1981 Houston Oilers season
# 1981 Houston Oilers season

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

1981 Houston Oilers draft :

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 79 | Mike Holston | Wide receiver | Morgan State |
| 4 | 106 | Nick Eyre | Offensive tackle | BYU |
| 5 | 133 | Delbert Fowler | Linebacker | West Virginia |
| 6 | 159 | Bill Kay | Defensive back | Purdue |
| 7 | 193 | Don Washington | Defensive back | Texas A&M–Kingsville |
| 8 | 217 | Willie Tullis | Defensive back | Troy |
| 9 | 243 | Avon Riley | Linebacker | UCLA |
| 10 | 270 | Larry Jones | Running back | Colorado State |
| 11 | 297 | Claude Matthews | Guard | Auburn |
| 12 | 324 | Bill Capece | Placekicker | Florida State |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 27–20 | 1–0 | Anaheim Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 13 | at Cleveland Browns | W 9–3 | 2–0 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 20 | Miami Dolphins | L 10–16 | 2–1 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 4 | September 27 | at New York Jets | L 17–33 | 2–2 | Shea Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17–10 | 3–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 6 | October 11 | Seattle Seahawks | W 35–17 | 4–2 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 7 | October 18 | at New England Patriots | L 10–38 | 4–3 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 26 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–26 | 4–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 1 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 21–34 | 4–5 | Riverfront Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 8 | Oakland Raiders | W 17–16 | 5–5 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 11 | November 15 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 10–23 | 5–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 22 | New Orleans Saints | L 24–27 | 5–7 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 13 | November 29 | Atlanta Falcons | L 27–31 | 5–8 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–13 | 6–8 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 15 | December 13 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 6–28 | 6–9 | Candlestick Park | Recap |
| 16 | December 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–20 | 7–9 | Astrodome | Recap |

### Standings

AFC Central :

| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cincinnati $Bengals^{(1)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 421 | 304 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 356 | 297 | L3 |
| Houston Oilers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 281 | 355 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 2–10 | 276 | 375 | L5 |
