| After being on the cusp of greatness for the previous five seasons, the Patriots 1981 campaign began and ended with a thud. Even the return of Sam Cunningham from a season long holdout, could save the Patriots season. The Patriots demise from almost Superbowl contender to the basement was a swift and steady fall. In Week 1, the Patriots rallied from an early 10 point deficit only to lose to the Baltimore Colts 29-28. Unlike, years past, the Patriots did not rally from early defeat and continued to slide towards oblivion. The Patriots dropped to 0-3 by losing to NFC East powers Philadelphia (13-3) and Dallas (35-21). With a chance to save the season, the Patriots rallied from a 21-7 behind Matt Cavanaugh to tie the game at 21 and force overtime. The Steelers would strike in OT to drop the Patriots to 0-4. The Patriots would stage a mini rally to climb to 2-5 by defeating Kansas City 33-17 and Houston 38-10. Unfortunately, for the Patriots, their 38-10 over the Oilers would be the high water mark for the season. With a chance to push themselves back into the playoff race, the Patriots would fall to a 1-6 Washington team 24-22. The two point loss was a sign of things to come for the remainder of the disappointing 1981 season. AFter losing to Oakland 27-17, the Patriots lost 30-27 to Miami to drop to 2-8. The Patriots clinched their first losing season since 1975 by losing a 17-6 decision to the Jets. The Patriots would tie the team record of 12 losses with losses to Buffalo (20-17), St. Louis Cardinals (27-20) and Miami (24-14). The Patriots would enter into new territory in Patriots infamy, by losing their 8th straight game and 13th of the season with a 19-10 loss to the Bills. The Patriots would close the season with the inept and 1-14 Baltimore Colts. The Colts were losers of 14 straight since an opening game victory over the Patriots. The worst defense in NFL history had enough defense to send the Patriots to their 14th loss of the season by holding on for a 23-21 victory. The 2-14 finish qualified the Patriots for the number 1 pick in the draft and cost Coach Ron Earhardt his job. One of the few highlights was Stanley Morgan eclipsing the 1000 yard mark for the second time in his career. In the offseason, SMU Coach Ron Meyer would be hired and usher in a new ERA in Patriots football. |
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| Passing Cmp Att Pct. Yards TDs INTs QBRtg Steve Grogan 117 216 54.2 1859 7 16 63.0 Matt Cavanaugh 115 219 50.0 1633 5 13 59.8 Tom Owen 15 36 41.6 218 1 4 31.7 Andy Johnson 7 9 77.7 194 4 1 118.6 Tony Collins 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 38.6 Harold Jackson 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 38.6 |
| Rushing Att. Yards AVG TDs Tony Collins 204 873 4.3 7 Vagas Ferguson 78 340 4.4 3 Sam Cunningham 86 269 3.1 4 Don Calhoun 57 205 3.6 2 Mosi Tatupu 38 201 5.3 2 Matt Cavanaugh 17 92 5.4 3 Steve Grogan 12 49 4.1 2 Stanley Morgan 2 21 10.5 0 Carlos Pennywell 1 3 3.0 0 Andy Johnson 2 1 0.5 0 Harold Jackson 2 -14 -7.0 0 Receiving Rec Yards AVG TDs Don Hasselbeck 46 808 17.6 6 Stanley Morgan 44 1029 23.4 6 Harold Jackson 39 669 17.2 0 Andy Johnson 39 429 11.0 1 Tony Collins 26 232 8.9 0 Mosi Tatupu 12 132 11.0 1 Sam Cunningham 12 92 7.8 0 Lin Dawson 7 126 18.0 0 Don Westbrook 7 122 17.4 0 Don Calhoun 7 71 10.1 0 Ken Toler 7 70 14.0 0 Vagas Ferguson 4 39 9.8 0 Carlos Pennywell 3 49 16.3 1 Steve Grogan 2 27 13.5 0 Matt Cavanaugh 1 9 9.0 0 Interceptions Rick Sanford 3 , Tim Fox 3, Roland James 2, Raymond Clayborn 2, Rod Shoate 1, Mike Hawkins 1, Mike Haynes 1, Keith Lee 1, John Zamberlin 1 Sacks (Unofficial NFL Stat) Tony McGee 6 Kicking XP XPA FG FGA PTS John Smith 37 39 15 24 82 |
| AFC East W L T .Pct PF PA Dolphins 11 4 1 .719 345 275 Jets 10 5 1 .656 355 287 Bills 10 6 0 .625 311 276 Colts 2 14 0 .125 259 533 Patriots 2 14 0 .125 322 370 Wildcard Game Buffalo 31 N.Y. Jets 27 AFC Division Playoffs: Cincinnati 31 Buffalo 28 San Diego 41 Miami 38 OT AFC Championship Cincinnati 27 San Diego 7 Superbowl XII San Frnacisco 26 Cinicnnati 21 |
| 1981 |
| Baltimore 28-29 0-1 @Philadelphia 3-13 0-2 Dallas 21-35 0-3 @Pittsburgh 21-27 0-4 Kansas City 33-17 1-4 @N.Y. Jets 24-28 1-5 Houston 38-10 2-5 @Washington 22-24 2-6 @Oakland 17-27 2-7 Miami 27-30 2-8 N.Y. Jets 6-17 2-9 @Buffalo 17-20 2-10 St. Louis 20-27 2-11 @Miami 14-24 2-12 Buffalo 10-19 2-13 @Baltimore 21-23 2-14 Offense Ranking Points: 322 (16 of 28) Run: 499-2040 (15 of 28) Pass: 3904 (7 of 28) Defense Ranking Points: 370 (22 of 28) Run: 644-2950 (28 of 28) Pass: 3052 (2 of 28) |
| Roster QB- Matt Cavanaugh QB - Steve Grogan QB - Tom Owen HB - Tony Collins HB - Vagas Ferguson HB - Andy Johnson FB - Don Calhoun RB - Sam Cunningham FB - Mosi Tatupu WR - Harold Jackson WR - Stanley Morgan WR - Carlos Pennywell WR - Ken Toler WR - Don Wetsbrook TE - Lin Dawson TE - Don Hasselbeck T - Brian Holloway T - Shelby Jordan G/T - Gary Puetz C/T - Dwight Wheeler G - Sam Adams G - Bob Cryder G - John Hannah C - Pete Brock C - Bill Lenkaitis DE - Julius Adams DE - Mark Buben DE - Steve Clark DE - John Lee DE - Tony McGee NT - Richard Bishop NT - Ray Hamilton LB - Don Blackmon LB - Bob Golic LB - Mike Hawkins LB - Steve King LB - Bill Matthews LB - Steve Nelson LB - Rod Shoate LB - John Zamberlin DB - Raymond Clayborn DB - Paul Dombroski DB - Tim Fox DB - Mike Haynes DB - Roland James DB - Keith Lee DB - Rick Sanford DB - Darrell Wilson P - Rich Camarillo P - Ken Hartley P - Mike Hubach K - John Smith Injury DB - Preston Brown (Back) RB - Allan Clark (Knee) LB - Larry McGrew (Knee) |
| Pro Bowlers: G - John Hannah |
| Coach: Ron Erhardt Record 21-28 |
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