| 1981 Washington Redskins season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jack Kent Cooke |
| President | Edward Bennett Williams |
| General manager | Bobby Beathard |
| Head coach | Joe Gibbs |
| Offensive coordinator | Joe Bugel |
| Defensive coordinator | Richie Petitbon |
| Home field | RFK Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 4th NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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The 1981 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 50th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 44th in Washington, D.C. The team improved on their 6–10 record from 1980 and finished with an 8–8 record, but missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. This was Joe Gibbs' first season as head coach. The team slumped early, losing its first 5 games before upsetting the Chicago Bears 24-7 in Chicago before losing to the Dolphins to sit at 1-6. The Redskins would do better in the second half, as they would win their next 4 games to sit at 5-6 and looking like they were going to reach the playoffs. However, losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills eliminated the Redskins from any hopes at reaching the playoffs. The team would win its final 3 games of the season to end the season 8-8. Among these three wins was a close victory at RFK Stadium against the defending Super Bowl finalist Eagles, 15-13.
| 1981 Washington Redskins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Mark May * | Guard | Pittsburgh | |
| 3 | 69 | Russ Grimm * † | Guard | Pittsburgh | |
| 4 | 90 | Tom Flick | Quarterback | Washington | |
| 5 | 119 | Dexter Manley * | Defensive end | Oklahoma State | |
| 5 | 132 | Gary Sayre | Guard | Cameron | |
| 6 | 148 | Larry Kubin | Linebacker | Penn State | |
| 8 | 201 | Charlie Brown * | Wide receiver | South Carolina State | |
| 9 | 231 | Darryl Grant | Guard | Rice | |
| 10 | 257 | Phil Kessel | Quarterback | Northern Michigan | |
| 10 | 267 | Allan Kennedy | Offensive tackle | Washington State | |
| 11 | 284 | Jerry Hill | Wide receiver | North Alabama | |
| 12 | 314 | Clint Didier | Tight end | Portland State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–26 | 0–1 | RFK Stadium | 55,045 | Recap |
| 2 | September 13 | New York Giants | L 7–17 | 0–2 | RFK Stadium | 53,343 | Recap |
| 3 | September 20 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | L 30–40 | 0–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,592 | Recap |
| 4 | September 27 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | L 13–36 | 0–4 | Veterans Stadium | 70,664 | Recap |
| 5 | October 4 | San Francisco 49ers | L 17–30 | 0–5 | RFK Stadium | 51,843 | Recap |
| 6 | October 11 | atChicago Bears | W 24–7 | 1–5 | Soldier Field | 57,683 | Recap |
| 7 | October 18 | atMiami Dolphins | L 10–13 | 1–6 | Miami Orange Bowl | 47,367 | Recap |
| 8 | October 25 | New England Patriots | W 24–22 | 2–6 | RFK Stadium | 50,394 | Recap |
| 9 | November 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 42–21 | 3–6 | RFK Stadium | 50,643 | Recap |
| 10 | November 8 | Detroit Lions | W 33–31 | 4–6 | RFK Stadium | 52,096 | Recap |
| 11 | November 15 | atNew York Giants | W 30–27 (OT) | 5–6 | Giants Stadium | 63,133 | Recap |
| 12 | November 22 | atDallas Cowboys | L 10–24 | 5–7 | Texas Stadium | 64,587 | Recap |
| 13 | November 29 | atBuffalo Bills | L 14–21 | 5–8 | Rich Stadium | 59,624 | Recap |
| 14 | December 6 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 15–13 | 6–8 | RFK Stadium | 52,206 | Recap |
| 15 | December 13 | Baltimore Colts | W 38–14 | 7–8 | RFK Stadium | 46,706 | Recap |
| 16 | December 20 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 30–7 | 8–8 | Anaheim Stadium | 52,224 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| NFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys(2) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 367 | 277 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles(4) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 368 | 221 | W1 |
| New York Giants(5) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 8–6 | 295 | 257 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 6–6 | 347 | 349 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 315 | 408 | L2 |
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| Division championships (15) |
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| Conference championships (5) |
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| League championships (2) |
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| Super Bowl championships (3) |
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Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) | |
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Bold indicates NFL ChampionshiporSuper Bowl victory |
