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NFL team season
The 1981 season was the Chicago Bears ' 62nd in the National Football League , and their fourth under head coach Neill Armstrong . The team failed to improve on their 7–9 record from 1980 to finish at 6–10, and failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. At the end of the season, Neill Armstrong was fired by the Bears.
One unusual sidelight to the season was that of the Bears' 6 victories, 4 of them were against opponents in the AFC West ; including a 20–17 upset of San Diego in week 8 and a 35–24 victory that eliminated the Broncos from playoff contention on the final week of the regular season.
Free Agent Signings [ edit ] After the draft, the Bears signed multiple undrafted free agents, 3 of whom made the team when preseason ended: Tulane wide receiver Marcus Anderson, Alcorn State cornerback Leslie Frazier and Iowa center Jay Hilgenberg.[1]
1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player
Position
College
Scott McGhee
Wide receiver
Eastern Illinois
Todd Sheets
Wide receiver
Northwestern
1981 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 6
Green Bay Packers L 9–16
0–1
Soldier Field
62,411
2
September 13
at San Francisco 49ers
L 17–28
0–2
Candlestick Park
49,520
3
September 20
Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–17
1–2
Soldier Field
60,130
4
September 28
Los Angeles Rams
L 7–24
1–3
Soldier Field
62,461
5
October 4
at Minnesota Vikings
L 21–24
1–4
Metropolitan Stadium
43,827
6
October 11
Washington Redskins
L 7–24
1–5
Soldier Field
57,683
7
October 19
at Detroit Lions
L 17–48
1–6
Pontiac Silverdome
71,273
8
October 25
San Diego Chargers
W 20–17 (OT)
2–6
Soldier Field
52,906
9
November 1
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 10–20
2–7
Tampa Stadium
63,688
10
November 8
at Kansas City Chiefs
W 16–13 (OT)
3–7
Arrowhead Stadium
60,605
11
November 15
at Green Bay Packers
L 17–21
3–8
Lambeau Field
55,338
12
November 22
Detroit Lions L 7–23
3–9
Soldier Field
50,082
13
November 26
at Dallas Cowboys
L 9–10
3–10
Texas Stadium
63,499
14
December 6
Minnesota Vikings W 10–9
4–10
Soldier Field
50,766
15
December 13
at Oakland Raiders
W 23–6
5–10
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
40,384
16
December 20
Denver Broncos
W 35–24
6–10
Soldier Field
40,125
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
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1
2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers
7
0 7 3
17
• Bears
0
14 7 7
28
Scoring summary Q1 TB Washington 29 yard interception return (Yepremian kick)TB 7–0 Q2 CHI Suhey 1 yard run (Nielsen kick)Tie 7–7 Q2 CHI Fisher 88 yard interception return (Nielsen kick)CHI 14–7 Q3 TB House 11 yard pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)Tie 14–14 Q3 CHI Evans 8 yard run (Nielsen kick)CHI 21–14 Q4 TB Yepremian 32 yard field goal CHI 21–17 Q4 CHI Williams 18 yard pass from Evans (Nielsen kick)CHI 28–17
[2]
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Chargers
0
3 0 14 0
17
• Bears
7
3 0 7 3
20
Date: October 25Location: Soldier Field , Chicago, IL Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)Referee: Gordon McCarterTelevision network: NBC Scoring summary Q1 CHI Suhey 7 yard run (Roveto kick)CHI 7–0 Q2 SD Benirschke 18 yard field goalCHI 7–3 Q2 CHI Roveto 31 yard field goal CHI 10–3 Q4 SD Joiner 22 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)Tie 10–10 Q4 CHI Payton 2 yard run (Roveto kick)CHI 17–10 Q4 SD Chandler 39 yard pass from Fouts (Benirschke kick)Tie 17–17 OT CHI Roveto 26 yard field goal CHI 20–17
[3]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
CHI
OAK
1
Bears
Watts 42-yard touchdown reception from Evans , Roveto kick good
7
0
1
Raiders
Chandler 27-yard touchdown reception from Wilson , Bahr kick no good
7
6
3
Bears
Watts 3-yard touchdown reception from Evans, Roveto kick good
14
6
3
Bears
Margerum 22-yard touchdown reception from Evans, Roveto kick good
21
6
4
Bears
Wilson tackled in end zone for a safety by Plank
23
6
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
23
6
1
2 3 4 Total
Broncos
3
0 14 7
24
• Bears
0
14 14 7
35
Scoring summary 1 DEN Fred Steinfort 46 yard field goalBroncos 3–0 2 CHI Walter Payton 19 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick)Bears 7–3 2 CHI Roland Harper 4 yard run (John Roveto kick)Bears 14–3 3 CHI Gary Fencik 69 yard interception return (John Roveto kick)Bears 21–3 3 DEN Riley Odoms 6 yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick)Bears 21–10 3 CHI Al Harris 44 yard interception return (John Roveto kick)Bears 28–10 3 DEN Rick Upchurch 25 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick)Bears 28–17 4 CHI Walter Payton 7 yard pass from Vince Evans (John Roveto kick) Bears 35–17 4 DEN Rick Upchurch 39 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Fred Steinfort kick) Bears 35–24
[4]
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media
Broadcasters Radio:
Personnel:
Television:
WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate)Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming)
Personnel:
Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter)
Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play)Jim Miller (pre-season analyst) Current league affiliations
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
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