The Cincinnati Bengals were 12-4 in 1981. They finished 1st in the AFC Central and 1st in the AFC. They fell to the San Francisco 49ers, 26 to 21, in Super Bowl XVI. It was their first Super Bowl appearance.

1981 Stats

See stats
GP PTS YDS PLY AVG RUSH YDS RUSH ATT RUSH AVG PASS YDS PASS ATT PASS AVG SCK SCKY 1DWN RUSH 1DWN PASS 1DWN PEN 1DWN PEN PEN YDS
Team
16
421
5,968
1,078
5.5
1,973
493
4.0
4,200
550
7.6
35
205
361
124
210
27
109
896
Team Rank
3rd
2nd
12th
2nd
17th
18th
17th
4th
5th
6th
12th
24th
3rd
14th
3rd
8th
19th
15th
Opponent
16
304
5,289
1,055
5.0
1,881
465
4.0
3,757
548
6.9
42
349
324
126
167
31
104
787
Opponent Rank
12th
12th
15th
14th
9th
3rd
16th
22nd
25th
11th
8th
21st
21st
20th
18th
23rd
12th
23rd
Net
+117
+679
+23
+0.5
+92
+28
0.0
+443
+2
+0.8
-7
-144
+37
-2
+43
-4
+5
+109
Net Rank
2nd
5th
14th
5th
12th
13th
15th
6th
12th
6th
8th
24th
6th
17th
2nd
17th
18th
22nd

NFL 2025 Leaders

NFL 2025 Rankings

NFL Fantasy 2025

NFL 2025 Betting

NFL 2025 Division Standings

NFC East W L T PCT
Eagles Eagles
4
1
0
.800
Commanders Commanders
3
2
0
.600
NFC North W L T PCT
Lions Lions
4
1
0
.800
Packers Packers
2
1
1
.625
NFC South W L T PCT
Buccaneers Buccaneers
4
1
0
.800
Falcons Falcons
2
2
0
.500
NFC West W L T PCT
49ers 49ers
4
1
0
.800
Seahawks Seahawks
3
2
0
.600
AFC East W L T PCT
Bills Bills
4
1
0
.800
Patriots Patriots
3
2
0
.600
AFC North W L T PCT
Steelers Steelers
3
1
0
.750
Bengals Bengals
2
3
0
.400
AFC South W L T PCT
Colts Colts
4
1
0
.800
Jaguars Jaguars
4
1
0
.800
AFC West W L T PCT
Chargers Chargers
3
2
0
.600
Broncos Broncos
3
2
0
.600

NFL 2025 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATE MATCHUP SCORE
Wed
9/3
DAL DAL
@
PHI PHI
20-24
Thu
9/4
KC KC
@
LAC LAC
21-27
Sat
9/6
PIT PIT
@
NYJ NYJ
34-32
Sat
9/6
TB TB
@
ATL ATL
23-20
Sat
9/6
LV LV
@
NE NE
20-13

Schedule

DATE MATCHUP TIME (ET)
Thu
10/9
PHI PHI
@
NYG NYG
8:15 PM
Sun
10/12
DEN DEN
@
NYJ NYJ
9:30 AM
Sun
10/12
ARI ARI
@
IND IND
1:00 PM
Sun
10/12
LAR LAR
@
BAL BAL
1:00 PM
Sun
10/12
CLE CLE
@
PIT PIT
1:00 PM