You Are Here > Pro-Football-Reference.com > Teams > Miami Dolphins > 1981 Statistics & Players

1981 Miami Dolphins

Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season

Record: 11-4-1, Finished 1st in AFC East Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 345 points (21.6/g), 11th of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 275 points (17.2/g), 5th.
 Differential of 70 points (4.4/g), 8th.
 Expected W-L: 10.1-5.9.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +2 (0.1/g), 12th.

Coached by Don Shula (11-4-1)

1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 6 box W 1-0 @ St. Louis Cardinals 20 7 14 292 141 151 3 14 203 142 61 2
2 Thu September 10 box W 2-0 Pittsburgh Steelers 30 10 25 346 161 185 1 15 300 183 117 2
3 Sun September 20 box W 3-0 @ Houston Oilers 16 10 16 257 133 124 1 9 202 117 85 1
4 Sun September 27 box W 4-0 @ Baltimore Colts 31 28 22 428 309 119 20 514 348 166 1
5 Sun October 4 box T 4-0-1 New York Jets 28 28 17 399 301 98 32 546 304 242 3
6 Mon October 12 box L 4-1-1 @ Buffalo Bills 21 31 22 324 225 99 4 22 454 338 116 1
7 Sun October 18 box W 5-1-1 Washington Redskins 13 10 20 445 296 149 2 20 301 139 162 2
8 Sun October 25 box L 5-2-1 @ Dallas Cowboys 27 28 25 529 381 148 5 23 466 327 139 2
9 Sun November 1 box W 6-2-1 Baltimore Colts 27 10 19 310 164 146 19 308 240 68 3
10 Sun November 8 box W 7-2-1 @ New England Patriots 30 27 24 419 216 203 4 23 492 351 141 5
11 Sun November 15 box L 7-3-1 Oakland Raiders 17 33 22 306 236 70 2 19 304 161 143
12 Sun November 22 box L 7-4-1 @ New York Jets 15 16 13 187 41 146 2 21 285 165 120 2
13 Mon November 30 box W 8-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles 13 10 14 205 132 73 1 11 216 80 136 2
14 Sun December 6 box W 9-4-1 New England Patriots 24 14 19 340 128 212 2 17 256 122 134 2
15 Sun December 13 box W 10-4-1 @ Kansas City Chiefs 17 7 16 253 160 93 3 16 276 185 91 2
16 Sat December 19 box W 11-4-1 Buffalo Bills 16 6 18 282 125 157 1 15 240 129 111 3
Playoffs
Division Sat January 2 box L 11-5-1 San Diego Chargers 38 41

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 345 5322 1063 5.0 306 271 498 3149 18 21 6.0 157 535 2173 18 4.1 123 31 10 26
Team Defense 275 5363 1039 5.2 468 297 509 3331 23 18 6.1 160 492 2032 10 4.1 296 33 15 12
Lg Rank Offense 11 16 16 14 16 19 11 16 11 10 9 14 4 1
Lg Rank Defense 5 15 8 17 19 18 18 15 10 14 2 20 23 22

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
David Woodley 23 QB 15 15 191 366 52.2 2470 12 3.3 13 3.6 69 6.7 5.5 12.9 164.7 69.8 24 191 5.8 4.7 6.2
Don Strock 31 16 1 79 130 60.8 901 6 4.6 8 6.2 52 6.9 4.6 11.4 56.3 71.3 6 45 6.3 4.1 4.4
Eddie Hill 24 11 3 1 1 100.0 14 0 0.0 0 0.0 14 14.0 14.0 14.0 1.3 118.7 0 0 14.0 14.0 0.0
Tony Nathan 25 RB 13 11 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Team Total 25.7 16 271 498 54.4 3385 18 3.6 21 4.2 69 6.8 5.3 12.5 211.6 70.2 30 236 6.0 4.5 5.7
Opp Total 16 297 509 58.3 3331 23 4.5 18 3.5 6.5 5.4 11.2 208.2 78.3 38 314 6.1 4.5

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
Andra Franklin 22 FB 16 11 201 711 7 29 3.5 44.4 12.6 3 6 2.0 1 3 0.2 0.4 717 8 5
Tony Nathan 25 RB 13 11 147 782 5 46 5.3 60.2 11.3 50 452 9.0 3 31 3.8 34.8 1234 8 2
David Woodley 23 QB 15 15 63 272 4 26 4.3 18.1 4.2 272 4 9
Eddie Hill 24 11 3 37 146 1 24 3.9 13.3 3.4 12 73 6.1 1 16 1.1 6.6 219 2 2
Tommy Vigorito 22 RET 16 1 35 116 1 30 3.3 7.3 2.2 33 237 7.2 2 31 2.1 14.8 353 3 1
Woody Bennett 26 3 3 28 104 0 12 3.7 34.7 9.3 4 22 5.5 0 10 1.3 7.3 126 0 1
Don Strock 31 16 1 14 -26 0 9 -1.9 -1.6 0.9 -26 0 0
Steve Howell 25 10 2 5 21 0 9 4.2 2.1 0.5 2 9 4.5 0 5 0.2 0.9 30 0 0
Nick Giaquinto 26 8 0 3 31 0 20 10.3 3.9 0.4 7 38 5.4 1 16 0.9 4.8 69 1 0
Nat Moore 30 WR 13 11 1 3 0 3 3.0 0.2 0.1 26 452 17.4 2 52 2.0 34.8 455 2 0
Tom Orosz 22 P 16 0 1 13 0 13 13.0 0.8 0.1 13 0 0
Duriel Harris 27 WR 15 12 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 53 911 17.2 2 55 3.5 60.7 911 2 0
Jimmy Cefalo 26 wr 16 6 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 29 631 21.8 3 69 1.8 39.4 631 3 0
Joe Rose 24 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 23 316 13.7 2 50 1.4 19.8 316 2 0
Bruce Hardy 25 16 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 15 174 11.6 0 21 0.9 10.9 174 0 1
Ronnie Lee 25 TE 16 16 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 14 64 4.6 1 11 0.9 4.0 64 1 0
Team Total 25.7 16 535 2173 18 46 4.1 135.8 33.4 271 3385 12.5 18 69 16.9 211.6 5558 36 26
Opp Total 16 492 2032 10 4.1 127.0 30.8 297 3331 11.2 23 18.6 208.2 5363 33 30

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
Fulton Walker 23 RET 16 2 5 50 0 17 10.0 38 932 1 90 24.5 982
Tommy Vigorito 22 RET 16 1 36 379 1 87 10.5 4 84 0 25 21.0 816
Don Bessillieu 25 fs 16 6 1 12 0 12 12.0 7 114 0 30 16.3 126
Glenn Blackwood 24 SS 16 16 2 8 0 6 4.0 8
Mike Kozlowski 25 14 0 1 9 0 9 9.0 1 40 0 40 40.0 49
Nick Giaquinto 26 8 0 1 22 0 22 22.0 91
Duriel Harris 27 WR 15 12 1 20 0 20 20.0 931
Eddie Hill 24 11 3 1 11 0 11 11.0 230
Joe Rose 24 16 0 1 5 0 5 5.0 321
Team Total 25.7 16 45 458 1 87 10.2 54 1228 1 90 22.7 7244
Opp Total 16 45 0 60 1218 0 20.3

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
Tom Orosz 22 P 16 0 83 3386 61 0 40.8
Uwe von Schamann 25 K 16 0 9 9 12 11 10 4 31 24 77.4% 38 37 97.4%
Team Total 25.7 16 9 9 12 11 10 4 31 24 77.4% 38 37 97.4% 83 3386 61 0 40.8
Opp Total 16 21 14 66.7% 33 33 100.0% 87 3567 41.0

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
Bob Baumhower* 26 NT 16 16 0 3 10 0
Woody Bennett 26 3 3 1 1 0 0
Don Bessillieu 25 fs 16 6 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
Glenn Blackwood 24 SS 16 16 4 124 0 39 0 1 5 0
Lyle Blackwood 30 FS 12 10 3 12 0 11
Bob Brudzinski 26 LOLB 16 16 2 35 0 19
A.J. Duhe 26 LILB 16 16 1 11 0 11 0 1 0 0
Andra Franklin 22 FB 16 11 5 1 0 0
Jon Giesler 25 LT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Larry Gordon 28 ROLB 16 16 0 1 0 0 1
Bruce Hardy 25 16 4 1 0 0 0
Eddie Hill 24 11 3 2 0 0 0
Steve Howell 25 10 2 0 1 0 0
Mike Kozlowski 25 14 0 3 37 0 29 0 1 25 1
Eric Laakso 25 RT 16 16 0 1 0 0
Don McNeal 23 LCB 12 12 0 1 0 0
Tony Nathan 25 RB 13 11 2 2 0 0
Tom Orosz 22 P 16 0 0 1 0 0
Earnest Rhone 28 RILB 16 16 3 35 0 16 0 1 0 0
Joe Rose 24 16 0 0 1 0 0
Steve Shull 23 16 0 0 2 0 0
Gerald Small 25 RCB 16 16 0 2 0 0
Tommy Vigorito 22 RET 16 1 1 0 0 0
Fulton Walker 23 RET 16 2 1 0 0 0 4 2 0 0
David Woodley 23 QB 15 15 9 2 -21 0
Team Total 25.7 16 18 254 0 39 26 28 19 1 1
Opp Total 16 30 30 15 1

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
Uwe von Schamann 25 K 16 0 37 24 109
Andra Franklin 22 FB 16 11 7 1 48
Tony Nathan 25 RB 13 11 5 3 48
Tommy Vigorito 22 RET 16 1 1 2 1 24
David Woodley 23 QB 15 15 4 24
Jimmy Cefalo 26 wr 16 6 3 18
Duriel Harris 27 WR 15 12 2 12
Eddie Hill 24 11 3 1 1 12
Nat Moore 30 WR 13 11 2 12
Joe Rose 24 16 0 2 12
Nick Giaquinto 26 8 0 1 6
Mike Kozlowski 25 14 0 1 6
Ronnie Lee 25 TE 16 16 1 6
Fulton Walker 23 RET 16 2 1 6
Larry Gordon 28 ROLB 16 16 1 2
Team Total 25.7 16 18 18 1 1 1 37 24 1 345
Opp Total 16 10 23 33 14 1 275