The

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

was the 29th season for the team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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 The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

for both last place in their division, the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in th ...

, 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. They won those 2 games by a combined 3 points. The Colts’ defense had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, setting records for points (533) and yards (6,793) allowed. (The points record was later surpassed by the 2024 Carolina Panthers, who allowed 534. 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. 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). 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.The other team to never lead in eleven losses is the 1990 New England Patriots. 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. According to Football Outsiders, they have the worst overall defense and passing defense in their ranking's history. 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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' in 1986:

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: at New England Patriots

Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 3: at Denver Broncos

Week 4: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 5: at Buffalo Bills

Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 7: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 8: at Cleveland Browns

Week 9: at Miami Dolphins

Week 10: vs. New York Jets

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 12: vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Week 13: at New York Jets

Week 14: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 15: at Washington Redskins

Week 16: vs. New England Patriots

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

Records set

* Most Points Allowed, Season, 533 * Worst Point Differential, 16-game season, -274 * Most First-Half Points Allowed, 16-game season, 307 * Most Touchdowns Allowed, Season, 68 * Most First Downs Allowed Season, 406 * Fewest Punt Returns, Season, 12 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).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 Baltimore Colts season

Baltimore Colts seasons

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...