The Seahawks lost their first two games, and three weeks into the strike, head coach Jack Patera and general manager John Thompson were fired on Wednesday, October 13, and Mike McCormack took over as head coach for the remainder of the season.
[1][2] After the strike ended in November, the Seahawks won twice to even their record at 2–2, then lost a close game to the Los Angeles Raiders.
After beating the Chicago Bears the next week, the team was upset 16–0 in the Kingdome by the New England Patriots.
[3] Seattle finished at 4–5 and missed the expanded playoffs as the second team out in the tiebreaker.
Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams Reserve [4] By finishing in fifth place in 1981, Seattle plays the two NFC fifth-place finishers, the Cardinals and Bears, and two games against the other AFC fifth-place finisher, the Patriots.