1981 Atlanta Falcons season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Atlanta Falcons 1981 7–9 2nd NFC West Leeman Bennett Eddie LeBaron Rankin M. Smith Sr. Fulton County Stadium Did not qualify RB William AndrewsQB Steve BartkowskiWR Alfred JenkinsC Jeff van NoteT Mike KennTE Junior MillerG R. C. Thielemann Falcons seasons 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 NFL draft 1981 NFL draft 1981 Atlanta Falcons 1 25 Bobby Butler Cornerback Florida State yes no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/atl/1981_draft.htm 1981 Atlanta Falcons draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 22, 2014 Personnel Staff 1981 Atlanta Falcons Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of player personnel – Tom Braatz Head coach – Leeman Bennett Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive backs – John North Receivers – Jimmy Raye Offensive line – Bill Walsh Defensive coordinator – Jerry Glanville Defensive line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Doug Shively Roster 1981 Atlanta Falcons 10 Steve Bartkowski 14 June Jones 15 Mike Moroski 31 William Andrews American football 21 Lynn Cain 39 James Mayberry 33 Bo Robinson 25 Ray Strong American football 89 Wallace Francis 85 Alfred Jackson wide receiver, born 1955 84 Alfred Jenkins 16 Reggie Smith wide receiver 87 Russ Mikeska 80 Junior Miller 66 Warren Bryant American football T 64 Pat Howell G 78 Mike Kenn T 67 Eric Sanders offensive lineman y T 70 Dave Scott American football G 61 John Scully American football y C 68 R. C. Thielemann G 57 Jeff Van Note C 74 Wilson Faumuina DE 75 Jeff Merrow DE 65 Don Smith defensive lineman NT 72 Matthew Teague DE 79 Jeff Yeates DE 63 Mike Zele NT 50 Buddy Curry ILB 59 Paul Davis linebacker y OLB 55 Tony Daykin ILB 54 Fulton Kuykendall ILB 51 Jim Laughlin OLB 56 Al Richardson linebacker OLB 52 Lyman White y OLB 23 Bobby Butler American football y CB 34 Blane Gaison y FS 36 Bob Glazebrook SS 37 Kenny Johnson defensive back CB 20 Earl Jones American football CB 45 Tom Moriarty SS 27 Tom Pridemore FS 30 Scott Woerner y CB/S  6 John James American football P 18 Mick Luckhurst y K 83 Floyd Hodge y WR IR 22 Rolland Lawrence CB IR 53 Neal Musser American football y LB IR 62 Harry Stanback y DE IR 58 Joel Williams linebacker LB IR Regular season Schedule 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, 1981 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, 1981 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, 1981 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 Awards and records Steve Bartkowski, Falcons game record, most passing yards in one game, 416 yards (on November 15, 1981)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 98 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. References External links 1981 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com Atlanta Category:Atlanta Falcons seasons Atlanta