1981 Atlanta Falcons season

1981 Atlanta Falcons season
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Owner	Rankin M. Smith, Sr.
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1981 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons 16th season. The Falcons get off to a solid 3-0 start, but lose three key starters for the season in a 34-17 win at Fulton County Stadium over the San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons would go to finish the season with a disappointing 7-9 record, losing seven games by five points or less.

Offseason

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

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	New Orleans Saints	W 27–0	57,406
2	September 13, 1981	at Green Bay Packers	W 31–17	55,382
3	September 20, 1981	San Francisco 49ers	W 34–17	56,653
4	September 27, 1981	at Cleveland Browns	L 28–17	78,283
5	October 5, 1981	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–13	71,488
6	October 11, 1981	Los Angeles Rams	L 37–35	57,841
7	October 18, 1981	St. Louis Cardinals	W 41–20	51,428
8	October 25, 1981	New York Giants	L 27–24	48,410
9	November 1, 1981	at New Orleans Saints	W 41–10	63,637
10	November 8, 1981	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–14	59,127
11	November 15, 1981	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 34–20	57,485
12	November 23, 1981	Minnesota Vikings	W 31–30	54,086
13	November 29, 1981	at Houston Oilers	W 31–27	40,201
14	December 6, 1981	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24–23	69,221
15	December 14, 1981	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–16	57,054
16	December 20, 1981	Cincinnati Bengals	L 30–28	35,972

Standings

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

• 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

1. "1981 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 98

External links

• 1981 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com