The 1981Baltimore Coltsseason was the 29th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1981 season with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses, and finished tied for fourth in the AFCEast division with the New England Patriots. However the Colts finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). The victories over New England occurred on the first and last games of the season; Baltimore lost 14 games in between victories.
The Colts defense had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, setting records for points (533) and yards (6,793) allowed; the yardage record was surpassed by the 2012 New Orleans Saints, who allowed 7,042. The Colts gave up more than twice as many points as they scored (259). Conversely, the Patriots, with whom they were tied in the AFC East, only gave up 48 more points than they scored. The Colts' pass defense surrendered a staggering 8.19 yards-per-dropback, the most surrendered by any team in NFL history.[1]
The Colts' -274 point differential (points scored vs. points allowed) is the second-worst since the 1970 merger, second only to the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 0-14.[2] The 1981 Colts and the 1990 New England Patriots are the only NFL teams since 1940 to have 11 losses in a season in which they never had a lead.[3]
