1981 Atlanta Falcons season

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.

1981 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith Sr.
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
Home stadium	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoffs	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
← 1980 Falcons seasons 1982 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1981 NFL draft

1981 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Bobby Butler	Cornerback	Florida State
Made roster

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1981 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of player personnel – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head coach – Leeman Bennett Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive backs – John North Receivers – Jimmy Raye Offensive line – Bill Walsh

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jerry Glanville Defensive line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Doug Shively

Roster

1981 Atlanta Falcons roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Steve Bartkowski 14 June Jones 15 Mike Moroski Running backs (RB) 31 William Andrews 21 Lynn Cain 39 James Mayberry 33 Bo Robinson 25 Ray Strong Wide receivers (WR) 89 Wallace Francis 85 Alfred Jackson 84 Alfred Jenkins 16 Reggie Smith Tight ends (TE) 87 Russ Mikeska 80 Junior Miller

Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Warren Bryant T 64 Pat Howell G 78 Mike Kenn T 67 Eric Sanders T 70 Dave Scott G 61 John Scully C 68 R. C. Thielemann G 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen (DL) 74 Wilson Faumuina DE 75 Jeff Merrow DE 65 Don Smith NT 72 Matthew Teague DE 79 Jeff Yeates DE 63 Mike Zele NT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Buddy Curry ILB 59 Paul Davis OLB 55 Tony Daykin ILB 54 Fulton Kuykendall ILB 51 Jim Laughlin OLB 56 Al Richardson OLB 52 Lyman White OLB Defensive backs (DB) 23 Bobby Butler CB 34 Blane Gaison FS 36 Bob Glazebrook SS 37 Kenny Johnson CB 20 Earl Jones CB 45 Tom Moriarty SS 27 Tom Pridemore FS 30 Scott Woerner CB/S Special teams (ST)  6 John James P 18 Mick Luckhurst K

Reserve 83 Floyd Hodge WR (IR) 22 Rolland Lawrence CB (IR) 53 Neal Musser LB (IR) 62 Harry Stanback DE (IR) 58 Joel Williams LB (IR) Rookies in italics

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	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

NFC West
view talk edit	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

• 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]