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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)
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1981 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
| Score | Offense | Defense | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | Day | 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 | 25 | 472 | 394 | 78 | 3 | 34 | 564 | 415 | 149 | 4 | |