The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26–21 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. Draft The 1981 NFL Draft was held from April 28 to 29, 1981 at New York City’s Sheraton Hotel. With the first pick, the New Orleans Saints selected running back George Rogers from the University of South Carolina. New referee Cal Lepore, the line judge for Super Bowl III and referee for the Miracle at the Meadowlands, retired prior to the 1980 season. He would later become supervisor of officials in the United States Football League. Tom Dooley, who was assigned Super Bowl XV as line judge at the end of the 1981 season, was promoted to referee to replace Lepore. 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 Rule” and the “Fred Biletnikoff Rule” since both players were notorious for using sticky substances to make it easier for them to intercept/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. Officials began wearing numbers 21 through 25 within their position groups after going no higher than number 20 in 1979 and 1980. Deaths July 1, 1981: Linebacker Rusty Chambers, the Miami Dolphins leading tackler in 1978 and 1979, died in an automobile accident. Regular season Scheduling formula 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