1981 NFL Season Highlights & Super Bowl XVI Highlights

[Music] okay we go far right 50 belly on blue ready nfl 81 began with high blown hopes in september and ended four months later in a whirlwind finish there were more teams grabbing for a piece of the playoffs than ever before [Music] for some the high times began in the very first week teams like the kansas city chiefs franchise takes bubbles the snap it's loose picked up on the play by the chief rolling out of front of the field is thomas howard and he will go all the way led by their aggressive young defense and rookie sensation joe delaney number 37 the chiefs made the most of every opportunity and ran away with their first winning season in nine years the philadelphia eagles began the season like a rising rocket winning their first six games but the second stage never ignited and they plummeted to earth losing six of their last eight few bubbles burst quite so dramatically as the defending world champion oakland raiders in 1980 number 16 jim plunkett had come off the bench to lead oakland to a super bowl title but in 1981 oakland finished under 500 for the first time in 17 years in the middle of the season the raiders collapsed completely and were shut out in three consecutive games [Music] 1981 was a year in which hard times often brought out the best in people the miami dolphins lost their starting linebacker in a car accident and their first-round draft choice defected to canada but they responded to the leadership of their coach don shula and rewarded him with a surprising afc eastern division title the new york jets came from nowhere to finish second to the dolphins due in large part to the league's best pass rush the sack exchange and route to their first winning season in over a decade these jets showed character in the [Applause] [Music] clutch [Music] [Applause] 21 seconds remaining these fans are on their feet as todd is back to pass he's looking into the enzyme new york won a wild card playoff bird and so too did the buffalo bills propelled by the most explosive offense in franchise history buffalo won games in ways that no one thought possible now ferguson wants the crowd to quiet down 12 seconds left dropping back in the pocket looking there's the hail mary headed for the end zone and it is caught for a touchdown touchdown i don't believe it back for a touchdown i don't believe it a remarkable play never in my life have i seen an ending like this one what a finish just as there were unexpected winners there were unexpected losers as well incredible each week the talented new england patriots fell on hard times and when they met the baltimore colts on the season's last sunday history was made never before had two teams sharing so many losses played each other it was a day when the nfl which spends millions deciding its best spent an uncomfortable afternoon forced to decide its worst the patriots lost and thus earned a special place within a special season nfl 81 nfl 81 saw parody popping up throughout the league and it was a season that showed how one individual with special talents could turn a perennial loser into a sudden winner i went to the movies and saw superman one and i went to the movies i saw superman too but then i said to myself i said now i'm playing with superman three that's lawrence taylor the feats of taylor and his teammates left giants fans in awe as they want to play off berth for the first time in nearly two decades some of the nfl's youngest players were its brightest stars in 1981. number 38 george rogers of new orleans led the nfl in rushing and reaped a harvest of rookie of the year honors in only his third season unheralded free agent steve watson number 81 caught a league leading 13 touchdown passes and scored on the season's longest reception 95 yards [Music] when second-year quarterback eric hipple assumed command of the detroit lions in the season's seventh week the lions soared into contention in the nfc central hipple played with poise seldom seen and won so young and he made all things seem possible even a win over the dallas cowboys [Music] left with only 11 seconds but with 12 men the lions upset the cowboys on the game's very last play coming in is ed murray he's in there now wait second seven seconds it'll be from the 37 here's the kick and he boots it and it [Applause] is [Applause] grin grit and enthusiasm rejuvenated detroit [Music] but in the end the lions could not overcome a spirit of mutiny in the central division led by number 12 doug williams and his tampa bay buccaneers [Applause] on the last week of nfl 81 the buccaneers beat the lions 20 to 17 to win their second central division championship in three seasons [Music] [Applause] in a year when almost every team had its highs and lows the dallas cowboys remained a fixed star once again the cowboys used their muscle and mystique to make the playoffs for the 15th time in the last 16 years and their 16th consecutive winning season included another eastern division championship [Music] while the cowboys were the model of consistency don coryell's san diego chargers were a frustrating puzzle their offense had the right combination gaining more yards than any team in the history of the nfl however the pieces never seem to fit on defense opposing teams scored easily and often against the san diego pass defense that gave up more yards than any team in league history led by quarterback dan fouts the chargers were the highest scoring team in the league but whatever their magnificent offense earned their dreadful defense gave away between these extremes however the chargers won the afc west and earned the right to meet the dolphins in the playoffs on a hot humid night in miami the charger's entire season was summed up in a single game [Music] the chargers exploded to a 24 to nothing lead [Music] but the ghost of pass failures came suddenly alive as san diego's defense allowed miami to come back score 38 points and take a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter despite a bruised shoulder a pinched nerve and a case of heat exhaustion all pro tight end kellen winslow caught 13 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown all was recognized for his great skill now it was number 80's courage that carried his team through their greatest challenge [Music] on the final play of the fourth quarter winslow blocked a field goal to send the game into overtime after 74 minutes and 76 points rolf benershka's field goal ended what may have been the most exciting game in the history of pro football in 1981 the san diego chargers were not a team of destiny but as this victory proved they certainly were one of daring and drama [Music] nfl 81 was a cinderella season for the san francisco 49ers together they rose to power in the nfc west behind the leadership of ex-notre dame quarterback joe montana who had been groomed for greatness by head coach bill walsh if we call adx hook again and they got a bump and one on dry we'll just have bright one a full speed slant walsh's wizardry tamed the raw natural skills of montana a man with the quickest feat since fred astaire always on the move montana's favorite target was dwight clark number 87 who caught over 80 passes for the second year in a row the team everyone expected to falter never did as bill walsh gave the young 49ers stability and composure even when complaining to the officials you guys made an error there that was a lateral from upstairs we didn't see it either but it was a lateral class walsh's team could play defense as well led by veteran middle linebacker hacksaw reynolds the 49er defense manhandled opponents and helped san francisco run away with the nfl's most victories and a division crowd the 49ers race from obscurity into the nfc championship where they face the mighty dallas [Music] cowboys in this wicked hitting war with america's team the lead changed hands all afternoon the cowboys gliding ahead only to be outmaneuvered by montana's quick feet with four and a half minutes remaining in dallas clinging to a six-point lead the cowboys went to a pre-van defense with six defensive backs san francisco crossed up the cowboys by staying on the ground driving from the 49er 10 to the dallas doorstep 58 seconds remaining at the six yard line of the dallas cowboys everything hangs in the ballast now the season the outcome of a super bowl bird hangs in the balance he has them all montana rolling out the right looking toward the end zone throwing under pressure throws his pass caught by clark black little touchdown clark has it for the first time in franchise history the 49ers were nfc champions earning a berth in super bowl 16. after snoozing through three straight last place finishes in 1981 cincinnati bengal owner paul brown woke up the team with outrageous new uniforms the players didn't know whether to laugh or cry i'll tell you the truth when you're wearing a helmet like that it's one of those situations you either got to put up or shut up you either got a player they're going to laugh you out of the league cincinnati looked like a traveling sideshow and sure enough in the first game of the 1981 season these tigers with new stripes turned out to be the same old cincinnati bungles the seattle seahawks raced to a 21 point first half lead but a flicker of life remained for the team with the halloween helmets as third string quarterback turk schoenert came off the bench to lead an unbelievable comeback win over seattle this victory lifted the curse off the bengals were led by unsmiling forest greg a hall of famer as a player and a stern disciplinarian in the model of his former coach vince lombardi well i'll tell you what pat kicks like somebody with a busted knuckle great kick pat great kick i hope you do that in the pro bowl forest greg was tough well kick the damn thing for say and as the season progressed he watched his young team take shape [Music] okay what he saw melted the iron mask and for the first time he could see greatness for a team which had won just six games in 1980. i never felt until just recently that these people were tough enough but mister they have convinced me now they get after people and that's what i like [Music] the bengals were wide awake and back on the prowl a team as vibrant as its new stripes [Music] [Applause] [Music] after years of playing with great skill quarterback kenny anderson now played with heart and his courage earned him the nfl player of the year award for leading his team into the playoffs against san diego in the afc championship a wind chill factor of 59 degrees below zero turned the contest into a test of wills [Music] san diego's famed air corial failed to navigate the turbulent arctic headwinds however the bengals and courageous ken anderson defy the elements with flawless execution in the end this glorious icy afternoon belonged to the men and the funny helmets men who now wore their stripes as a symbol of pride cincinnati beat san diego and forest greg was off to the super bowl the first man ever to appear there as a player and as a coach [Music] super bowl 16 featured two teams that were new to the event and when the san francisco 49ers met the cincinnati bengals each pulled out all of the stops in pursuit of their first world title the game was decided by takeaways the bengals committed four costly turnovers and the 49ers turned them into the largest halftime lead in super bowl history 20 to nothing [Music] but in the second half the bengals caught fire [Music] their comeback hopes blaze to life as kenny anderson led them to a 21 point second half but the one touchdown that would have won the game for the bengals was smothered beneath the greatest goal line stand in super bowl history four times the 49ers arose to turn back the bengals it was a feat that earned them the world championship of professional football and a fitting conclusion to a great season nfl 81 good morning 4 news radio 95 in the city right now the relative humidity is 66 southwesterly winds at 21 giving us a windchill factor of 25 degrees below zero a super bowl hatch here both team hats here high winds and very cold temperatures the main factor to contend with the windchill index 25 to 35 below zero on strong winds it is most treacherous of all for pedestrians right now sidewalks are glazed over most of the areas you have a chance to hire someone or do it yourself try to get that ice clear [Music] perhaps in one respect detroit silva dome was an appropriate site for the cincinnati bengals to meet the san francisco 49ers both teams had come in from the cold to feel the warm glow of success after years of bitter disappointment and failure neither team had ever appeared in a super bowl before and they arrived in markedly different frames of mind the 49ers appeared confident and relaxed coach bill walsh set the mood for his team earlier in the week when he donned a bellman's uniform and helped his players with their luggage the bengals on the other hand seemed anxious and grim proud survivors of a difficult voyage under a demanding captain coach forrest gregg super bowl history suggests the team that scores first wins the game it had happened in 13 of 15 previous super bowls and when amos lawrence of the 49ers fumbled away the opening kickoff the bengals had a chance to test that statistic but they blew the test and then would become a victim of it with a ball on the san francisco 10-yard line kenny anderson's pass was intercepted by dwight hicks who returned the ball to the 32. from there the 49ers would begin their quest for that all-important first touchdown that in super bowl's past had usually shaped the action for the rest of the game in 1981 bill walsh guided his 49ers to the nfc title with an offense that controlled the ball by passing rather than running [Music] in super bowl 16 five of the first 6 49er plays were passes when they crossed midfield the 49ers unveiled another aspect of walsh's diverse game plan an exotic flea flicker pass from joe montana to charlie young gained 14 yards three plays later walt had another surprise for the bengals the 49ers left tackle dan ardeck moved over to the right side and lined up between guard randy cross and tackled keith faunhorst giving the 49ers four blockers on the right side while leaving just two on the left bill ring gained seven yards running out of this unbalanced line it was a little thing but in walsh's meticulous precise offense it is the sum of little things that count a short pass to freddie solomon left the 49ers one yard away from the all-important first touchdown of super bowl 16. following his signals is joe he's going to sneak [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and they made it look rather easily as they went 68 yards to score super bowls often bring out the little old lady in mighty football teams but the 49ers protected their lead with a defense that was just as daring and creative as their offense fred dean number 74 the all-pro defensive end was used once as a roving linebacker in the first quarter dean's blitz was picked up but keena turner got in for the sack a more significant blow was struck by cornerback eric wright in the second quarter anderson completed a pass to chris collingsworth at the 49er eight but wright stripped the ball from collinsworth and lynn thomas recovered the ball hawking 49er secondary had again snuffed out another cincinnati scoring opportunity brown white slot f right half back counter 14-0 the 49ers took over the ball eight yards from their own goal line and from there began the longest touchdown march in super bowl history [Music] like the 49ers first scoring drive this one consisted not of a few big plays but a lot of small ones executed with precision and without error [Music] with the ball on the bengal 11 the 49ers called to play they hadn't used in two years here's montana throwing toward the end zone by cooper he's got it earl cooper drops it off into the left flap nobody picked him up over there and a very very well conceived 49er offense has resulted in three or four wide open receivers this afternoon the past play that ended this 92-yard drive began with earl cooper faking a dive into the line freddie solomon and mike schuman the wide receivers on the left side lured three defenders into the end zone then cooper slipped unguarded into their vacated area to receive montana's short pass the befuddled bengals encountered still another aspect of bill walsh's clever game plan on the ensuing kickoff david versa misplayed ray wirshing's squib kick and the resulting poor field position led to a 49 appeal goal that made the score 17-0 late in the second quarter walsh had discovered this unique kick-off in the season's opening game in detroit when an injury had prevented washing from booming his kicks waltz noted the funny results on the hard surface of the silver dough so he turned accident into design and with 15 seconds left in the first half of super bowl 16 the bengals fumbled worshiping second squib kick and the 49ers recovered washing kicked the 26-yard field and the 49ers ended the second quarter with the largest halftime lead in super bowl history 20 to nothing [Music] like a smoldering fire the bengals could be smothered by another mistake or fanned to life by a touchdown at the start of the third quarter kenny anderson sparked a bengal drive with a variety of short passes [Music] then he culminated the 83-yard march with a 5-yard scramble for cincinnati's first touchdown [Music] the cool ingenuity of bill walsh had shaped the character of the first half now the mad fury of forrest gregg's defense would dominate the third quarter [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] in the third quarter the 49er offense was limited to eight plays for a grand total of four yards right now this guy's playing so loose he's playing the inside take it up and break it don't chase him in you're getting yourself covered by the inside linebacker on the bend on the outro 63. late in the period a 49-yard bomb from anderson to collingsworth put the bengals in position to score their second touchdown with the ball on the five-yard line the 49ers committed what could have been a costly error linebacker keena turner didn't hear the call to go out on the field and san francisco lined up with only 10 men [Music] pete johnson was held to just two yards but it was enough for a first down and set the stage for the greatest goal line stand in super bowl history like the game itself the outcome of this goal line stand would be determined by a collection of small things some done well some not with a first down and gold to go at the three 49 a tackle john coma was not blocked a missed assignment allowed him a clean shot at pete johnson and with help from danny buns coma held the huge fullback to a two-yard game second down and one from the one watch santa blair bush number 58 make a leaping but futile attempt to reach jack reynolds number 64. bush was too late as reynolds anticipated the play and delivered a stunning blow that helped stop johnson for no game bush would have preferred not to jump but he was forced to by the charge of archie reese and by the time he landed reynolds was on his way to the ball carrying actually there were two missed blocks on this play anderson had called a blocking audible at the line of scrimmage the man in motion david versus was supposed to block craig pookie but versa didn't hear the audible and pookie jammed the play for no game third down and one from the one anderson passed to running back charles alexander but danny barnes dropped him 12 inches short of the goal line it was an outstanding play by buns and another critical mistake by the bengals the play called for alexander to get into the end zone before he turned for the ball but he made his cut too short and burns made him pay for his mistake by tackling him immediately fourth down and one foot and here are the bengals now as ken anderson is ready from the two-foot line falling sickles on fourth down has the ball has it off he's met at the goal line i don't believe he got in i don't believe he's in there the 49ers have held and listen to the minus crowd across the way the final play in the 49ers magnificent stand was in the best sense of the cliche a team effort reynolds buns and ronnie lot converged on johnson and stuffed him at the line of scrimmage cincinnati had not only lost another scoring opportunity but they lost something just as important time with only one quarter left to play the 49ers led 20-7 [Applause] although time was running out on the bengals their fighting spirit never flies [Music] and early in the fourth quarter their offense retrieved some of its lost dignity with a determined 53-yard touchdown drop will go back to throw looks fires into the end zone touchdown the damn rod [Music] and now the bengals are right back in this football game with 10 minutes to play the difference between the two teams was only six points and the greatest comeback in super bowl history suddenly seemed within the grasp of the surging cincinnati bengals [Applause] you have to wonder if the 49ers aren't beginning to come apart a little bit here andy all day long the 49ers had consistently made the little plays now they needed a big one they got it when joe montana passed to mike wilson for a 22-yard game waltz designed this play specifically for mike wilson because whenever he ran a pattern longer than 20 yards the bengals would cover him deep assuming he would be montana's long-range target but this new play named sweet pass right z comeback called for wilson to go downfield 25 yards then cut off the pattern and come back for a shorter pass a tiny adjustment but a big play and it gave the 49ers decent field position for the first time in the second half from this point on walsh went exclusively to his ground attack cincinnati finally stopped the 49ers advance by sending defensive backs like bobby kemp number 26 on kamikaze missions to knock out the lead blockers the bengals had given up too much ground however and ray washing's 40-yard field goal restored strategic control of the game to the 49th whatever small hope remained for the bengals died on their next offensive play here's anderson back peddling throws a pass over the middle and it's intercepted by right he got him at the 45 to 40 down the sidelines the 25 cuts back in still this feat gets away from the tackle then fumbles it it's loose there at the 21 yard line we'll see who got it and the 49ers have recovered a ball just short of the bengals 21-yard line that might be it right there eric wright's interception led to washing's fourth field goal which increased san francisco's lead to 12 points with just two minutes to play now the bengals were battling not only the fired up 49ers but an even more relentless enemy the clock run clock run [Music] once again the resourceful 49ers proved there are many ways to play this game and win they let anderson complete his passes in the center of the field but never allowed his receivers to catch the ball near the sideline and stop the clock so as anderson gained yards he lost time with 16 seconds left the bengal scored on a pass from anderson to dan ross [Music] although the final touchdown belonged to cincinnati super bowl 16 belonged to the san francisco 49ers the 49ers awarded bill walsh and his staff and compounded pro football observers throughout the year winning week after week and compiling that thirty to three regular season record for the first time in the 35 year history of the team the people of san francisco could proudly say those three magic words world champion 49ers [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] this nfl films production has been brought to you by the national football league the nfl is online at www.nfl.com

Channel: Sports Odyssey

Views: 6,369

Rating: 4.9499998 out of 5

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Id: 4k0G-xsVXFs

Length: 45min 5sec (2705 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 31 2020