# 1981 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1981 Dallas Cowboys season was their 22nd in the league. The team matched their previous output of 12–4, winning their fifth division title in six years. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season.
The season began with four straight victories, followed by two losses (including a surprising 45–14 blowout loss to the 49ers in week six). The Cowboys rebounded to win 8 of their last 9 games to clinch the NFC East but had to settle for the conference's number two seed behind the 49ers.
The Cowboys easily defeated Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff to earn a rematch with the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The game was much closer this time, and the Cowboys still held a 27–21 lead with less than a minute to play. However, Joe Montana led a late drive and hit Dwight Clark in the famous "Catch" to give San Francisco a 28–27 lead. On the ensuing Cowboys possession, Danny White completed a pass to Drew Pearson, and was only an arms length away from breaking free from Eric Wright and most likely scoring a touchdown. Jim Stuckey recovered a White fumble on the next play, then the 49ers ran out the clock for the win.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1981 Dallas Cowboys draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 26 | Howard Richards | OT | Missouri | |
| 2 | 53 | Doug Donley | WR | Ohio State | |
| 3 | 81 | Glen Titensor | OG | BYU | |
| 4 | 91 | Scott Pelluer | LB | Washington State | from San Francisco |
| 4 | 108 | Derrie Nelson | LB | Nebraska | |
| 5 | 137 | Danny Spradlin | LB | Tennessee | |
| 6 | 163 | Vince Skillings | DB | Ohio State | |
| 7 | 173 | Ron Fellows | CB | Missouri | |
| 7 | 191 | Ken Miller | DB | Eastern Michigan | |
| 8 | 218 | Paul Piurowski | LB | Florida State | |
| 9 | 246 | Mike Wilson | WR | Washington State | |
| 10 | 273 | Pat Graham | DT | California | |
| 11 | 302 | Tim Morrison | OG | Georgia | |
| 12 | 329 | Nate Lundy | WR | Indiana | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1981 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Michael Downs | Safety | Rice |
| Angelo King | Linebacker | South Carolina State |
| Everson Walls | Cornerback | Grambling State |
| Steve Wright | Tackle | Northern Iowa |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 6 | at Washington Redskins | W 26–10 | 1–0 | RFK Stadium | 55,045 | Recap |
| 2 | September 13 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 30–17 | 2–0 | Texas Stadium | 63,602 | Recap |
| 3 | September 21 | at New England Patriots | W 35–21 | 3–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,311 | Recap |
| 4 | September 27 | New York Giants | W 18–10 | 4–0 | Texas Stadium | 63,449 | Recap |
| 5 | October 4 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–20 | 4–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,477 | Recap |
| 6 | October 11 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–45 | 4–2 | Candlestick Park | 57,574 | Recap |
| 7 | October 18 | Los Angeles Rams | W 29–17 | 5–2 | Texas Stadium | 64,649 | Recap |
| 8 | October 25 | Miami Dolphins | W 28–27 | 6–2 | Texas Stadium | 64,221 | Recap |
| 9 | November 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–14 | 7–2 | Veterans Stadium | 72,111 | Recap |
| 10 | November 9 | Buffalo Bills | W 27–14 | 8–2 | Texas Stadium | 62,583 | Recap |
| 11 | November 15 | at Detroit Lions | L 24–27 | 8–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 79,694 | Recap |
| 12 | November 22 | Washington Redskins | W 24–10 | 9–3 | Texas Stadium | 64,587 | Recap |
| 13 | November 26 | Chicago Bears | W 10–9 | 10–3 | Texas Stadium | 63,499 | Recap |
| 14 | December 6 | at Baltimore Colts | W 37–13 | 11–3 | Memorial Stadium | 54,871 | Recap |
| 15 | December 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–10 | 12–3 | Texas Stadium | 64,955 | Recap |
| 16 | December 19 | at New York Giants | L 10–13 (OT) | 12–4 | Giants Stadium | 73,009 | Recap |
Division opponents are in bold text

## Game notes
### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 26 |
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |

### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| • Cowboys | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 30 |

### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 35 |
| Patriots | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 18 |

### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| • Cardinals | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • 49ers | 21 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| • Cowboys | 12 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 29 |

### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 27 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |

### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 27 |

### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| • Lions | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 27 |

### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| • Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cowboys | 17 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 37 |
| Colts | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |

### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| • Giants | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| Wild Card | First Round Bye | First Round Bye | First Round Bye | First Round Bye | First Round Bye | First Round Bye |
| Divisional | January 2, 1982 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) | W 38–0 | Texas Stadium | 64,848 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 10, 1982 | at San Francisco 49ers (1) | L 27–28 | Candlestick Park | 60,525 | Recap |

### Divisional Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bucs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 38 |

### Conference Championship

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 27 |
| • 49ers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |