1981 New England Patriots season

The 1981 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League and 22nd overall.

1981 New England Patriots season
OwnerBilly Sullivan
General managerBucko Kilroy
Head coachRon Erhardt
Home fieldSchaefer Stadium
Results
Record2–14
Division placeT-4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersG John Hannah
AP All-ProsG John Hannah (1st team)

Looking to improve on two consecutive winning seasons under head coach Ron Erhardt, including a 10–6 mark in 1980, the Patriots instead regressed significantly and ended the season with a record of two wins and fourteen losses, and finished tied for last in the AFC East Division with the Baltimore Colts, with whom they also tied for the worst record in the league. A porous defensive line and linebacking corps[1] was the chief weakness: in one game against the Steelers the Patriot secondary made 27 of the team's 33 tackles.[2] The 2–14 record resulted in Erhardt losing his job at the end of the season.[3]

The Patriots lost their first four games, and then ten of their last eleven, including the last nine games of the season. Eight of their losses were by margins of seven or fewer points; the largest margin of defeat was only 14 points. The Patriots were defeated in both the first and last games of the season by the Baltimore Colts; the Patriots' bookend losses proved to be Baltimore's only two wins of the 1981 season. It was known that the loser of that last game would have the first pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, and the game was nicknamed “The Stupor Bowl.”[4] With the Patriots’ defeat, the team had the first pick, choosing University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims, an eventual “draft bust” as first overall pick in the NFL draft. 22 years later, in their Super Bowl XXXVIII-winning season, the Patriots went 14–2, becoming the second franchise in NFL history to have both a 2–14 season and a 14–2 season.[Note 1]

Offseason

NFL draft
See also: 1981 NFL Draft
1981 New England Patriots draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 19 Brian Holloway *  Tackle Stanford
2 47 Tony Collins *  Running back East Carolina
4 102 Don Blackmon  Linebacker Tulsa
5 130 Stevan Clark  Defensive tackle Kansas State
6 157 Ron Wooten  Guard North Carolina
7 185 Ken Toler  Wide receiver Ole Miss
8 194 Ken Naber  Placekicker Stanford
8 212 Lin Dawson  Tight end North Carolina State
11 295 Brian Buckley  Quarterback Harvard
12 323 Cris Crissy  Defensive back Princeton
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Staff
New England Patriots 1981 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Roster
1981 New England Patriots roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 87 Preston Brown WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 35 Allan Clark RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 14 Steve Grogan QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 50 Larry McGrew LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 34 Rick Villella DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 61 Ron Wooten G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Season summary

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 Baltimore Colts L 28–29 0–1 Schaefer Stadium 49,572
2 September 13 at Philadelphia Eagles L 3–13 0–2 Veterans Stadium 71,089
3 September 21 Dallas Cowboys L 21–35 0–3 Schaefer Stadium 60,311
4 September 27 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–27 (OT) 0–4 Three Rivers Stadium 53,344
5 October 4 Kansas City Chiefs W 33–17 1–4 Schaefer Stadium 55,931
6 October 11 at New York Jets L 24–28 1–5 Giants Stadium 55,093
7 October 18 Houston Oilers W 38–10 2–5 Schaefer Stadium 60,474
8 October 25 at Washington Redskins L 22–24 2–6 RFK Stadium 50,394
9 November 1 at Oakland Raiders L 17–27 2–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 44,246
10 November 8 Miami Dolphins L 27–30 (OT) 2–8 Schaefer Stadium 60,436
11 November 15 New York Jets L 6–17 2–9 Schaefer Stadium 45,342
12 November 22 at Buffalo Bills L 17–20 2–10 Rich Stadium 71,593
13 November 29 St. Louis Cardinals L 20–27 2–11 Schaefer Stadium 39,946
14 December 6 at Miami Dolphins L 14–24 2–12 Miami Orange Bowl 50,421
15 December 13 Buffalo Bills L 10–19 2–13 Schaefer Stadium 42,549
16 December 20 at Baltimore Colts L 21–23 2–14 Memorial Stadium 17,073
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 11 4 1 .719 5–2–1 8–3–1 345 275 W4
New York Jets(4) 10 5 1 .656 6–1–1 8–5–1 355 287 W2
Buffalo Bills(5) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 9–3 311 276 L1
Baltimore Colts 2 14 0 .125 2–6 2–10 259 533 W1
New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 0–8 2–10 322 370 L9

See also

Notes
  1. The San Francisco 49ers had 2–14 seasons in 1978 and 1979, and 14–2 seasons in 1989, 1990 and 1992.

References
  1. Madden, Michael (October 4, 1981). "Patriots Tops In Draft? It's a Myth". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 80.
  2. Madden, Michael (September 29, 1981). "Hard Times, Hard Talk: Hannah, Erhardt Blast Patriots' Attitude". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 35.
  3. "Patriots Fire Erhardt after Worst Year". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. December 23, 1981. p. D1.
  4. "Chicago Tribune: Chicago news, sports, weather, entertainment".


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