1981 NFL season

Major rule changes

• It is illegal for any player to put adhesive or slippery substances such as the product "stickum" on his body, equipment or uniform. This rule is known as both the "Lester Hayes
  Lester Hayes
  Lester Hayes is a former professional American football player for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League....
  
   Rule" and the "Fred Biletnikoff
  Fred Biletnikoff
  Frederick S. "Fred" Biletnikoff is a former American football wide receiver and coach. He spent the majority of his professional playing and coaching days with the Oakland Raiders...
  
   Rule" since both players were notorious for using sticky substances to make it easier for them to catch passes.
• An offensive player who comes into the game wearing an illegal number for the position he takes must report to the Referee before the start of the next play.
• The penalty for an ineligible receiver who touches a forward pass is a loss of down.
• The penalty for illegal use of hands, arms, or body (including holding) is reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards.
• The penalty for intentional grounding is modified: loss of down and 10 yards penalty from the previous spot, or if the foul occurs more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, loss of down at the spot of the foul.

Final standings

Tiebreakers

• Baltimore finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• San Diego finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on better division record (6–2 to Broncos' 5–3).
• Buffalo was the second AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Denver (1–0).
• Detroit finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better record against common opponents (5–5 to Packers' 4–6).

AFC

• Wild-Card playoff: Buffalo 31, N.Y. JETS 27
• Divisional playoffs: San Diego 41, MIAMI 38 (OT) (The Epic in Miami, Kellen Winslow game)
  The Epic in Miami
  The Epic in Miami is the name given to a National Football League AFC divisional playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins that took place on January 2, 1982 in the Miami Orange Bowl...
  
  ; CINCINNATI 28, Buffalo 21
• AFC Championship: CINCINNATI 27, San Diego 7 (Freezer Bowl)
  Freezer Bowl
  In NFL lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill...
  
   at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
  Ohio
  Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
  
  , January 10, 1982

NFC

• Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. Giants 27, PHILADELPHIA 21
• Divisional playoffs: DALLAS 38, Tampa Bay 0; SAN FRANCISCO 38, N.Y. Giants 24
• NFC Championship: SAN FRANCISCO 28, Dallas 27 (The Catch)
  The Catch (American football)
  The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers...
  
   at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
  California
  California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
  
  , January 10, 1982

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl XVI
  Super Bowl XVI
  Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
  
  : San Francisco (NFC) 26, Cincinnati (AFC) 21, at Pontiac Silverdome
  Pontiac Silverdome
  The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
  
  , Pontiac, Michigan
  Pontiac, Michigan
  Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
  
  , January 24, 1982

Awards