# 1981 New Orleans Saints season

The 1981 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints' fifteenth season in the National Football League. Hoping past success would bring a bright future to New Orleans the Saints hired Bum Phillips to be their new head coach. With the first pick overall the Saints draft Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers out of South Carolina. Phillips banked on Rogers giving the Saints the same boost that Earl Campbell did when Phillips drafted him out of Texas three years earlier.
Rogers won the Offensive Rookie of the Year, as he rushed all-time rookie record of 1,674 yards, a record which was eclipsed just two years later when Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams rushed for 1,808. However, the Saints would continue to struggle finishing with a 4–12 record. It was the Saints’ thirteenth of fifteen seasons with five or fewer wins, and eighth with double-digit defeats.
Despite finishing with a poor record, they did have a couple bright moments, such as defeating the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals in the Superdome and defeating the Houston Oilers, Bum Phillips' old team, on the road.
New Orleans swept the NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams for the first time since they were placed in the same division for the 1970 season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1981 New Orleans Saints draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | George Rogers * | Running back | South Carolina |
| 2 | 29 | Russell Gary | Safety | Nebraska |
| 2 | 51 | Rickey Jackson * $^†$ | Linebacker | Pittsburgh |
| 3 | 57 | Frank Warren | Defensive end | Auburn |
| 3 | 71 | Hoby Brenner * | Tight end | USC |
| 5 | 112 | Louis Oubre | Guard | Oklahoma |
| 5 | 128 | Jerry Boyarsky | Defensive tackle | Pittsburgh |
| 6 | 139 | Nat Hudson | Guard | Georgia |
| 6 | 144 | Johnnie Poe | Defensive back | Missouri |
| 6 | 166 | Glen Redd | Linebacker | BYU |
| 7 | 167 | Kevin Williams | Wide receiver | USC |
| 8 | 214 | Gene Gladys | Linebacker | Penn State |
| 8 | 215 | Kevin Evans | Cornerback | Arkansas |
| 9 | 222 | Toussaint Tyler | Running back | Washington |
| 10 | 249 | Hokie Gajan | Running back | LSU |
| 11 | 277 | Lester Mickens | Wide receiver | Kansas |
| 12 | 305 | Jim Wilks | Defensive end | San Diego State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 0–27 | 0–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,406 |
| 2 | September 13 | Los Angeles Rams | W 23–17 | 1–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 62,063 |
| 3 | September 20 | at New York Giants | L 7–20 | 1–2 | Giants Stadium | 69,814 |
| 4 | September 27 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–21 | 1–3 | Candlestick Park | 44,433 |
| 5 | October 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–20 | 1–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 64,578 |
| 6 | October 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–31 | 1–5 | Louisiana Superdome | 52,728 |
| 7 | October 18 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–20 | 1–6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,059 |
| 8 | October 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17–7 | 2–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 46,336 |
| 9 | November 1 | Atlanta Falcons | L 10–41 | 2–7 | Louisiana Superdome | 63,637 |
| 10 | November 8 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 21–13 | 3–7 | Anaheim Stadium | 61,068 |
| 11 | November 15 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–20 | 3–8 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,215 |
| 12 | November 22 | at Houston Oilers | W 27–24 | 4–8 | Houston Astrodome | 49,581 |
| 13 | November 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 14–31 | 4–9 | Louisiana Superdome | 62,209 |
| 14 | December 6 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 3–30 | 4–10 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 46,923 |
| 15 | December 13 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–35 | 4–11 | Louisiana Superdome | 45,518 |
| 16 | December 20 | San Francisco 49ers | L 17–21 | 4–12 | Louisiana Superdome | 43,639 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers$^{(1)}$ | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 5–1 | 10-2 | 357 | 250 | W5 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 426 | 355 | L3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 303 | 351 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 2–10 | 207 | 378 | L4 |

## Awards and records

* George Rogers, NFL rushing title, 1,674 yards
* George Rogers, franchise record, most rushing yards by a rookie, 1,674 yards
* George Rogers, NFL Record (since broken), most rushing yards by a rookie, 1,674 yards