230 60 4
2 Sun September 13 box W 2-0 @ New York Jets 31 30 22 310 233 77 1 19 388 224 164 1
3 Sun September 20 box L 2-1 Cleveland Browns 17 20 15 281 233 48 31 422 237 185
4 Sun September 27 box W 3-1 Buffalo Bills 27 24 30 429 316 113 2 25 389 287 102 1
5 Sun October 4 box L 3-2 @ Houston Oilers 10 17 20 357 282 75 1 11 187 -4 191 1
6 Sun October 11 box W 4-2 @ Baltimore Colts 41 19 24 378 257 121 22 350 294 56 4
7 Sun October 18 box W 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers 34 7 25 494 330 164 10 205 140 65 1
8 Sun October 25 box L 5-3 @ New Orleans Saints 7 17 15 205 171 34 2 18 336 170 166 1
9 Sun November 1 box W 6-3 Houston Oilers 34 21 25 422 266 156 1 21 433 301 132 4
10 Sun November 8 box W 7-3 @ San Diego Chargers 40 17 29 461 337 124 2 25 447 311 136 5
11 Sun November 15 box W 8-3 Los Angeles Rams 24 10 17 233 87 146 1 21 296 189 107 4
12 Sun November 22 box W 9-3 Denver Broncos 38 21 25 571 387 184 1 17 337 269 68 4
13 Sun November 29 box W 10-3 @ Cleveland Browns 41 21 24 356 226 130 23 349 224 125 3
14 Sun December 6 box L 10-4 San Francisco 49ers 3 21 24 345 190 155 6 24 325 179 146 1
15 Sun December 13 box W 11-4 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 17 10 19 318 215 103 2 14 207 120 87 2
16 Sun December 20 box W 12-4 @ Atlanta Falcons 30 28 23 433 300 133 1 26 328 237 91 1
Playoffs
Division Sun January 3 box W 13-4 Buffalo Bills 28 21 22 305 169 136 21 336 202 134 2
ConfChamp Sun January 10 box W 14-4 San Diego Chargers 27 7 19 318 175 143 1 18 301 173 128 4
SuperBowl Sun January 24 box L 14-5 N San Francisco 49ers 21 26 24 356 284 72 4 20 275 148 127 1

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 421 5968 1078 5.5 361 332 550 3995 30 12 6.8 210 493 1973 19 4.0 124 24 12 27
Team Defense 304 5289 1055 5.0 324 316 548 3408 24 19 5.8 167 465 1881 12 4.0 126 37 18 31
Lg Rank Offense 3 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 18 17 7 17 1 2
Lg Rank Defense 12 12 21 25 22 20 16 10 3 9 8 16 16 12

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
14 Ken Anderson*+ 32 QB 16 16 12-4-0 300 479 62.6 3754 29 6.1 10 2.1 74 7.8 8.1 12.5 234.6 98.4 25 140 7.2 7.4 5.0
12 Jack Thompson 25 8 0 21 49 42.9 267 1 2.0 2 4.1 21 5.4 4.0 12.7 33.4 50.3 7 61 3.7 2.4 12.5
15 Turk Schonert 24 4 0 10 19 52.6 166 0 0.0 0 0.0 36 8.7 8.7 16.6 41.5 82.3 3 4 7.4 7.4 13.6
86 Steve Kreider 23 16 1 1 3 33.3 13 0 0.0 0 0.0 13 4.3 4.3 13.0 0.8 47.9 0 0 4.3 4.3 0.0
Team Total 26.0 16 12-4-0 332 550 60.4 4200 30 5.5 12 2.2 74 7.6 7.7 12.7 262.5 93.3 35 205 6.8 6.9 6.0
Opp Total 16 316 548 57.7 3757 24 4.4 19 3.5 6.9 6.2 11.9 234.8 78.9 42 349 5.8 5.1

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
46 Pete Johnson* 27 FB 16 16 274 1077 12 39 3.9 67.3 17.1 46 320 7.0 4 33 2.9 20.0 1397 16 4
40 Charles Alexander 24 RB 15 14 98 292 2 16 3.0 19.5 6.5 28 262 9.4 1 65 1.9 17.5 554 3 0
45 Archie Griffin 27 16 2 47 163 3 23 3.5 10.2 2.9 20 160 8.0 1 17 1.3 10.0 323 4 0
14 Ken Anderson*+ 32 QB 16 16 46 320 1 25 7.0 20.0 2.9 320 1 5
36 Jimmy Hargrove 24 15 0 16 66 1 27 4.1 4.4 1.1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.1 0.0 66 1 1
15 Turk Schonert 24 4 0 7 41 0 19 5.9 10.3 1.8 41 0 1
81 David Verser 23 RET 16 0 2 11 0 9 5.5 0.7 0.1 6 161 26.8 2 73 0.4 10.1 172 2 2
86 Steve Kreider 23 16 1 1 21 0 21 21.0 1.3 0.1 37 520 14.1 5 46 2.3 32.5 541 5 2
87 Pat McInally*+ 28 P 16 1 1 -27 0 -27 -27.0 -1.7 0.1 6 68 11.3 0 20 0.4 4.3 41 0 0
84 Don Bass 25 6 0 1 9 0 9 9.0 1.5 0.2 9 0 0
89 Dan Ross 24 TE 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 71 910 12.8 5 37 4.4 56.9 910 5 3
80 Cris Collinsworth* 22 WR 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 67 1009 15.1 8 74 4.2 63.1 1009 8 3
85 Isaac Curtis 31 WR 15 14 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 37 609 16.5 2 68 2.5 40.6 609 2 1
83 M.L. Harris 27 15 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 13 181 13.9 2 42 0.9 12.1 181 2 1
Team Total 26.0 16 493 1973 19 39 4.0 123.3 30.8 332 4200 12.7 30 74 20.8 262.5 6173 49 25
Opp Total 16 465 1881 12 4.0 117.6 29.1 316 3408 10.8 24 19.8 213.0 5289 36 32

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
81 David Verser 23 RET 16 0 29 691 0 78 23.8 863
42 Mike Fuller 28 ss 15 6 23 177 0 34 7.7 1 34 0 34 34.0 211
24 Clarence Chapman 28 5 0 8 171 0 29 21.4 171
45 Archie Griffin 27 16 2 6 119 0 28 19.8 442
25 John Simmons 23 11 0 5 24 0 11 4.8 1 10 0 10 10.0 34
44 Ray Griffin 25 8 2 2 31 0 17 15.5 31
52 Tom Dinkel 25 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
27 Bryan Hicks 24 FS 16 12 1 4 0 4 4.0 4
26 Bobby Kemp 22 SS 16 10 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 29 205 0 34 7.1 49 1056 0 78 21.6 7434
Opp Total 16 42 0 80 1612 1 20.2

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
10 Jim Breech 25 K 16 0 11 9 9 7 11 5 1 1 32 22 68.8% 51 49 96.1%
87 Pat McInally*+ 28 P 16 1 72 3272 62 1 45.4
Team Total 26.0 16 11 9 9 7 11 5 1 1 32 22 68.8% 51 49 96.1% 72 3272 62 1 45.4
Opp Total 16 21 12 57.1% 38 38 100.0% 81 3264 40.3

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
40 Charles Alexander 24 RB 15 14 0 1 0 0
14 Ken Anderson*+ 32 QB 16 16 5 2 -20 0
84 Don Bass 25 6 0 0 1 0 0
34 Louis Breeden 28 LCB 16 16 4 145 1 102 0 1 10 0
79 Ross Browner 27 RDE 16 16 0 1 0 0
58 Blair Bush 25 C 16 16 0 1 12 0
50 Glenn Cameron 28 RILB 16 16 1 0 0 0
80 Cris Collinsworth* 22 WR 16 16 3 1 0 0
85 Isaac Curtis 31 WR 15 14 1 1 0 0
73 Eddie Edwards 27 LDE 14 13 0 1 0 0
42 Mike Fuller 28 ss 15 6 1 31 0 31 1 1 0 0
44 Ray Griffin 25 8 2 0 1 0 0
36 Jimmy Hargrove 24 15 0 1 0 0 0
53 Bo Harris 28 LOLB 16 16 2 92 0 49
83 M.L. Harris 27 15 0 1 2 3 0
27 Bryan Hicks 24 FS 16 12 0 2 3 0
71 Rod Horn 25 16 4 0 1 0 0
46 Pete Johnson* 27 FB 16 16 4 1 0 0
86 Steve Kreider 23 16 1 2 0 0 0
55 Jim LeClair 31 LILB 14 14 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
65 Max Montoya 25 RG 16 16 0 1 0 0
51 Rick Razzano 26 16 2 1 11 0 11
13 Ken Riley 34 RCB 16 16 5 6 0 6 0 1 0 0
89 Dan Ross 24 TE 16 16 3 1 3 0
15 Turk Schonert 24 4 0 1 0 0 0
59 Jeff Schuh 23 16 0 0 1 0 0
25 John Simmons 23 11 0 1 1 0 0
72 Mike St. Clair 28 16 0 0 1 12 1
81 David Verser 23 RET 16 0 2 0 0 0
57 Reggie Williams 27 ROLB 16 16 4 33 0 14 0 3 0 0
Team Total 26.0 16 19 318 1 102 25 28 23 1
Opp Total 16 35 32 14 1

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD AllTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
10 Jim Breech 25 K 16 0 49 22 115
46 Pete Johnson* 27 FB 16 16 12 4 16 96
80 Cris Collinsworth* 22 WR 16 16 8 8 48
86 Steve Kreider 23 16 1 5 5 30
89 Dan Ross 24 TE 16 16 5 5 30
45 Archie Griffin 27 16 2 3 1 4 24
40 Charles Alexander 24 RB 15 14 2 1 3 18
85 Isaac Curtis 31 WR 15 14 2 2 12
83 M.L. Harris 27 15 0 2 2 12
81 David Verser 23 RET 16 0 2 2 12
14 Ken Anderson*+ 32 QB 16 16 1 1 6
34 Louis Breeden 28 LCB 16 16 1 1 6
36 Jimmy Hargrove 24 15 0 1 1 6
72 Mike St. Clair 28 16 0 1 1 6
Team Total 26.0 16 19 30 1 1 51 49 22 421
Opp Total 16 12 24 1 38 12 1 304