The 1981 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 22nd overall and the 12th in the National Football League (NFL). Bum Phillips was fired as head coach during the offseason for failing to reach the Super Bowl, and replaced by Ed Biles. However, the Oilers defensive problems would catch up with them as they finished with a disappointing 7–9 record, as Earl Campbell fought through injuries to rush for 1,376 yards. After a fast 4–2 start, Houston would struggle in the second half, going 3–7 in their final 10 games, including a critical loss to the New Orleans Saints, who finished 4–12 in 1981.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 6 at Los Angeles Rams W 27–20 1–0Anaheim StadiumRecap 2 September 13 at Cleveland Browns W 9–3 2–0Cleveland StadiumRecap 3 September 20 Miami Dolphins L 10–16 2–1AstrodomeRecap 4 September 27 at New York Jets L 17–33 2–2Shea StadiumRecap 5 October 4 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–10 3–2AstrodomeRecap 6 October 11 Seattle Seahawks W 35–17 4–2AstrodomeRecap 7 October 18 at New England Patriots L 10–38 4–3Schaefer StadiumRecap 8 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–26 4–4Three Rivers StadiumRecap 9 November 1 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–34 4–5Riverfront StadiumRecap 10 November 8 Oakland Raiders W 17–16 5–5AstrodomeRecap 11 November 15 at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–23 5–6 Arrowhead StadiumRecap 12 November 22 New Orleans Saints L 24–27 5–7AstrodomeRecap 13 November 29 Atlanta Falcons L 27–31 5–8AstrodomeRecap 14 Cleveland Browns W 17–13 6–8AstrodomeRecap 15 December 13 at San Francisco 49ers L 6–28 6–9Candlestick ParkRecap 16 December 20 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–20 7–9AstrodomeRecap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
References
External links 1981 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com