1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

1981 St. Louis Cardinals season
Head coach	Jim Hanifan
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Home field	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the team was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5–11, winning seven games.^[1] Despite the improvement the team failed – for the sixth consecutive season – to reach the playoffs.

Personnel

Staff

1981 St. Louis Cardinals staff
	Front office President – Bill Bidwill Vice President of Operations – Joe Sullivan Director of Pro Personnel – Larry Wilson Director of Player Personnel – George Boone Head coaches Head Coach – Jim Hanifan Special Assistant to the Head Coach – Leon McLaughlin Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Harry Gilmer Offensive Backfield – Dick Jamieson Receivers – Emmitt Thomas Offensive Line – Tom Lovat			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive Line – Rudy Feldman Defensive Secondary – Bill Atkins Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Banker Strength and conditioning Flexibility and Strength – Don Brown

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1981	Miami Dolphins	L 20–7	50,351
2	September 13, 1981	at Dallas Cowboys	L 30–17	63,602
3	September 20, 1981	Washington Redskins	W 40–30	47,592
4	September 27, 1981	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–10	65,850
5	October 4, 1981	Dallas Cowboys	W 20–17	49,477
6	October 11, 1981	at New York Giants	L 34–14	67,128
7	October 18, 1981	at Atlanta Falcons	L 41–20	51,458
8	October 25, 1981	Minnesota Vikings	W 30–17	48,039
9	November 1, 1981	at Washington Redskins	L 42–21	50,643
10	November 8, 1981	Philadelphia Eagles	L 52–10	48,421
11	November 15, 1981	Buffalo Bills	W 24–0	46,214
12	November 22, 1981	at Baltimore Colts	W 35–24	24,784
13	November 29, 1981	at New England Patriots	W 27–20	39,946
14	December 6, 1981	New Orleans Saints	W 30–3	46,923
15	December 13, 1981	New York Giants	L 20–10	47,358
16	December 20, 1981	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 38–0	56,656

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys^(2)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	8–4	367	277	L1
Philadelphia Eagles^(4)	10	6	0	.625	4–4	7–5	368	221	W1
New York Giants^(5)	9	7	0	.563	5–3	8–6	295	257	W3
Washington Redskins	8	8	0	.500	3–5	6–6	347	349	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	2–6	4–8	315	408	L2

References

1. 1981 St. Louis Cardinals