The 1981 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's sixth season with the National Football League (NFL). The Seahawks got off to a terrible start, losing six of their first seven games, on the way to a 6âÂÂ10 season. Seattle opened their season at Cincinnati, and held a 21âÂÂ0 lead before the Bengals rallied for an improbable 27âÂÂ21 win. This loss was a portent into the season. Later in the season, the Seahawks would go on to lose a 24âÂÂ3 3rd quarter lead at home to the Raiders, ultimately losing 32âÂÂ31. Seven of their 10 losses were by two possessions or more.
The Achilles' heel for the team was the running game on offense and defense. On offense, they ranked 27th in yards and 26th in yards per attempt. On defense, they ranked 27th in yards and 28th in yards per attempt. Only once did the defense hold a team under 100 yards rushing, which was against the Chargers in San Diego, where they lost 24âÂÂ10.
The disappointing season had some memorable highlights. Among them, their then-biggest come-from-behind victory which took place at home against the Steelers on November 8th, where the Seahawks went from losing 21âÂÂ3 to winning 24âÂÂ21. On November 16th, the Seahawks won their first victory over the San Diego Chargers 44âÂÂ23 after losing their first seven meetings. Steve Largent had a stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Jim Zorn had a bounce-back season, completing a career high 59% of his passes, 13 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and 6.2 yards per attempt before his injury against the Raiders at home.