The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL) and its 22nd overall. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 1980 but they did retain the AFC West Division title for the third consecutive year, finishing 10–6. In the playoffs, they beat the Dolphins in a classic game known as the Epic in Miami then lost to the Bengals in a frigid game known as the Freezer Bowl.
1981 was the second straight season in which the Chargers reached the AFC Championship Game, as well as their second consecutive loss.
During this season, the Chargers lost two key players by way of trade. Before week 3, wide receiver John Jefferson was dealt to the Green Bay Packers while defensive end Fred Dean would be dealt to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers by Week 5. The Chargers brought in Wes Chandler from New Orleans to replace Jefferson. After a slow start, he finished with 857 yards from 12 games (he had 1,142 yards on the season, counting his four games with the Saints). The other starting wideout was Charlie Joiner who had one of his best seasons at age 34, gaining a career-high 1,188 yards and matching his career-best with 7 touchdowns. Rounding out the trio of receiving stars, tight end Kellen Winslow led the league in receptions for the second consecutive year, finishing with 88 catches for 1,075 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Quarterback Dan Fouts broke the NFL record for passing yardage for the third consecutive season, averaging 300 yards per game for the first time as he totaled 4,802. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was the best of his career at 33 to 17. He was helped in this by a strong offensive line, anchored by veterans Russ Washington and Doug Wilkerson who conceded only 19 sacks from 16 games, their best performance through Fouts' 15 years with the club. Running back Chuck Muncie enjoyed his best season, running for 1,144 yards and 19 touchdowns, tying the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns. With rookie James Brooks and John Cappelletti also contributing, San Diego rushed for over 2,000 yards for the only time during the pass-focussed Don Coryell's tenure.
While the offense was soaring to new heights, the defense collapsed in Dean's absence, becoming among the league's worst. They continued to be tough against the run but with veteran safety Glen Edwards absent with injury through the first half of the season, they dropped to dead last against the pass: the 4,311 yards they conceded were a new NFL record. On the plus side, they did manage an above-average 23 interceptions with Willie Buchanon snagging a team-leading five. San Diego's sack count declined somewhat from 60 to 47, tied for third-best in the NFL. New starter John Woodcock tied with Gary Johnson as team-leaders, each managing 9.5 sacks.
On special teams, James Brooks put in a strong performance: his 13.2 yards per punt return was second best in the league with 23.7 yards per kickoff return, he ranked seventh. Rolf Benirschke made 19 of 26 field goals, including two late game-winners.
The season was chronicled on September 18, 2008 for America's Game: The Missing Rings as the greatest NFL team to never win the Super Bowl.
1981 NFL draft
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
+ 1981 preseason gamesWeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance 1 August 8 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–12 0–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 2 August 15 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–28 1–1 Candlestick Park 3 August 21 Los Angeles Rams W 33–29 2–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 4 August 28 Buffalo Bills L 24–30 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at Cleveland Browns W 44–14 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,904 Recap 2 September 13 Detroit Lions W 28–23 2–0 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,264 Recap 3 September 20 at Kansas City Chiefs W 42–31 3–0 Arrowhead Stadium 63,866 Recap 4 September 27 at Denver Broncos L 24–42 3–1 Mile High Stadium 74,822 Recap 5 October 4 Seattle Seahawks W 24–10 4–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,463 Recap 6 October 11 Minnesota Vikings L 31–33 4–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 50,708 Recap 7 October 18 at Baltimore Colts W 43–14 5–2 Memorial Stadium 41,921 Recap 8 October 25 at Chicago Bears L 17–20 5–3 Soldier Field 52,906 Recap 9 November 1 Kansas City Chiefs W 22–20 6–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,307 Recap 10 November 8 Cincinnati Bengals L 17–40 6–4 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,259 Recap 11 at Seattle Seahawks L 23–44 6–5 Kingdome 58,628 Recap 12 November 22 at Oakland Raiders W 55–21 7–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,199 Recap 13 November 29 Denver Broncos W 34–17 8–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,533 Recap 14 December 6 Buffalo Bills L 27–28 8–6 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,488 Recap 15 December 13 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–23 9–6 Tampa Stadium 67,388 Recap 16 Oakland Raiders W 23–10 10–6 Jack Murphy Stadium 52,279 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
James Brooks ran a punt back 21 yards to start the first Chargers possession and finished it with a 4-yard touchdown run. Benirschke added a 50-yard field goal late in the opening quarter, before Brian Sipe led the Browns on a 5-play touchdown drive. San Diego also scored on 5 plays, the final three of which were Muncie runs of 17, 7, and 9 yards for the touchdown. Muncie had a 21-yard run on their next drive, ending with Benirschke's second field goal; San Diego led 20–7 at the interval.
San Diego opened the second half with another touchdown drive, this one finishing with Fouts' 13-yard touchdown pass to Brooks on 3rd and 3. The Browns responded with Sipe's second touchdown pass, which came on 4th down. Joiner's 51-yard catch-and-run on the following play from scrimmage took San Diego back into Cleveland territory, leading to Bauer's short touchdown catch. Cleveland had a 4th and goal from the San Diego 7-yard line late in the 3rd quarter—they again went for it, but Sipe threw incomplete. The Chargers took over on downs and Fouts immediately hit Joiner for a gain of 57 yards, setting up another field goal. Mike Williams and Bob Gregor had interceptions in the final quarter, either side of another Fouts' touchdown pass, to Ron Smith.
Joiner's 191 yards were the most he had in a single game as a Charger. Muncie rushed for 161 yards and added 23 receiving yards—it was the most combined yards he gained in any game throughout his career.
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions
As in their opening game, the Chargers scored on their first possession; Fouts converted a 3rd and 6 with a 24-yard pass to Muncie and followed it with a 40-yard completion to Joiner, setting up Muncie's touchdown two plays later. Fouts was intercepted near midfield on their next possession, and Detroit reached a 1st and goal at the San Diego 1-yard line. Louie Kelcher tackled Dexter Bussey for a 3-yard loss on the next play, and stopped Gary Danielson near the goal line on 3rd down, leading the Lions to kick a short field goal. Late in the second quarter the Lions gained a first down at the San Diego 20-yard line, but were pushed back by an offensive holding penalty and Kelcher's sack, eventually punting. The score remained 7–3 at halftime.
Detroit opened the second half with a 71-yard touchdown drive. Muncie lost a fumble on the next play from scrimmage, setting up a field goal. Joiner's 49-yard catch took the Chargers into Lions territory, and Winslow resorted their lead with a 9-yard catch on 3rd and 7. Detroit responded with a 67-yard touchdown drive, then forced a punt. Leroy Jones regained the ball for San Diego with a fumble recovery near midfield; from there, Fouts threw a 44-yard pass to Dwight Scales, setting up Muncie's second touchdown two plays later. Detroit successfully executed a fake punt on their next drive, eventually retaking the lead on a field goal with 4:32 to play. On the next drive, Fouts converted a 3rd and 1 with a quarterback sneak and a 3rd and 3 with a 15-yard completion to Winslow. John Cappelletti scored the winning touchdown on the next play. Needing a touchdown to win, Danielson was sacked by Jones on the ensuing drive but came back with three straight completions to reach the Chargers 8-yard line. From there, he was intercepted by Frank Duncan with a single second left in the game.
Joiner accounted for more than half the Chargers' receiving yards for the second consecutive game; he had 357 yards through the first two weeks.
Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City scored on the game's opening drive, and briefly had the ball in San Diego territory again when Frank Manumaleuga intercepted Fouts; Manumaleuga fumbled during the return and Eric Sievers recovered. San Diego tied the score on their second possession, which ended with consecutive completions from Fouts to Winslow of 24 and 13 yards for the touchdown. The Chiefs went three-and-out, and Brooks ran the punt back 23 yards to the Kansas City 47-yard line; he scored himself on a 29-yard catch four plays later. They extended their lead by going 84 yards in 8 plays—Sievers' 31-yard catch was the longest play, and with Muncie scored from the 1-yard line. Later, Linden King intercepted Chiefs quarterback Bill Kenney, and Fouts found Eric Sievers in the end zone a play later for a 21-point lead. Kenney covered 76 yards in five straight completions to begin the Kansas City comeback. In the final minute of the half, Fouts was intercepted in Kansas City territory, Irvin Phillips recovered a fumble, and San Diego ran out of time with the ball at the Chiefs 14-yard line, leaving the halftime score at 28–14.
In the 3rd quarter, Kansas City turned an interception into another touchdown. On the next drive, Muncie had a 30-yard run, a 32-yard reception and a 3-yard touchdown run. The Chiefs responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive, reducing the lead to 35–28. They reached midfield on their next possession, but Bob Gregor intercepted a tipped pass to stop the threat. Four plays later, the Chiefs pressured punter George Roberts into running; he was stopped well short of a first down, and Kansas City capitalised with a field goal. Trailing by four, the Chiefs moved the ball close to midfield on their next drive, but Willie Buchanon recovered a fumbled pitch. The Chargers went three-and-out, and Kansas City took over at their own 20-yard line. On 3rd and 12, King deflected a Kenney pass, Leroy Jones intercepted the ball and flipped it to Gary Johnson to run in for the clinching touchdown with 1:53 to play.
San Diego enjoyed an 8–3 advantage in takeaways; Buchanon had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Muncie had 93 yards on the ground (with two touchdowns) and 85 through the air.
Week 4: at Denver Broncos
After an exchange of punts, Denver converted a 3rd and 15 and went ahead to stay on Craig Morton's first touchdown pass. Another punt pinned Denver at their own 7-yard line, but Morton immediately threw a 93-yard touchdown drive to double the lead. Clarence Williams fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Denver found the end zone again after two further plays; Morton had thrown touchdowns on three consecutive pass attempts. He added a fourth in four drives later, after Fouts was intercepted. Another Fouts interception didn't lead to points after Jones block a 43-yard field goal try. Time expired in the half with San Diego at the Denver 24-yard line, leaving them still 28–0 behind.