1981 Atlanta Falcons season
Appearance
1981 Atlanta Falcons season | |
---|---|
Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
General manager | Eddie LeBaron |
Head coach | Leeman Bennett |
Home field | Fulton County Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 2nd NFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | RB William Andrews QB Steve Bartkowski WR Alfred Jenkins C Jeff van Note T Mike Kenn TE Junior Miller G R. C. Thielemann |
The 1981 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 16th season. The Falcons got off to a solid 3–0 start, but lost three key starters for the season in a 34–17 win at Fulton County Stadium over the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons would go on to finish the season with a 7–9 record, losing seven games by five points or less, thus missing the playoffs for the first time since 1979.
Offseason
[edit]NFL draft
[edit]1981 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | Bobby Butler | Cornerback | Florida State | |
Made roster |
Personnel
[edit]Staff
[edit]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Roster
[edit]Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Reserve
Rookies in italics
|
Regular season
[edit]Schedule
[edit]Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 6 | New Orleans Saints | W 27–0 | 1–0 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,406 | |
2 | September 13 | at Green Bay Packers | W 31–17 | 2–0 | Lambeau Field | 55,382 | |
3 | September 20 | San Francisco 49ers | W 34–17 | 3–0 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 56,653 | |
4 | September 27 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–28 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,283 | |
5 | October 5 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–16 | 3–2 | Veterans Stadium | 71,488 | |
6 | October 11 | Los Angeles Rams | L 35–37 | 3–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,841 | |
7 | October 18 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 41–20 | 4–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 51,428 | |
8 | October 25 | New York Giants | L 24–27 | 4–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 48,410 | |
9 | November 1 | at New Orleans Saints | W 41–10 | 5–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 63,637 | |
10 | November 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–17 | 5–5 | Candlestick Park | 59,127 | |
11 | November 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–34 | 5–6 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,485 | |
12 | November 23 | Minnesota Vikings | W 31–30 | 6–6 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 54,086 | |
13 | November 29 | at Houston Oilers | W 31–27 | 7–6 | Houston Astrodome | 40,201 | |
14 | December 6 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 23–24 | 7–7 | Tampa Stadium | 69,221 | |
15 | December 14 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 16–21 | 7–8 | Anaheim Stadium | 57,054 | |
16 | December 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–30 | 7–9 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 35,972 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Standings
[edit]NFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
San Francisco 49ers(1) | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 5–1 | 10-2 | 357 | 250 | W5 |
Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 426 | 355 | L3 |
Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 303 | 351 | L1 |
New Orleans Saints | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 2–10 | 207 | 378 | L4 |
Awards and records
[edit]- Steve Bartkowski, Falcons game record, most passing yards in one game, 416 yards (on November 15, 1981) [2]
- William Andrews, Falcons game record, most receiving yards in one game, 198 yards (on November 15, 1981). Which was later broken by Roddy White when he got 210 yards against the 49ers in the 2009 season.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "1981 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 98
External links
[edit]