1981 Oakland Raiders season

1981 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
Head coach	Tom Flores
General manager	Al Davis
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1980 Raiders seasons 1982 (Los Angeles) →

The 1981 season was the Oakland Raiders' 22nd since they were founded, their 12th in the National Football League and their third under head coach Tom Flores. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 1980, and the Raiders went 7–9 and became the fourth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champions and miss the playoffs. The 1981 Raiders set an NFL record by being shut out three consecutive times. The passing game fell off badly, being 26th and throwing 28 interceptions. After the defense led the NFL in interceptions and takeaways in 1980, they were dead last in 1981 and were –16 in turnover differential. It was also their last season in Oakland until 1995 and their losing record snapped a streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

1981 Raiders Draft Selections^[1]

Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
1	21	Ted Watts	CB	Texas Tech
1	23	Curt Marsh	OT	Washington
2	48	Howie Long	DE	Villanova
4	111	Johnny Robinson	DT	Louisiana Tech
5	118	James Davis	CB	Southern
9	248	Curt Mohl	OT	UCLA
10	276	Frank Hawkins	HB	Nevada
11	304	Chester Willis	HB	Auburn
12	332	Phil Nelson	TE	Delaware

Roster[]

1981 Oakland Raiders roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Jim Plunkett  6 Marc Wilson Running backs 27 Frank Hawkins 33 Kenny King 31 Derrick Jensen 43 Ira Matthews 30 Mark van Eeghen FB 22 Arthur Whittington Wide receivers 80 Malcolm Barnwell 81 Morris Bradshaw 21 Cliff Branch 85 Bob Chandler Tight ends 88 Raymond Chester 46 Todd Christensen 84 Derrick Ramsey		Offensive linemen 50 Dave Dalby C 79 Bruce Davis T 70 Henry Lawrence T 60 Curt Marsh G 65 Mickey Marvin G 71 Lindsey Mason T 78 Art Shell T 66 Steve Sylvester G 63 Gene Upshaw G Defensive linemen 73 Dave Browning DE 77 Joe Campbell DE 86 Cedrick Hardman DE 90 Willie Jones DE 62 Reggie Kinlaw DT 75 Howie Long DE 72 John Matuszak DE 68 Johnny Robinson DT		Linebackers 52 Greg Bracelin 83 Ted Hendricks 53 Rod Martin 57 Randy McClanahan 55 Matt Millen Defensive backs 36 Mike Davis SS 37 Lester Hayes CB 42 Monte Jackson 23 Odis McKinney SS 35 Dwayne O'Steen CB 44 Burgess Owens FS 20 Ted Watts Special teams 10 Chris Bahr K 8 Ray Guy P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	at Denver Broncos	L 7–9	Mile High Stadium	74,796
2	at Minnesota Vikings	W 36–10	Metropolitan Stadium	47,186
3	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–10	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	45,725
4	at Detroit Lions	L 0–16	Pontiac Silverdome	77,819
5	Denver Broncos	L 0–17	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,035
6	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 0–27	Arrowhead Stadium	76,543
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 18–16	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	42,288
8	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–28	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	42,914
9	New England Patriots	W 27–17	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	44,246
10	at Houston Oilers	L 16–17	Houston Astrodome	45,519
11	at Miami Dolphins	W 33–17	Miami Orange Bowl	61,777
12	San Diego Chargers	L 21–55	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,199
13	at Seattle Seahawks	W 32–31	The Kingdome	57,147
14	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–27	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,769
15	Chicago Bears	L 6–23	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	40,384
16	at San Diego Chargers	L 10–23	San Diego Stadium	52,279

Game summaries[]

Week 1[]

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 7 0 0 0 7 • Broncos 6 3 0 0 9 Date: September 6 Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 74,796 Game weather: 67 °F; wind 9 Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson

^[2]

Week 2[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 3 13 7 13 36 Vikings 0 7 3 0 10 Date: September 14 Location: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game attendance: 47,186 Game weather: 66 °F; wind 13 Referee: Gene Barth Television network: ABC

Scoring summary Q1 OAK Chris Bahr 21 yard field goal OAK 3–0 Q2 OAK Burgess Owens 30 yard interception return (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 10–0 Q2 OAK Todd Christensen 21 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (kick failed) OAK 16–0 Q2 MIN Eddie Payton 99 yard kickoff return (Rick Danmeier kick) OAK 16–7 Q3 MIN Rick Danmeier 37 yard field goal OAK 16–10 Q3 OAK Morris Bradshaw 12 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 23–10 Q4 OAK Cedrick Hardman 52 yard fumble return (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 30–10 Q4 OAK Malcolm Barnwell 61 yard pass from Marc Wilson (kick failed) OAK 36–10

^[3]

Week 3[]

1 2 3 4 Total Seahawks 0 3 7 0 10 • Raiders 7 6 0 7 20 Date: September 20 Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 45,725 Game weather: 64 °F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q1 OAK Jim Plunkett 13 yard run (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 7–0 Q2 SEA Efren Herrera 26 yard field goal OAK 7–3 Q2 OAK Morris Bradshaw 29 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (kick failed) OAK 13–3 Q3 SEA Sam McCullum 36 yard pass from Jim Zorn (Efren Herrera kick) OAK 13–10 Q4 OAK Derrick Jensen 1 yard run (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 20–10

^[4]

Standings[]

AFC West
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Diego Chargers(3)	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	478	390	W2
Denver Broncos	10	6	0	.625	5–3	7–5	321	289	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	343	290	W1
Oakland Raiders	7	9	0	.438	2–6	5–7	273	343	L2
Seattle Seahawks	6	10	0	.375	2–6	6–8	322	388	W1

References[]