1981 NFL Week 1

embarking on a super bowl odyssey in steeler country is like starting a pleasure cruise on devil's island for visiting teams the three rivers channel into a sea of despair the kansas city chiefs began 1981 with hopes of stemming the tide but terry bradshaw and lynn swann number 88 had other ideas [Music] but the steelers natural habitat suddenly became treacherous terrain [Music] an aggressive chiefs defense for seven steeler turnovers and kansas city's offense capitalized by scoring 20 points sorerib sub bill kenny threw a pair of touchdown passes including one to carlos carson number 88. [Music] but the stubborn steelers refused to relinquish their territorial rights bradshaw passed for over 300 yards and kept pittsburgh in a game in which the lead changed hands seven times a 41-yard scoring pass to jim smith number 86 midway through the fourth quarter appeared to put the steelers in control for keeps but brilliance eventually gave way to blunder when number 54 frank banu malayuna blitz through an open lane to force a fumble [Music] number 52 thomas howard then completed the conquest of steeler country with a 65-yard score that gave the chiefs a 37-33 upset win their first against the steelers in a decade this week the chiefs must defend their own home turf against tampa bay the buccaneers of tampa bay inaugurated the 1981 season against minnesota quarterback doug williams gave his mates a lead that they never lost when he launched a 55-yard bomb to kevin house number 89. [Music] in passing over the vikings williams merely looked strong in running through them he looked downright invincible minnesota countered williams raw power with a precision passing offense led by steve dills and receiving corps that took the art of ball control very seriously [Music] so but after number 81 joe sensor's score viking victory hopes were stifled by neal kohlsey's 80-yard interception kolsey number 20 was assisted by a block from number one draft choice hugh green number 53. [Music] the buccaneers 21-13 victory marked their first ever home win against the defending nfc central division champion vikings tampa bay of course covets that crown and though they have a few problems to work out while pursuing the title the one thing they don't have to worry about is togetherness [Music] togetherness was also apparent in detroit where monty clark's lions began their nfc central title chase last week against san francisco in combining with gary danielson for a 38-yard score number 20 billy sims picked up where he left off in 1980 when he was the nfl's rookie of the year after displaying his patented end zone glide sims was forced to make a crash landing with 18 seconds left in the game with the 24 to 17 win the lions registered a resounding impact one that they hope will increase enforce during a season in which some young teams threaten to replace the nfl's old standbys for the first time in their 15-year history the atlanta falcons opened a season as the defending champions of the nfc western division in just four years the falcons have gone from patsy to powerhouse and in their home opener against the new orleans saints atlanta showed why they are being called a super bowl contender this is a team that stirs excitement in virtually every aspect of the game a fact that becomes evident when heard on the mutual radio network's flagship station wgst and described by the voice of the falcons bob neal [Music] short drop bart throws right over the middle it's complete touchdown wallace francis then francis gets his second touchdown reception of the day atlanta is just as good on defense something the saints had the misfortune of finding out last sunday it marked the debut of the nfl's number one draft choice george rogers number 38. in college rogers had a string of 22 consecutive 100-yard plus games but in his first pro outing that string was abruptly snapped you are the defensive units that can put as many helmets on a ball carrier and fewer still are the clubs that can turn opportunity into touchdowns like these atlanta falcons [Music] [Music] [Applause] the 27 to nothing final confirmed at least two pre-season predictions the falcons are a great football team the saints are not this week the falcons will meet a team that is trying to prove that their strong pre-season wasn't a fluke the green bay packers last sunday runners jerry ellis number 31 and eddie lee ivory ran the ball down the throat of the chicago bears and upset them 16-9 but while packer bear games are traditionally conservative and low scoring patriot cold encounters generally are those of a quicker tempo last sunday was no exception and despite an occasional showing this was not a day for defense new england rolled up 28 points with three touchdowns coming on passes from quarterback steve grogan [Music] new england gained more yards but baltimore scored one more point mainly because of the hard-nosed running of rookie fullback randy mcmillan number 32. [Music] the colts first round draft choice rolled up 146 yards by following blockers such as number 61 robert pratt once macmillan was past the block his strength and speed simply did the rest baltimore won the game 29-28 but while their offense was impressive this week they'll get a real test against last year's number one ranked defense the buffalo bills against the new york jets last sunday the bill's defense simply picked up where they left off a year ago [Music] new york failed to register a single point the bill's offense on the other hand rolled behind blocks that while not held very long still enabled joe cribbs to find the end zone [Music] buffalo spent the afternoon proving that their offense is as well-rounded as any in the league and joe ferguson passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns no longer a sneaky cinderella squad buffalo is a good solid football team much like the atlanta falcons and if their 31 to nothing route of the jets is any indication 1981 could be a long season for afc eastern opponents [Music] as an assistant with the cowboys dan reeves was one of football's sharpest offensive minds as the denver broncos new head coach reeves looks to ignite an attack in need of a spark [Music] against the raiders 38 year old craig morton hit a streaking rickup church as reeves broncos quickly flashed their new firepower [Music] it was denver's only touchdown of the game penalties and missed field goals prevented the broncos from capitalizing on numerous scoring opportunities [Music] this punt return by number 83 wade manning was called back due to a penalty while kicker fred steinfort missed five field goals after missing only eight all of last season [Music] it was the same story the broncos offense sputtered but the defense bailed them out linebacker tom jackson number 57 typified denver's aggressive style as he and his mates pressured jim plunkett sacking him five times the broncos shut down the raiders deep passing game forcing plunkett out of the pocket where he is not an effective quarterback number 56 larry evans interception helped denver to a 9-7 victory over the defending super bowl champions it was a win that belonged to the defense [Applause] another pretty good defense that of the philadelphia eagles was responsible for an eagles win at giant stadium al chesley number 59 replacing an injured bill bergie and inside linebacker made a place for himself on the nfl's number one defensive unit [Music] although philadelphia led only ten to three through two and a half quarters the eagles were in control ron jaworski's touchdown pass to number 83 rodney parker midway through the third period put the game away philadelphia's 24-10 victory over the giants was the first step as dick vermeel's eagles look for a return trip to the super bowl [Music] rams quarterback pat hayden also has super bowl aspirations the only time los angeles was there he was injured against the oilers the much maligned hayden got his team off to a running start [Music] hayden threw two touchdown passes in the first half as the rams offense picked up where it left off last season of course vince ferragamo was the quarterback in 1980 a point los angeles fans have not allowed hayden to forget but at the end of the first half against houston it was los angeles 17 and the oilers 6. [Music] the oilers have a quarterback who's not only been to the super bowl but who's led his team to victory there ken stabler 12 days out of retirement calmly brought houston back into the game throwing two touchdown passes in the third quarter [Music] [Applause] [Music] stabler's first score went to running back rob carpenter two minutes later following a ram turnover the snake hit double zero ken burrow as the oilers jumped to a 20 to 17 advantage [Music] frank corral's field goal with just over a minute left in the game tied the score at 20 and set the stage for the heroics of rookie willie tullis number 20. tulus raced 95 yards for a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining to give the visiting oilers a 27 to 20 win after a poor exhibition season in which they have been counted out as contenders the oilers rebounded to upset one of the nfc's best giving new coach ed biles his first nfl win the cincinnati bengals are sporting new stripes this season but beneath their colorful tiger in the tank exterior lies a football team that some say lacks the desire to be a champion [Music] last sunday at home against seattle the bengals were scored upon early and often first on a 24-yard interception return by seahawk safety john harris and later on a 36-yard touchdown pass from jim zorn to number 80 steve largent [Music] [Applause] [Music] but just when the blue birds were about to cut loose an unknown third string signal caller named turk schoener took over a quarterback never before had the stanford grab thrown a pass in the nfl but on this day his teammates latched on to everything he offered up [Music] schoener guided the new look bengals on three separate touchdown drives and on seven counting seven occasions he himself carried the football it was a kind of raw inspirational performance bengal fans haven't seen much of in recent seasons and they liked it a lot late in period 4 fullback pete johnson powered across from the 2-yard line giving the bengals a 27 to 21 come from behind win for a team often criticized as being short on heart it was a remarkable season opening effort and for a 24 year old passer from placentia california it was a memorable nfl debut [Music] in saint louis a damaged knee sidelined veteran cardinal quarterback jim hart setting the stage for another young quarterback's debut then of number 16 rookie neil lomax lomax however didn't have the schoner [Music] touch the miami dolphins intercepted lomax's first nfl pass and limited the cardinals to one harmless fourth quarter touchdown miami quarterback david woodley meanwhile launched a pair of scoring passes to wide receiver jimmy cephalo in a 20-7 dolphin win miami's 12th straight over nfc opponents for dolphin coach dan shula was the first of seven wins that he needs to reach 200 career victories only one other active coach has more [Music] the effervescent tom landry whose dallas cowboys have now won 17 straight opening day games this year's victims the washington redskins a team whose revamped roster is the work of first year head coach joe gibbs but for all the new faces in the nation's capital only running back joe washington made a dent in doomsday taking joe theismann's second quarter's swing pass 15 yards for a score before and after washington's fine individual effort the redskins could do nothing else as doomsday handed head coach gibbs the same kind of treatment they afforded his predecessors jack pardee and george allen four times the cowboys makeshift secondary picked off the iceman passes this one by dennis thurman nearly spammed the gridiron it was typical of dallas dominance offensively the cowboys shotgun was deadly accurate on this 42-yarder from danny white to drew pearson [Music] back on 132 yards rushing by tony dorsett and the beautiful one-handed stab by billy joe dupree and you've got a cowboy route not since 1964 as dallas lost an opening day last sunday they broke in their new uniforms and a new coach in customary cowboy fashion with a convincing 26 to 10 dallas victory

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Length: 21min 16sec (1276 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021