1981 Philadelphia Eagles season

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1981 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerLeonard Tose
General managerJim Murray
Head coachDick Vermeil
Home fieldVeterans Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Giants) 21–27

The 1981 season was the Philadelphia Eagles' 49th in the National Football League (NFL). They made the postseason for the fourth straight season (the first time in franchise history the Eagles made the postseason four straight times). The team was coming off a loss to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV the previous season. Because they made the Super Bowl in 1980, the Eagles were picked by many not only to reach the Super Bowl, but to win it as well. The Eagles began the 1981 season with 6 straight wins, their best ever start to a season at the time. They won 3 of their next 5 games for a record of 9–2. Then they lost their next 4 games in a row to slip to 9–6, but clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season prior to the final week of the regular season due to owning a tiebreaker with the Packers and not finishing last had the Eagles, Giants, and Packers finished 9–7. The next week, they hammered the St. Louis Cardinals 38–0 to clinch the Wild Card Game would be held in Philadelphia. In the playoffs, they met their arch rivals the New York Giants. It was New York's first playoff appearance in 18 years. The Giants stunned the Eagles 27–21, ending the Eagles' season as well as hopes for a second straight Super Bowl appearance. The Eagles would not make the playoffs again until 1988. They wouldn't reach the Super Bowl again until 2004.

Offseason

NFL Draft

After going 12–4, winning the NFC title and losing in Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders in the 1980 season, the Eagles were slotted to pick next to last in the 12 rounds of the 1981 NFL Draft.

The NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981. ESPN covered all 12 rounds live for the first time. ESPN then showed a replay later that night. This was over a period of two days.

The Eagles had the 27th pick in each of the 12 rounds of the draft except for the 5th, 6th, and 8th rounds; they had no picks for these rounds because of draft-day trades. Instead, they had two picks in the 7th round: the 8th and 27th picks. The Eagles drafted a total of 10 players.

1981 Philadelphia Eagles Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1 27 Leonard Mitchell DE Houston
2 55 Dean Miraldi G Utah
3 83 Greg LaFleur TE LSU
4 110 Calvin Murray RB Ohio State
6 165 Traded to NY Giants
7 174 Alan Duncan K Tennessee
192 Doak Field LB Baylor
8 220 Traded to Baltimore
9 247 Chuck Commiskey OL Ole Miss
10 275 Hubert Oliver RB Arizona
11 303 Gail Davis DT Virginia Union
12 331 Ray Ellis DB Ohio State

Personnel

Staff

1981 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Lynn Stiles


Roster

1981 Philadelphia Eagles roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

The 1981 season schedule was set by how the Eagles finished in 1980, 1st in NFC East. The way it was laid out, 4 of the 5 teams in the same 5 team division could end up having 10 to 14 common opponents during the 1981 season. Also, when the last regular season game is over you know who you play the following year.

  • A home and away series vs Dallas, New York Giants, St. Louis and Washington = 8 games
  • The top four teams in the NFC East play the top four teams in the AFC East from the 1980 season = 4 games
  • The 1st and 4th place teams in NFC Central and NFC West in the 1980 season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 6, 1981 at New York Giants W 24–10 72,459
2 September 13, 1981 New England Patriots W 13–3 71,089
3 September 17, 1981 at Buffalo Bills W 20–14 78,331
4 September 27, 1981 Washington Redskins W 36–13 70,664
5 October 5, 1981 Atlanta Falcons W 16–13 71,488
6 October 11, 1981 at New Orleans Saints W 31–14 52,728
7 October 18, 1981 at Minnesota Vikings L 35–23 45,459
8 October 25, 1981 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 20–10 70,714
9 November 1, 1981 Dallas Cowboys L 17–14 72,111
10 November 8, 1981 at St. Louis Cardinals W 52–10 48,421
11 November 15, 1981 Baltimore Colts W 38–13 68,618
12 November 22, 1981 New York Giants L 20–10 66,827
13 November 30, 1981 at Miami Dolphins L 13–10 67,797
14 December 6, 1981 at Washington Redskins L 15–13 52,206
15 December 13, 1981 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–10 64,955
16 December 20, 1981 St. Louis Cardinals W 38–0 56,656

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Sunday, September 6, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at The Meadowlands on an AstroTurf playing surface at 70 °F (21 °C) with an 11 mph (18 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (1–0) 0 10 7 7 24
New York Giants (0–1) 3 0 0 7 10
SCORING PLAYS NYG PHI TIME
1st Giants Joe Danelo 27-yard field goal 0 3
2nd Eagles Perry Harrington 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 7 3
Eagles Tony Franklin 47-yard field goal 10 3
3rd Eagles Rodney Parker 55-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 17 3
4th Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 24 3
Giants Leon Perry 19-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick) 24 10

Week 2

Sunday, September 13, 1981 Kickoff 4:00 PM Eastern

TV Broadcast: NBC Announcers: Dick Enberg and John Brodie

Played at Veterans Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface weather= 74 °F (23 °C) (Sunny)

1 2 3 4 Total
New England Patriots (2–0) 3 0 0 0 3
Philadelphia Eagles (2–0) 0 3 10 0 13
SCORING PLAYS NE PHI TIME
1st Patriots John Smith 22-yard field goal 3 0
2nd Eagles Tony Franklin 46-yard field goal 3 3
3rd Eagles Tony Franklin 22-yard field goal 3 6
Eagles Perry Harrington 6-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 3 13

Week 3

Thursday, September 17, 1981 Kickoff 8:30 PM Eastern

Played at Rich Stadium on AstroTurf playing surface at 55 °F (13 °C) with an 8 mph (13 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (3–0) 7 3 7 3 20
Buffalo Bills (2–1) 0 14 0 0 14
SCORING PLAYS PHI BUF TIME
1st Eagles Keith Krepfle 1-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 7 0
2nd Bills Joe Cribbs 4-yard rush (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) 7 7
Eagles Tony Franklin 29-yard field goal 10 7
Bills Frank Lewis 20-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) 10 14
3rd Eagles Harold Carmichael 15-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 17 14
4th Eagles Tony Franklin 46-yard field goal 20 14

Week 4

Sunday, September 27, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface weather= 68 °F (20 °C) (Sunny)

1 2 3 4 Total
Washington Redskins (0–4) 0 6 0 7 13
Philadelphia Eagles (4–0) 0 7 7 22 36
SCORING PLAYS WAS PHI TIME
2nd Eagles Louie Giammona 13-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 7
Redskins Mark Moseley 19-yard field goal 3 7
Redskins Mark Moseley 22-yard field goal 6 7
3rd Eagles Louie Giammona 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 6 14
4th Redskins John Riggins 3-yard rush (Mark Moseley kick) 13 14
Eagles Charlie A. Smith 29-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 13 21
Eagles Tony Franklin 28-yard field goal 13 24
Eagles Safety, Clarke tackled Theismann in end zone 13 26
Eagles Tony Franklin 36-yard field goal 13 29
Eagles Greg Brown 7-yard fumble return (Tony Franklin kick) 13 36

Week 5

Monday, October 5, 1981 Kickoff 9:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on AstroTurf playing surface weather= 62 °F (17 °C) (Clear)

1 2 3 4 Total
Atlanta Falcons (3–2) 0 0 10 3 13
Philadelphia Eagles (5–0) 6 7 0 3 16
SCORING PLAYS ATL PHI TIME
1st Eagles Tony Franklin 36-yard field goal 0 3
Eagles Tony Franklin 34-yard field goal 0 6
2nd Eagles Charlie A. Smith 30-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 13
3rd Falcons Mick Luckhurst 35-yard field goal 3 13
Falcons Kenny Johnson 20-yard fumble return (Mick Luckhurst kick) 10 13
4th Eagles Tony Franklin 43-yard field goal 10 16
Falcons Mick Luckhurst 43-yard field goal 13 16

Week 6

Sunday, October 11, 1981 Kickoff 12:00 PM Central

Played at Louisiana Superdome on an AstroTurf playing surface at 72 °F (22 °C) indoors

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (6–0) 14 10 7 0 31
New Orleans Saints (1–5) 7 0 0 7 14
SCORING PLAYS PHI NO TIME
1st Saints George Rogers 5-yard rush (Benny Ricardo kick) 0 7
Eagles Keith Krepfle 11-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 7 7
Eagles Booker Russell 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 14 7
2nd Eagles Booker Russell 1-yard rush (Reggie Wilkes pass from Ron Jaworski) 21 7
Eagles Tony Franklin 22-yard field goal 24 7
3rd Eagles Frank LeMaster 47-yard fumble return (Tony Franklin kick) 31 7
4th Saints George Rogers 3-yard rush (Benny Ricardo kick) 31 14

Week 7

Sunday, October 18, 1981 Kickoff 12:00 PM Central

Played at Metropolitan Stadium on a grass playing surface at 44 °F (7 °C) with a 27 mph (43 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (6–1) 6 3 0 14 23
Minnesota Vikings (5–2) 0 21 7 7 35
SCORING PLAYS PHI MIN TIME
1st Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard rush (kick failed) 6 0
2nd Vikings Joe Senser 11-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) 6 7
Eagles Tony Franklin 30-yard field goal 9 7
Vikings Sammy White 50-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) 9 14
Vikings Bob Bruer 1-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) 9 21
3rd Vikings Ahmad Rashad 5-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick) 9 28
4th Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 25-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 16 28
Vikings Ted Brown 1-yard rush (Rick Danmeier kick) 16 35
Eagles Harold Carmichael 21-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 23 35

Week 8

Sunday, October 25, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface weather= 55 °F (13 °C) (Rain)

1 2 3 4 Total
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4–4) 7 0 0 3 10
Philadelphia Eagles (7–1) 0 7 0 13 20
SCORING PLAYS TB PHI
1st Buccaneers Doug Williams 1-yard rush (Bill Capece kick) 7 0
2nd Eagles Keith Krepfle 6-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 7 7
4th Eagles Tony Franklin 44-yard field goal 7 10
Buccaneers Bill Capece 29-yard field goal 10 10
Eagles Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal 10 13
Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 2-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 10 20

Week 9

Sunday, November 1, 1981 Kickoff 4:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface weather= 60 °F (16 °C) (Cloudy)

1 2 3 4 Total
Dallas Cowboys (8–1) 0 3 0 14 17
Philadelphia Eagles (7–2) 0 7 7 0 14
SCORING PLAYS DAL PHI TIME
2nd Cowboys Rafael Septien 21-yard field goal 3 0
Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 2-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 3 7
3rd Eagles Harold Carmichael 85-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 3 14
4th Cowboys Doug Cosbie 17-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) 10 14
Cowboys Tony Dorsett 9-yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 17 14

Week 10

Sunday, November 8, 1981 Kickoff 12:00 PM Central

Played at the Busch Memorial Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface at 57 °F (14 °C) with an 8 mph (13 km/h) wind.

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (8–2) 7 10 14 21 52
St. Louis Cardinals (3–7) 7 3 0 0 10
SCORING PLAYS PHI STL TIME
1st Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 19-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 7 0
Cardinals Mel Gray 42-yard pass from Jim Hart (Neil O'Donoghue kick) 7 7
2nd Cardinals Neil O'Donoghue 21-yard field goal 7 10
Eagles Rodney Parker 33-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 14 10
Eagles Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal 17 10
3rd Eagles Harold Carmichael 14-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 24 10
Eagles Harold Carmichael 38-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 31 10
4th Eagles Billy Campfield 2-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 38 10
Eagles Wally Henry 20-yard pass from Joe Pisarcik (Tony Franklin kick) 45 10
Eagles Booker Russell 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 52 10

Week 11

Sunday, November 15, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on AstroTurf weather= 54 °F (12 °C) (Light rain)

1 2 3 4 Total
Baltimore Colts (1–10) 6 0 0 7 13
Philadelphia Eagles (9–2) 7 14 10 7 38
SCORING PLAYS BAL PHI TEAM
1st Eagles Keith Krepfle 15-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 7
2nd Colts Curtis Dickey 1-yard rush (kick failed) 6 7
Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 5-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 6 14
Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 6 21
Eagles Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal 6 24
Eagles Charlie A. Smith 30-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 6 31
4th Colts Zachary Dixon 17-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick) 13 31
Eagles Wally Henry 44-yard pass from Joe Pisarcik (Tony Franklin kick) 13 38

Week 12

Sunday, November 22, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface weather= 46 °F (8 °C) (Cloudy)

1 2 3 4 Total
New York Giants (8–4) 3 7 0 10 20
Philadelphia Eagles (9–3) 7 3 0 0 10
SCORING PLAYS OAK PHI TIME
1st Giants Joe Danelo 39-yard field goal 3 0
Eagles Keith Krepfle 6-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 3 7
2nd Giants Leon Bright 1-yard rush (Joe Danelo kick) 10 7
Eagles Tony Franklin 27-yard field goal 10 10
4th Giants Joe Danelo 30-yard field goal 13 10
Giants Terry Jackson 32-yard interception return (Joe Danelo kick) 20 10

Week 13

Monday, November 30, 1981 Kickoff 9:00 PM Pacific

Played at Orange Bowl on grass playing surface at 73 °F (23 °C) with an 8 mph (13 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (9–4) 7 0 3 0 10
Miami Dolphins (8–4–1) 0 3 0 10 13
SCORING PLAYS PHI MIA TIME
1st Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 7 0
2nd Dolphins Uwe von Schamann 42-yard field goal 7 3
3rd Eagles Tony Franklin 42-yard field goal 10 3
4th Dolphins Duriel Harris 17-yard pass from Don Strock (Uwe von Schamann kick) 10 10
Dolphins Uwe von Schamann 27-yard field goal 10 13

Week 14

Sunday, December 6, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on a grass playing surface at 43 °F (6 °C) with a 21 mph (34 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (9–5) 0 13 0 0 13
Washington Redskins (6–8) 6 0 0 9 15
SCORING PLAYS PHI WAS TIME
1st Redskins Joe Washington 6-yard rush (kick failed) 0 6
2nd Eagles Billy Campfield 25-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 7 6
Eagles Billy Campfield 5-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (kick failed) 13 6
4th Redskins Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal 13 9
Redskins Monte Coleman 52-yard interception return (kick failed) 13 15

Week 15

Sunday, December 13, 1981 Kickoff 3:00 PM Central

Played at Texas Stadium on an AstroTurf playing surface at 44 °F (7 °C) with a 9 mph (14 km/h) wind

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (9–6) 3 7 0 0 10
Dallas Cowboys (12–3) 0 7 7 7 21
SCORING PLAYS PHI DAL TIME
1st Eagles Tony Franklin 50-yard field goal 3 0
2nd Eagles Booker Russell 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 10 0
Cowboys Tony Hill 8-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) 10 7
3rd Cowboys Butch Johnson 36-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) 10 14
4th Cowboys Ron Springs 12-yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) 10 21

Week 16

Sunday, December 21, 1981 Kickoff 1:00 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on AstroTurf playing surface weather= 29 °F (−2 °C) (Sunny)

1 2 3 4 Total
St. Louis Cardinals (7–9) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (10–6) 7 21 10 0 38
SCORING PLAYS STL PHI TIME
1st Eagles Charlie A. Smith 4-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 7
2nd Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 9-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 0 14
Eagles Hubie Oliver 13-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 0 21
Eagles Harold Carmichael 6-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 28
3rd Eagles Billy Campfield 29-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 0 35
Eagles Tony Franklin 44-yard field goal 0 38

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 8–4 367 277 L1
Philadelphia Eagles(4) 10 6 0 .625 4–4 7–5 368 221 W1
New York Giants(5) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–6 295 257 W3
Washington Redskins 8 8 0 .500 3–5 6–6 347 349 W3
St. Louis Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 2–6 4–8 315 408 L2

Postseason

Schedule

Round Date Opponent Result Attendance
Wildcard December 27, 1981 New York Giants L 27–21 71,611

Game summaries

NFC Wildcard Game

Sunday, December 27, 1981 Kickoff 3:30 PM Eastern

Played at Veterans Stadium on AstroTurf playing surface weather= 38 °F (3 °C) (Light drizzle)

1 2 3 4 Total
New York Giants (10–7) 20 7 0 0 27
Philadelphia Eagles (10–7) 0 7 7 7 21
SCORING PLAYS NYG PHI TIME
1st Giants Leon Bright 9-yard pass from Scott Brunner (kick failed) 6 0
Giants John Mistler 10-yard pass from Scott Brunner (Joe Danelo kick) 13 0
Giants Mark Haynes 0-yard fumble return (Joe Danelo kick) 20 0
2nd Eagles Harold Carmichael 15-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) 20 7
Giants Tom Mullady 22-yard pass from Scott Brunner (Joe Danelo kick) 27 7
3rd Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 6-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 27 14
4th Eagles Wilbert Montgomery 1-yard rush (Tony Franklin kick) 27 21

References

External links

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