1981 Miami Dolphins season

1981 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach Don Shula
Home field Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record 11–4–1
Division Place 1st AFC East
Playoff finish Lost Divisional Round
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1980 1982

Contents

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round Pick Player Position School
1

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 6, 1981 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–7
50,351
2 September 10, 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–10
75,059
3 September 20, 1981 at Houston Oilers W 16–10
47,379
4 September 27, 1981 at Baltimore Colts W 31–28
41,630
5 October 4, 1981 New York Jets T 28–28
68,723
6 October 12, 1981 at Buffalo Bills L 31–21
78,576
7 October 18, 1981 Washington Redskins W 13–10
47,367
8 October 25, 1981 at Dallas Cowboys L 28–27
64,221
9 November 1, 1981 Baltimore Colts W 27–10
46,061
10 November 8, 1981 at New England Patriots W 30–27
60,436
11 November 15, 1981 Oakland Raiders L 33–17
61,777
12 November 22, 1981 at New York Jets L 16–15
59,962
13 November 30, 1981 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–10
67,797
14 December 6, 1981 New England Patriots W 24–14
50,421
15 December 13, 1981 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–7
57,407
16 December 19, 1981 Buffalo Bills W 16–6
72,956

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional January 2, 1982 San Diego Chargers L 41–38
73,735

Standings

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Miami Dolphins 11 4 1 .719 345 275
New York Jets 10 5 1 .656 355 287
Buffalo Bills 10 6 0 .625 311 276
Baltimore Colts 2 14 0 .125 259 533
New England Patriots 2 14 0 .125 322 370

Roster

Awards and honors

Milestones

Notes and references

Founded in 1966 • Based in Miami Gardens, Florida
The Franchise
Stadiums
Culture
Lore
Head Coaches
Wilson • Shula • Johnson • Wannstedt • Bates • Saban • Cameron • Sparano • Bowles
Starting Quarterbacks
Wood • Bo. Griese • Strock • Woodley • Marino • Fiedler • Br. Griese • Feeley • Frerotte • Culpepper • Harrington • Green • Lemon • Beck • Pennington • Henne • Thigpen • Moore
Division Championships (13)
Super Bowl Appearances (5)
VI • VII • VIII • XVII • XIX
League Championships (2)
Retired Numbers
12, 13, 39
Seasons
1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Current League Affiliations
Rivalries
1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Baltimore Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Buffalo Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Los Angeles
Miami Houston Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1981 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XVI