1981 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.^[1] 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 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.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	at Washington Redskins	W 26–10	55,045
2	September 13, 1981	St. Louis Cardinals	W 30–17	63,602
3	September 21, 1981	at New England Patriots	W 35–21	60,311
4	September 27, 1981	New York Giants	W 18–10	63,449
5	October 4, 1981	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 20–17	49,477
6	October 11, 1981	at San Francisco 49ers	L 45–14	57,574
7	October 18, 1981	Los Angeles Rams	W 29–17	64,649
8	October 25, 1981	Miami Dolphins	W 28–27	64,221
9	November 1, 1981	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–14	72,111
10	November 9, 1981	Buffalo Bills	W 27–14	62,583
11	November 15, 1981	at Detroit Lions	L 27–24	79,694
12	November 22, 1981	Washington Redskins	W 24–10	64,587
13	November 26, 1981	Chicago Bears	W 10–9	63,499
14	December 6, 1981	at Baltimore Colts	W 37–13	54,871
15	December 13, 1981	Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–10	64,955
16	December 19, 1981	at New York Giants	L 13–10	73,009

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1981 roster
Quarterbacks 18 Glenn Carano 14 Gary Hogeboom 11 Danny White P Running Backs 33 Tony Dorsett 23 James Jones RS 44 Robert Newhouse FB 30 Timmy Newsome RB/FB 20 Ron Springs FB Wide Receivers 83 Doug Donley 80 Tony Hill 86 Butch Johnson 88 Drew Pearson Tight Ends 84 Doug Cosbie 89 Billy Joe DuPree 87 Jay Saldi		Offensive Linemen 61 Jim Cooper T/C 67 Pat Donovan T 71 Andy Frederick T 65 Kurt Petersen G 64 Tom Rafferty C/G 70 Howard Richards G 68 Herbert Scott G 63 Glen Titensor C/G 73 Steve Wright T Defensive Linemen 76 Larry Bethea DT 78 John Dutton DT 72 Ed Jones DE 79 Harvey Martin DE 77 Bruce Thornton DE 54 Randy White DT		Linebackers 53 Bob Breunig MLB 59 Guy Brown OLB 51 Anthony Dickerson OLB 58 Mike Hegman OLB 57 Angelo King MLB/OLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 55 Danny Spradlin MLB Defensive Backs 31 Benny Barnes SS/CB 26 Michael Downs FS 27 Ron Fellows CB 32 Dennis Thurman CB 24 Everson Walls CB 41 Charlie Waters SS 45 Steve Wilson CB/WR Special Teams  1 Rafael Septien K		Reserve Lists 47 Dextor Clinkscale FS (IR)  62 John Fitzgerald C (IR)  42 Randy Hughes SS (IR)  56 Bill Roe MLB (IR)  52 Robert Shaw C (IR)  75 Ron Spears DE (IR)  Rookies in italics 45 Active, 6 Inactive