29th season in franchise history
The 1981 Baltimore Colts season was the 29th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts finished the NFL's 1981 season with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses, finishing in a tie with the New England Patriots for both last place in their division, the AFC East , and the worst record in the league. However, by virtue of beating the Patriots for their only two wins of the season, the Colts finished ahead of New England on a tiebreaker. Those wins came in the first and last weeks of the season, as the Colts lost their other fourteen games consecutively.
The Colts’ defense had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, setting records for points (533) and yards (6,793) allowed. (The yardage record was later surpassed by the 2012 New Orleans Saints , who allowed 7,042.) The Colts gave up more than twice as many points as they scored (259). Conversely, the Patriots, with whom they were tied in the AFC East, only gave up 48 more points than they scored. The Colts’ pass defense surrendered a staggering 8.19 yards-per-dropback, the most surrendered by any team in NFL history.[1]
The Colts’ -274 point differential (points scored vs. points allowed) is the second-worst since the 1970 merger , second only to the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers , who finished 0–14 (ironically, the next year's Colts team went winless as well).[2] The 1981 Colts are the first of only two NFL teams since 1940 to suffer eleven losses in a season during which they never had a lead.[3] [note 1] The Colts allowed 40 points in 4 separate games during the season (including 3 games in a row from weeks 6-8), which is still an NFL record.
The season included a bizarre incident in which, during the Colts’ 38–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15, team owner Bob Irsay called plays from the coaches’ booth. Quarterback Bert Jones told Sports Illustrated in 1986:
[Irsay] couldn’t have told you how many players there were on the field, never mind what plays we had. All he was trying to do was embarrass the coaches and the players. When he told me to run, I threw. When he told me to throw left, I ran right.[4]
Offseason [ edit ] NFL draft [ edit ] Personnel [ edit ] 1981 Baltimore Colts staff Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Special teams coaches
Special Teams – George Boutselis
1981 Baltimore Colts roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 at New England Patriots W 29–28 1–0 Schaefer Stadium 49,572 2 September 13 Buffalo Bills L 3–35 1–1 Memorial Stadium 45,772 3 September 20 at Denver Broncos L 10–28 1–2 Mile High Stadium 74,804 4 September 27 Miami Dolphins L 28–31 1–3 Memorial Stadium 41,630 5 October 4 at Buffalo Bills L 17–23 1–4 Rich Stadium 77,811 6 October 11 Cincinnati Bengals L 19–41 1–5 Memorial Stadium 33,060 7 October 18 San Diego Chargers L 14–43 1–6 Memorial Stadium 41,921 8 October 25 at Cleveland Browns L 28–42 1–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,986 9 November 1 at Miami Dolphins L 10–27 1–8 Miami Orange Bowl 46,061 10 November 8 New York Jets L 14–41 1–9 Memorial Stadium 31,521 11 November 15 at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–38 1–10 Veterans Stadium 68,618 12 November 22 St. Louis Cardinals L 24–35 1–11 Memorial Stadium 24,784 13 November 29 at New York Jets L 0–25 1–12 Shea Stadium 53,593 14 December 6 Dallas Cowboys L 13–37 1–13 Memorial Stadium 54,871 15 December 13 at Washington Redskins L 14–38 1–14 RFK Stadium 46,706 16 December 20 New England Patriots W 23–21 2–14 Memorial Stadium 17,073 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries [ edit ] Week 1: at New England Patriots [ edit ] Week 1: Baltimore Colts at New England Patriots – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 10 3 3 13 29 Patriots 0 14 0 14 28
at Schaefer Stadium , Foxborough, Massachusetts
Date : September 6Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDT Game weather : Cloudy, 63 °F (17 °C)Game attendance : 49,572Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
BAL – Mike Wood 35-yard field goal. Colts 16–14. Fourth quarter
BAL – Randy McMillan 35-yard run (kick failed). Colts 22–14. NE – Don Calhoun 1-yard run (John Smith kick). Colts 22–21. BAL – Randy McMillan 2-yard run (Mike Wood kick). Colts 29–21. NE – Don Hasselbeck 4-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick). Colts 29–28. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics BAL NE First downs 21 22 Total yards 346 388 Rushing yards 249 114 Net passing yards 97 274 Sacked–yards 2–16 3–11 Turnovers 1 3 Penalties–yards 10–75 8–84
Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills [ edit ] Week 2: Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 14 7 7 35 Colts 0 3 0 0 3
at Memorial Stadium , Baltimore, Maryland
Date : September 13Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 78 °F (26 °C)Game attendance : 45,772Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
BAL – Mike Wood 22-yard field goal. Bills 7–3. BUF – Jerry Butler 54-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 14–3. BUF – Mark Brammer 5-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 21–3. Third quarter
BUF – Buster Barnett 3-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 28–3. Fourth quarter
BUF – Roland Hooks 5-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 35–3. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics BUF BAL First downs 26 11 Total yards 430 147 Rushing yards 169 73 Net passing yards 261 74 Sacked–yards 0–0 5–46 Turnovers 3 3 Penalties–yards 9–65 1–5
Week 3: at Denver Broncos [ edit ] Week 3: Baltimore Colts at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 0 10 0 10 Broncos 0 14 14 0 28
at Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Date : September 20Game time : 4:00 p.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. MDT Game weather : Sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)Game attendance : 74,804Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
BAL – Mike Wood 21-yard field goal. Broncos 14–3. BAL – Curtis Dickey 63-yard run (Mike Wood kick). Broncos 14–10. DEN – Steve Watson 18-yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick). Broncos 21–10. DEN – Steve Watson 48-yard pass from Craig Morton (Fred Steinfort kick). Broncos 28–10. Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics BAL DEN First downs 10 27 Total yards 209 442 Rushing yards 161 127 Net passing yards 48 315 Sacked–yards 2–17 3–26 Turnovers 3 4 Penalties–yards 8–63 9–65
Week 4: vs. Miami Dolphins [ edit ] Week 4: Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 7 7 10 31 Colts 0 7 14 7 28
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : September 27Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 67 °F (19 °C)Game attendance : 41,630Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
BAL – Ray Butler 19-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Tied 14–14. MIA – Nick Giaquinto 14-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 21–14. BAL – Ray Butler 67-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Tied 21–21. Fourth quarter
MIA – Andra Franklin 1-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 28–21. BAL – Curtis Dickey 1-yard run (Mike Wood kick). Tied 28–28. MIA – Uwe von Schamann 27-yard field goal. Dolphins 31–28. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics MIA BAL First downs 22 20 Total yards 428 514 Rushing yards 119 166 Net passing yards 309 348 Sacked–yards 0–0 1–9 Turnovers 0 1 Penalties–yards 4–35 6–52
Week 5: at Buffalo Bills [ edit ] Week 5: Baltimore Colts at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 3 0 14 17 Bills 14 0 3 6 23
at Rich Stadium , Orchard Park, New York
Date : October 4Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Mostly cloudy, 47 °F (8 °C)Game attendance : 77,811Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
BAL – Mike Wood 32-yard field goal. Bills 14–3. Third quarter
BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 34-yard field goal. Bills 17–3. Fourth quarter
BAL – Roger Carr 6-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Bills 17–10. BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 44-yard field goal. Bills 20–10. BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 45-yard field goal. Bills 23–10. BAL – Ray Butler 14-yard pass from Bert Jones (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 23–17. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
BAL – Curtis Dickey – 3 receptions, 80 yards BUF – Jerry Butler – 4 receptions, 73 yards, TD
Statistics
Statistics BAL BUF First downs 23 22 Total yards 378 366 Rushing yards 133 229 Net passing yards 245 137 Sacked–yards 4–30 1–11 Turnovers 2 1 Penalties–yards 10–55 7–49
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals [ edit ] Week 6: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 14 7 17 41 Colts 0 5 0 14 19
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : October 11Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Mostly sunny, 53 °F (12 °C)Game attendance : 33,060Referee : Fred Wyant TV : NBC Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
CIN – Dan Ross 2-yard pass from Ken Anderson (Jim Breech kick). Bengals 24–5. Fourth quarter
BAL – Cleveland Franklin 1-yard run (Mike Wood kick). Bengals 24–12. CIN – Jim Breech 24-yard field goal. Bengals 27–12. CIN – Pete Johnson 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick). Bengals 34–12. BAL – Reese McCall 65-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Bengals 34–19. CIN – Jimmy Hargrove 1-yard run (Jim Breech kick). Bengals 41–19. Top passer
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics CIN BAL First downs 24 22 Total yards 378 350 Rushing yards 121 56 Net passing yards 257 294 Sacked–yards 0–0 4–42 Turnovers 0 4 Penalties–yards 5–54 6–51
Week 7: vs. San Diego Chargers [ edit ] Week 7: San Diego Chargers at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Chargers 7 16 7 13 43 Colts 7 0 7 0 14
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game information Second quarter
SD – John Cappelletti 12-yard pass from Dan Fouts (kick field). Chargers 13–7. SD – Charlie Joiner 23-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Chargers 20–7. SD – Rolf Benirschke 30-yard field goal. Chargers 23–7. Third quarter
SD – Chuck Muncie 3-yard run (Rolf Benirschke kick). Chargers 30–7. BAL – Curtis Dickey 5-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Chargers 30–14. Fourth quarter
SD – John Cappelletti 1-yard run (kick failed). Chargers 36–14. SD – Clarence Williams 7-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Chargers 43–14. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics SD BAL First downs 30 18 Total yards 470 264 Rushing yards 172 68 Net passing yards 298 196 Sacked–yards 0–0 6–59 Turnovers 1 3 Penalties–yards 6–30 5–45
Week 8: at Cleveland Browns [ edit ] Week 8: Baltimore Colts at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 7 14 7 28 Browns 7 21 7 7 42
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium , Cleveland, Ohio
Date : October 25Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 40 °F (4 °C)Game attendance : 78,986Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
BAL – Greg Landry 11-yard fumble return (Mike Wood kick). Browns 28–14. BAL – Ray Butler 36-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Browns 28–21. CLE – Ricky Feacher 28-yard pass from Brian Sipe (Matt Bahr kick). Browns 35–21. Fourth quarter
BAL – Ray Butler 5-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Browns 35–28. CLE – Mike Pruitt 16-yard run (Matt Bahr kick). Browns 42–28. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics BAL CLE First downs 18 30 Total yards 357 562 Rushing yards 118 131 Net passing yards 239 431 Sacked–yards 2–10 1–13 Turnovers 3 6 Penalties–yards 5–33 6–56
Week 9: at Miami Dolphins [ edit ] Week 9: Baltimore Colts at Miami Dolphins – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 10 0 0 10 Dolphins 7 7 10 3 27
at Miami Orange Bowl , Miami, Florida
Date : November 1Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Mostly sunny, 78 °F (26 °C)Game attendance : 46,061Box score
Statistics
Statistics BAL MIA First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 10: vs. New York Jets [ edit ] Week 10: New York Jets at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Jets 10 14 7 10 41 Colts 7 7 0 0 14
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : November 8Game time : 4:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Clear, 49 °F (9 °C)Game attendance : 31,521Box score
Statistics
Statistics NYJ BAL First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Week 11: Baltimore Colts at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 6 0 0 7 13 Eagles 7 14 10 7 38
at Veterans Stadium , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date : November 15Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 51 °F (11 °C)Game attendance : 68,618Box score
Statistics
Statistics BAL PHI First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 12: vs. St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Week 12: St. Louis Cardinals at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 14 7 7 7 35 Colts 10 0 7 7 24
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : November 22Game time : 2:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 39 °F (4 °C)Game attendance : 24,784Box score
Statistics
Statistics STL BAL First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 13: at New York Jets [ edit ] Week 13: Baltimore Colts at New York Jets – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 0 0 0 0 Jets 7 6 9 3 25
at Shea Stadium , Flushing, New York
Date : November 29Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 42 °F (6 °C)Game attendance : 53,593Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 37-yard field goal. 'Jets 10–0. NYJ – Pat Leahy 22-yard field goal. Jets 13–0. Third quarter
NYJ – Freeman Mcneil 1-yard run (kick failed). Jets 19–0. NYJ – Pat Leahy 27-yard field goal. Jets 22–0. Fourth quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 27-yard field goal. Jets 25–0. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics BAL NYJ First downs 11 22 Total yards 152 300 Rushing yards 49 161 Net passing yards 103 139 Sacked–yards 5–39 1–4 Turnovers 1 0 Penalties–yards 9–82 6–40
Week 14: vs. Dallas Cowboys [ edit ] Week 14: Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 17 10 0 10 37 Colts 6 0 7 0 13
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Statistics
Statistics DAL BAL First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 15: at Washington Redskins [ edit ] Week 15: Baltimore Colts at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 7 0 7 0 14 Redskins 7 21 10 0 38
at RFK Stadium , Washington, D. C.
Date : December 13Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)Game attendance : 46,706Box score
Statistics
Statistics BAL WAS First downs Total yards Rushing yards Net passing yards Sacked–yards Turnovers Penalties–yards
Week 16: vs. New England Patriots [ edit ] Week 16: New England Patriots at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 7 7 0 7 21 Colts 10 7 6 0 23
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Date : December 20Game time : 2:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : Mostly sunny, 21 °F (−6 °C)Game attendance : 17,073Box score
Game information First quarter
Second quarter
NE – Don Westbrook 15-yard pass from Tom Owen (John Smith kick). Patriots 14–10. BAL – Ray Butler 53-yard pass from Bert Jones (Mike Wood kick). Colts 17–14. Third quarter
BAL – Ray Butler 37-yard pass from Bert Jones (kick failed). Colts 23–14. Fourth quarter
NE – Don Westbrook 2-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (John Smith kick). Colts 23–21. Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Statistics
Statistics NE BAL First downs 20 19 Total yards 350 383 Rushing yards 77 128 Net passing yards 273 255 Sacked–yards 1–8 1–12 Turnovers 4 2 Penalties–yards 6–20 6–53
The Colts ended the 1981 season by snapping their 14-game losing streak and swept the Patriots. However, the win would cause the Colts to lose out on the first overall pick in the following draft , which would go the Patriots, and the Colts would secure the second overall pick instead.
Standings [ edit ] Records set [ edit ] Most Points Allowed, Season , 533 Worst Point Differential, 16-game season , -274 Most First-Half Points Allowed, 16-game season , 307[5] Most Touchdowns Allowed, Season , 68 Most First Downs Allowed Season , 406 Fewest Punt Returns, Season , 12 [6]
See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ Cold Hard Football Facts: Ryan Kalil ad: Carolina D not up to the task ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1970 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points Differential ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, team never had a lead during the game, sorted by most games in season matching criteria. ^ Wilson, Phillip B., 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die 17 (2013). Retrieved December 11, 2014. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2012, in the Regular Season, sorted by descending Opp First Half score. ^ The '81 Colts held the record for most total yards allowed in a 16-game season—6,793—until it was broken by the 2012 New Orleans Saints (7,042).
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (16) Conference championships (7) League championships (5) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)