1981 NFL Week 13

[Music] even if you don't happen to carry a torch for the style of play in the nfc central the division race has become a torrid affair that no real fan can be lukewarm about at minnesota things got very hot indeed as tommy kramer and the vikings came out smoking against the packers [Music] number 28 ahmad rashad caught one of two first quarter kramer scoring passes and the minnesota quarterback was on his way to a club record 38 completions the bikes built a 14 to nothing lead when kramer connected with joe sensor number 81. but green bay withstood the heat and stayed in the kitchen as the quick minnesota start proved to be a flash in the pan packer defenders like mike douglas number 53 doused the vikings fire [Music] the packer offense was ignited by lynn dickey back after a four-game absence dickey's three touchdown passes included a game-tying bomb that allowed the seldom thrown to john jefferson number 83 to display his old magic while jj executed a magic act number 80 james lofton performed a disappearing act [Applause] lofton caught seven passes for 159 yards and his fourth quarter touchdown reception secured a 35-23 victory that left the packers just one game shy of the division league [Music] as the vikings slipped to 7-6 the nfc central had suddenly been thrown up for grabs the free-for-all had been set in motion on thanksgiving day when detroit improved its record to 7-6 with a win over kansas city eric hipple threw a pair of touchdown passes hipple helped counter the afc's top-ranked rushing defense led by determined defenders like cal peterson number 50. the chief's rushing offense is the nfl's best but this didn't phase block breaking bubba baker number 60. kansas city's horses were also kept from breaking out of the gate by dave pirifoy number 75. on a day when few tackles were broken number 20 billy sims devised the best solution he took a tackler right along with him into the end zone with their 27 to 10 victory the lions were naturally counting on the vikings to fall and thus produce a neat little two-way tie for first but detroit didn't figure on tampa bay rising to make it an untidy three-way affair the bucks also had a chance to seize a share of the division lead but in new orleans that chance nearly eluded their grasp the saints jumped out to a 14 to nothing lead on number 38 george rogers 10th touchdown of the season tampa has lacked a runner of rogers quality but with number 26 james owens the buck's backfield fortunes are on the rebound [Music] while owens muscled his way for a touchdown leroy selman number 63 muscled his way into the new orleans backfield where he rudely brought the saints lofty upset hopes back down to earth when it comes to strong arm tactics however few can equal tampa quarterback doug williams william's main strength is strength but he demonstrated a good deal of subtlety in completing 16 of 24 passes two of them for scores [Applause] williams also ran for a touchdown in a contest that produced yet another hero and resilient receiver kevin house number 89 house's shoestring scoring reception helped put a share of the division lead securely in the buck's fingertips with their 31-14 victory the buccaneers were able to say we're number one but in the highly contested nfc central a lot of people can make that same claim you're playing on your home field but it doesn't matter the nightmare is about to begin you will enter a world from which there is no return you will soon be face to face with the best team in your conference the cincinnati bengals there is no escape all you can do is play the game and hope that something good will happen [Music] unfortunately for the cleveland browns that was not the case brian seif was a victim of the punishing bengals defense as the cleveland quarterback experienced another week of frustration and pain in an agonizing 1981 season while scythe suffered pete johnson pulverized johnson number 46 scored three touchdowns including this 11-yard bust up the gut cincinnati's mean streak did subside occasionally but not often the bengals granted cleveland a reprieve here and there highlighted by this site to ricky feature touchdown pass in the second quarter [Music] but the game belonged to cincinnati and their quarterback ken anderson he ended four first half tries with touchdown passes raising his total to 25 for the season but more impressive than that is another statistic the cincinnati quarterback has only thrown six interceptions all year of course receivers like chris collinsworth number 80 make anderson's job that much easier [Music] the final was cincinnati 41 in cleveland 21 boris greg's bengals threw 13 weeks the nfl's most imposing team [Music] it was only four short weeks ago that the pittsburgh steelers were written off as serious contenders for a playoff spot you'll recall that the steelers blew a 21-3 lead in the second half against the less than mighty seahawks but pittsburgh has been flying high ever since [Music] last week against the rams a few familiar names like stallworth fred shaw and harris propelled the steelers to their third consecutive win [Music] suddenly these old steelers look like the steelers of old bradshaw sacrificing his body for the tough yards heiress following precise trap blocks untouched into the secondary can pittsburgh rekindle the fires of the last decade or is this just the final storm before the lasting calm only time will tell but last sunday's 24 to nothing shutout of los angeles looked awningly familiar it was the kind of performance the steelers used to give with regularity just a few short years ago perhaps swan and the boys are ready for one last hurrah [Music] dallas backup quarterback glenn carano had nothing in his pro pass that sparked fond remembrances but after last week's effort against the bears carano can begin the scrapbook replacing an injured danny white carano responded late in the game setting up dallas's only touchdown with his passing when number 20 ron springs scored with less than six minutes remaining the cowboys managed to beat chicago 10-9 on a day when dallas offense was lacking the cowboys still prevailed [Music] the same was true of the san francisco 49ers playing to win their first nfc western division championship since 1972. joe montana's quarterback draw was about the only offense san francisco could muster against the strong giants defense [Music] in a game that did not produce much offense new york crossed the goal line only once on this rob carpenter touchdown for the 49ers defense was the key as it has been for them in recent weeks archie reese number 78 helped shut down the giants running game forcing inexperienced quarterback scott bruner to throw more than he wanted to the result was three interceptions the biggest by dwight hicks number 22 his ninth of the season [Music] hicks's interception set up san francisco's other touchdown a run by johnny davis as the 49ers clinched their first division title in nine seasons with a 17-10 victory it was no time to quietly applaud in a dignified manner the 49ers were champions their fans had not been able to say that for a long time with glittering super bowl memories still evident oakland raider owner al davis cannot help but wonder how the brilliance of his team has faded so quickly 1981 has been a cheap imitation of oakland's 24-carat season a year ago against seattle the raider offense fell apart like an inexpensive string of pearls as defenders like manu tuiasasofo help limit open to only three points in the first half the seahawk defense forced five raider turnovers and provided numerous opportunities for jim zorn and the offense this long gain by fiotus brown number 30 set up one seattle score as the seahawks held a comfortable 24 to 11 lead going into the fourth quarter [Music] however in the final period quarterback mark wilson chipped away at seattle's lead with the precision of a diamond cutter and the power of a sandblaster [Music] wilson directed the raiders to three final quarter touchdowns including this score to number 22 art whittington to defeat the seahawks 32-31 with a six and seven record the win does not restore the luster of a super bowl season but it does blur the possibility of oakland experiencing its first losing season in 18 years from the looks of this patriots fan you'd think new england hasn't won a game in 18 years but actually it's only been six weeks as the patriots lost again on sunday this time to st louis as usual the cardinals were faced by a ground attack featuring the blocking of wayne morris number 24 and the running of otis anderson number 32. [Music] anderson gained nearly 100 yards against new england and this fourth quarter touchdown helped lift st louis to a 20 to 13 lead the patriots came back and tied the score but with only 33 seconds remaining in the game rookie neil lomax threw a touchdown pass to number 25 roy green a versatile performer who plays defensive back as well as wide receiver green's 33-yard score provided st louis with a 27-20 win the victory was the cardinals third in a row and improved their record to six and seven [Music] in houston the playoff-minded atlanta falcons looked toward the heavens hoping to improve their six and six record against the oilers [Music] atlanta's prayers were answered by quarterback steve barkowski who threw two touchdown passes to boost the falcons to a 24 point first half however it is well known what biblical character the snake represents and kenny stabler bedeviled atlanta with two touchdowns of his own to keep the game close in the third quarter barkowski who completed 18 of 25 passes for 372 yards added the falcons lead with this pass to william andrews number 31 that was fumbled but fortunately recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by alfred jackson number 85. trailing 31-13 in the final period houston replaced stabler with gifford nielsen who played for the first time since suffering a preseason shoulder separation [Music] [Applause] nielsen shoulder seemed well healed as he moved the oilers 63 yards on his first series capping the drive with an earl campbell touchdown [Music] after campbell's score atlanta was unable to maintain possession of the ball and minutes later nielsen had the oilers back at the falcons goal line [Music] and your armstrong spectacular catch tightened the score at 31-27 however atlanta held on to win boosting its record to 7-6 and keeping its nfc wild card hopes alive [Music] the buffalo bills found themselves in another must-win situation last sunday and once again joe ferguson and friends met the challenge against the washington redskins buffalo made the sorts of plays champions are supposed to make the redskins may have won the battle of statistics but in crucial situations the bills prevailed [Applause] [Music] [Applause] buffalo's opportunistic defense was burned only once that coming in the second period when a joe theismann pump fake lured the bill secondary every which way but deep and that was where theisman found wide receiver art monk [Music] the redskins had been trailing 14 to nothing until monk's catch and a john reagan's touchdown run not of the score but for the second time in two weeks a stubborn opponent would be outdone by buffalo's super sub the clinching score came on a third period tackled trap play and the ball carrier was back up running back roland hooks just as he done the week before against new england roland hook scored the bill's winning touchdown final score buffalo 21 washington 14. [Music] this week the bills traveled to san diego to face the chargers a team whose first unit star powered them back to the top in the afc west against the denver broncos running back chuck munsey exploded for four first-half touchdowns giving him 18 rushing touchdowns on the season just one shy of the nfl record [Music] the longest was a 14-yard sprint the shortest was a one-yard cake walk it was all in a day's work for san diego's big gun chuck muncie has shown his charger teammates he's willing to work to make them champions and players such as veteran guard doug wilkerson have given big chuck the best blocking he's ever seen muncie's superior exhibition pays the chargers to an easy victory but to all those afc clubs whose sights are set on the super bowl beware of a trip to flushing meadows new york where the new york jets have turned civilized citizens into frenzied football fanatics the driving force behind this growing hysteria are the members of the new york sac exchange currently the nfl's most unstoppable pass rushing unit the inspirational leader is defensive end mark gastineau last week as usual gastineau whipped shea stadium into an uproar baltimore cold quarterback burt jones suffered the consequences as the colts failed to score a point new york added five more sacks to their league leading total and forced the colts to turn the ball over on downs all afternoon eventually baltimore's special teams got tired and that's when the always dangerous bruce harper got loose harper's 46-yard return set up one of two jet touchdowns both were scored by rookie running back freeman mcneil the jets won 25 to nothing to remain tied for first place in the afc east and how did those distinguished young brokers react to another big win in the sack market they're bullish on victory these days in shea stadium and when the members of the new york sac exchange talk the rest of the nfl is beginning to listen

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Length: 21min 17sec (1277 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 15 2021