1981 Denver Broncos season
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Attendance
1 September 6 Oakland Raiders W 9-7 1-0 Mile High Stadium 74,796
2 September 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 10-13 1-1 Kingdome 58,513
3 September 20 Baltimore Colts W 28-10 2-1 Mile High Stadium 74,804
4 September 27 San Diego Chargers W 42-24 3-1 Mile High Stadium 74,822
5 October 4 at Oakland Raiders W 17-0 4-1 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 51,035
6 October 11 Detroit Lions W 27-21 5-1 Mile High Stadium 74,816
7 October 18 at Kansas City Chiefs L 14-28 5-2 Arrowhead Stadium 74,672
8 October 25 at Buffalo Bills L 7-9 5-3 Rich Stadium 77,757
9 November 2 Minnesota Vikings W 19-17 6-3 Mile High Stadium 74,834
10 November 8 Cleveland Browns W 23-20 7-3 Mile High Stadium 74,859
11 November 15 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24-7 8-3 Tampa Stadium 64,518
12 November 22 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21-38 8-4 Riverfront Stadium 57,207
13 November 29 at San Diego Chargers L 17-34 8-5 Jack Murphy Stadium 51,533
14 December 6 Kansas City Chiefs W 16-13 9-5 Mile High Stadium 74,744
15 December 13 Seattle Seahawks W 23-13 10-5 Mile High Stadium 74,527
16 December 20 at Chicago Bears L 24-35 10-6 Soldier Field 40,125
Regular season -- Schedule
The 1981 Denver Broncos season was the team's 22nd year in professional football and its 12th with the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Dan Reeves, the Broncos were 10-6, tied for first in the AFC West, but failed to make the postseason again due to their loss to the Buffalo Bills, who gained the final berth. The Broncos were undefeated at home in 1981, but had six road losses. After a promising 8-3 start, Denver lost three of their final five games, including a critical loss at Cincinnati in week 12. Entering the season finale at Chicago, they had a one-game lead over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West, but the loss at Soldier Field ended their season, losing the tiebreakers for the division and wild card berths. Prior to this season, ownership changed in February; coaching and front office changes were made in March.