The Colts finished the NFL's 1981 season with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses, finishing in a tie with the New England Patriots for both last place in their division, the AFC East, and the worst record in the league.
However, by virtue of beating the Patriots for their only two wins of the season, the Colts finished ahead of New England on a tiebreaker.
Those wins came in the first and last weeks of the season, as the Colts lost their other fourteen games consecutively.
The Colts’ defense had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, setting records for points (533) and yards (6,793) allowed.
Conversely, the Patriots, with whom they were tied in the AFC East, only gave up 48 more points than they scored.
[2] The 1981 Colts are the first of only two NFL teams since 1940 to suffer eleven losses in a season during which they never had a lead.
The season included a bizarre incident in which, during the Colts’ 38–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15, team owner Bob Irsay called plays from the coaches’ booth.
The Colts ended the 1981 season by snapping their 14-game losing streak and swept the Patriots.