1981 New York Giants season
Encyclopedia
The 1981 New York Giants season was the 57th season for the club in the National Football League
. The Giants
qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 18 years with a 9–7 record, which placed them third in the National Football Conference East Division. The Giants qualified for the postseason thanks to an overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys
in the last game of the season, coupled with a loss by the Green Bay Packers
. In the Wild Card playoffs, the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Eagles
27–21 in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium
. New York's season ended with a 38–24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
in the Divisional round.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 18 years with a 9–7 record, which placed them third in the National Football Conference East Division. The Giants qualified for the postseason thanks to an overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the last game of the season, coupled with a loss by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. In the Wild Card playoffs, the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
27–21 in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
. New York's season ended with a 38–24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in the Divisional round.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6, 1981 | Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 24–10 | |
| 2 | September 13, 1981 | at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 17–7 | |
| 3 | September 20, 1981 | New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... |
W 20–7 | |
| 4 | September 27, 1981 | at Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas... |
L 18–10 | |
| 5 | October 4, 1981 | Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
L 27–14 | |
| 6 | October 11, 1981 | St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 34–14 | |
| 7 | October 18, 1981 | at Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team... |
W 32–0 | |
| 8 | October 25, 1981 | at Atlanta Falcons Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 27–24 | |
| 9 | November 1, 1981 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 26–7 | |
| 10 | November 8, 1981 | at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
L 26–24 | |
| 11 | November 15, 1981 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
L 30–27 | |
| 12 | November 22, 1981 | at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 20–10 | |
| 13 | November 29, 1981 | at San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
L 17–10 | |
| 14 | December 6, 1981 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
W 10–7 | |
| 15 | December 13, 1981 | at St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 20–10 | |
| 16 | December 19, 1981 | Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas... |
W 13–10 | |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcard | December 27, 1981 | at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 27–21 | |
| Divisional | January 3, 1982 | at San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
L 38–24 | |
Standings
| NFC East NFC East The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins.... |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys 1981 Dallas Cowboys season The 1981 Dallas Cowboys season was their 22nd in the league. The team matched their previous output of 12–4. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season.... |
12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 367 | 277 | L-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles 1981 Philadelphia Eagles season The 1981 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in an appearance in the postseason.-Offseason:After going 12–4 and winning the NFC title and losing in Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders in the 1980 season the Eagles would be picking next to last in the 12 rounds of the draft-1981 NFL Draft:The 1981... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 368 | 221 | W-1 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 295 | 257 | W-3 |
| Washington Redskins 1981 Washington Redskins season The 1981 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 6-10 record from 1980. This was Joe Gibbs' first season as Head Coach.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 347 | 349 | W-3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals 1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the team was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5-11, winning seven games. Despite the improvement the team failed - for the sixth consecutive season - to reach the playoffs, .... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 315 | 408 | L-2 |