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1981 NFL season: Difference between revisions

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==Draft==
The [[1981 NFL Draftdraft]] was held from April 28 to 29, 1981, at [[New York City]]’s's [[Park Central Hotel|Sheraton Hotel]]. With the first pick, the [[New Orleans Saints]] selected running back [[George Rogers (American football)|George Rogers]] from [[South Carolina Gamecocks football|the University of South Carolina]].
 
==New referee==
[[Cal Lepore]], the line judge for [[Super Bowl III]] and referee for the [[Miracle at the Meadowlands]], retired prior toafter the 1980 season. He would later become supervisor of officials in the [[United States Football League]] and a replay official in the NFL when it was adopted in [[1986 NFL season|1986]]. [[Tom Dooley (American football)|Tom Dooley]], who was assigned [[Super Bowl XV]] as line judge at the end of the 1981 season, was promoted to referee to replace Lepore.
 
==Major rule changes==
*It is illegal for any player to put adhesive or slippery substances such as the product “"[[Stickum]]”" on his body, equipment or uniform. This rule is known as both the “"[[Lester Hayes]] Rule”Rule" and the “"[[Fred Biletnikoff]] Rule”Rule" since both players were notorious for using sticky substances to make it easier for them to intercept/catch passes.
*An offensive player who comes into the game wearing an illegal number for the position he takes must report to the referee before the start of the next play.
*The penalty for an [[ineligible receiver]] who touches a forward pass is a loss of down.
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==Division races==
From 1970 to 2001, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild"wild card”card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, records against common opponents, and records in conference play.
 
===National Football Conference===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Week<ref>{{Cite web |title=1981 NFL Standings Through Week 1 |url=https://champsorchumps.us/summary/nfl/1981/through-week-1 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=champsorchumps.us |language=en}}</ref>
! Week
! Eastern
!
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| 1–0–0
| Atlanta
| 1–0–0
| 6 teams
| 1–0–0
| 6 teams
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| Atlanta
| 2–0–0
| Six teams
| 1–1–0
| Six teams
| 1–1–0
Line 104 ⟶ 108:
| Atlanta
| 3–1–0
| 6 Teams
| 2–2–0
| 6 Teams
| 2–2–0
Line 255 ⟶ 261:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Week<ref>{{Cite web |title=1981 NFL Standings Through Week 1 |url=https://champsorchumps.us/summary/nfl/1981/through-week-1 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=champsorchumps.us |language=en}}</ref>
! Week
! Eastern
!
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| 7–3–0
| Denver
| 7–3–0
| 9–1–0
| San Diego
| 6–4–0
Line 392 ⟶ 398:
| Cincinnati
| 8–3–0
| Denver, KC
| 7–4–0
| Denver, KC
| 7–4–0
| NY Jets
| 6–4–1
| Buf, Pit
| 6–5–0
|-
| 12
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===Tiebreakers===
*Baltimore finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
*San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on better division record (6–2 to Broncos’Broncos' 5–3).
*Buffalo was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Denver (1–0).
*Detroit finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better record against common opponents (4–4 to Packers’Packers' 3–5).
 
==Playoffs==
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==Uniform changes==
* The [[Cincinnati Bengals]] made significant modifications to their uniforms for the first time since the team's debut in 1968, discontinuing the design similar to the [[Cleveland Browns]]' jerseys. Orange and black tiger stripes adorned the shoulder stripes of the jersey and the side striping of the pants. Black tiger stripes were also added to the orange helmets, replacing the Bengals wordmark.
* The [[Dallas Cowboys]] darkened the shade of their blue jerseys from royal to navy blue, with the numerals becoming silver. The Cowboys wore this blue jersey through [[1994 Dallas Cowboys season|1994]].
* The [[1981 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers]] resumed wearing blue pants with their white jerseys after a one-season hiatus; in addition, the team also changed their facemasksface masks from gray to red.
* The [[Los Angeles Rams]] switched from gray to navy blue facemasksface masks.
 
==Television==
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==References==
{{reflist}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=1981 NFL Standings Week by Week |url=https://champsorchumps.us/summary/nfl/1981/through-week-1 |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=champsorchumps.us |language=en}}</ref>
{{Reflist}}
*''NFL Record and Fact Book'' ({{ISBN|1-932994-36-X}})
*[http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1981-1990 NFL History 1981–1990] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006014832/http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1981-1990 |date=October 6, 2008 }} (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
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