Record 2–14 Playoff finish did not qualify Start date 1981 General manager Bucko Kilroy Home field Foxboro Stadium | Division place T-4th AFC East Pro Bowlers G John Hannah Head coach Ron Erhardt Owner Billy Sullivan | |
AP All-Pros G John Hannah (1st team) Similar 1983 New England Patriots s, 1972 New England Patriots s, 1989 New England Patriots s, 1965 Boston Patriots s, 1968 Boston Patriots s | ||
The 1981 New England Patriots season was the team's 22nd, and 12th in the National Football League. The Patriots finished the season with a record of two wins and fourteen losses, and finished tied for last in the AFC East Division.
The team lost their first four games, and then ten of their last eleven, including the last nine games of the season. The Patriots were defeated in both the first and last games of the season by the Baltimore Colts; the Patriots' bookend losses proved to be Baltimore's only two wins of the 1981 season. It was known that the loser of that last game would have the first pick in the 1982 NFL Draft, and the game was nicknamed "The Stupor Bowl." With the Patriot loss, the team had the first pick, choosing University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims, an eventual draft "bust" as first overall pick in the NFL draft.
Roster
Here is a comprehensive list of all the top players from the Patriots' 1981 season.