1981 Oakland Raiders season
The 1981 Oakland Raiders season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record from 1980. The Raiders went 7–9 and became the fourth team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champions and miss the playoffs. The 1981 Raiders set an NFL record by being shut out three consecutive times. The passing game fell off badly being 26th and throwing 28 interceptions. After the defense led the NFL in interceptions and takeaways in 1980, they were dead last in 1981 and were – 16 in turnover differential. It was also their last season in Oakland until 1995 and their losing record snapped a streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons.
Offseason
NFL Draft
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Opponent | Result | Game site | Attendance |
1 | at Denver Broncos | L 7–9 | Mile High Stadium | 74,796 |
2 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 36–10 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,186 |
3 | Seattle Seahawks | W 20–10 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 45,725 |
4 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–16 | Pontiac Silverdome | 77,819 |
5 | Denver Broncos | L 0–17 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,035 |
6 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 0–27 | Arrowhead Stadium | 76,543 |
7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 18–16 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 42,288 |
8 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 17–28 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 42,914 |
9 | New England Patriots | W 27–17 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 44,246 |
10 | at Houston Oilers | L 16–17 | Houston Astrodome | 45,519 |
11 | at Miami Dolphins | W 33–17 | Miami Orange Bowl | 61,777 |
12 | San Diego Chargers | L 21–55 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 50,199 |
13 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 32–31 | The Kingdome | 57,147 |
14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–27 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,769 |
15 | Chicago Bears | L 6–23 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 40,384 |
16 | at San Diego Chargers | L 10–23 | San Diego Stadium | 52,279 |
Game summaries
Week 1
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Raiders |
7 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
7 |
• Broncos |
6 |
3 | 0 | 0 |
9 |
|
[2]
Week 2
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Raiders |
3 |
13 | 7 | 13 |
36 |
Vikings |
0 |
7 | 3 | 0 |
10 |
|
|
|
[3]
Week 3
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Seahawks |
0 |
3 | 7 | 0 |
10 |
• Raiders |
7 |
6 | 0 | 7 |
20 |
|
|
|
[4]
Standings
References
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Franchise | |
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Stadiums | |
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Key personnel | |
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Culture | |
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Lore | |
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Rivalries | |
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Media |
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- Personalities:
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Playoff appearances (21) | |
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Division championships (15) | |
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Conference championships (4) | |
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League championships (3†) | |
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Current league affiliations | |
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Former league affiliation | |
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Seasons (55) | |
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Championship seasons in bold |