The 1981 Denver Broncos season was the team's 22nd year in professional football and its 12th with the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Dan Reeves, the Broncos were 10–6, tied for first in the AFC West, but failed to make the postseason again due to their loss to the Buffalo Bills, who gained the final berth.
The Broncos were undefeated at home in 1981, but had six road losses. After a promising 8–3 start, Denver lost three of their final five games, including a critical loss against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 12. Entering the season finale against the Chicago Bears, they had a one-game lead over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West, but the loss at Soldier Field ended their season, losing the tiebreakers for the division and wild card berths.
Prior to this season, ownership changed in February; coaching and front office changes were made in March.
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 New York Jets L 7–33 0–1 Mile High Stadium 63,644 2 at Miami Dolphins L 14–24 0–2 Miami Orange Bowl 41,502 3 Green Bay Packers W 17–7 1–2 Mile High Stadium 72,450 4 at Cincinnati Bengals W 24–20 2–2 Riverfront Stadium 41,713
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 Oakland Raiders W 9–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 74,796 2 September 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 1–1 Kingdome 58,513 3 September 20 Baltimore Colts W 28–10 2–1 Mile High Stadium 74,804 4 September 27 San Diego Chargers W 42–24 3–1 Mile High Stadium 74,822 5 October 4 at Oakland Raiders W 17–0 4–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,035 6 October 11 Detroit Lions W 27–21 5–1 Mile High Stadium 74,816 7 October 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–28 5–2 Arrowhead Stadium 74,672 8 October 25 at Buffalo Bills L 7–9 5–3 Rich Stadium 77,757 9 Minnesota Vikings W 19–17 6–3 Mile High Stadium 74,834 10 November 8 Cleveland Browns W 23–20OT 7–3 Mile High Stadium 74,859 11 November 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–7 8–3 Tampa Stadium 64,518 12 November 22 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–38 8–4 Riverfront Stadium 57,207 13 November 29 at San Diego Chargers L 17–34 8–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,533 14 December 6 Kansas City Chiefs W 16–13 9–5 Mile High Stadium 74,744 15 December 13 Seattle Seahawks W 23–13 10–5 Mile High Stadium 74,527 16 December 20 at Chicago Bears L 24–35 10–6 Soldier Field 40,125 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1 (Sunday, September 6, 1981): vs. Oakland Raiders
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
RaidersGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 2 (Sunday, September 13, 1981): at Seattle Seahawks
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsSeahawks First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 3 (Sunday, September 20, 1981): vs. Baltimore Colts
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
ColtsGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 4 (Sunday, September 27, 1981): vs. San Diego Chargers
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
ChargersGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 5 (Sunday, October 4, 1981): at Oakland Raiders
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsRaiders First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 6 (Sunday, October 11, 1981): vs. Detroit Lions
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
LionsGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 7 (Sunday, October 18, 1981): at Kansas City Chiefs
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsChiefs First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 8 (Sunday, October 25, 1981): at Buffalo Bills
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsBills First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 9 (Monday, November 2, 1981): vs. Minnesota Vikings
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
VikingsGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 10 (Sunday, November 8, 1981): vs. Cleveland Browns
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BrownsGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 11 (Sunday, November 15, 1981): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 2 hours, 45 minutes
BroncosGame statisticsBuccaneers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 12 (Sunday, November 22, 1981): at Cincinnati Bengals
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsBengals First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 13 (Sunday, November 29, 1981): at San Diego Chargers
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsChargers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 14 (Sunday, December 6, 1981): vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
ChiefsGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 15 (Sunday, December 13, 1981): vs. Seattle Seahawks
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
SeahawksGame statisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Week 16 (Sunday, December 20, 1981); at Chicago Bears
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BroncosGame statisticsBears First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Individual stats
Standings
References
External links Denver Broncos – 1981 media guide 1981 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1981 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com