1996 Washington Redskins season

1996 Washington Redskins season
Head coach	Norv Turner
Home field	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1996 Washington Redskins season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record from 1995. This was the Redskins' last season playing at RFK Stadium, where they had played since 1961. The Redskins are one of only two teams in NFL history to start the season 7–1 and not make the playoffs, the 2012 Chicago Bears being the other.^[1]

Although they were eighth in the league in scoring, the Redskins surrendered 2,275 rushing yards, the most in the NFL in 1996.^[2] Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the 1996 Redskins had, play-for-play, the worst run defense they had ever tracked.^[3]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1996 Washington Redskins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	30	Andre Johnson	Offensive tackle	Penn State
4	102	Stephen Davis *	Running back	Auburn
5	138	Leomont Evans	Defensive back	Clemson
6	174	Kelvin Kinney	Defensive end	Virginia State
7	215	Jeremy Asher	Linebacker	Oregon
7	250	DeAndre Maxwell	Wide receiver	San Diego State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[4]

Personnel

Staff

1996 Washington Redskins staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board/CEO – Jack Kent Cooke Executive Vice President – John Kent Cooke General Manager – Charley Casserly Assistant General Manager – Bobby Mitchell Director of College Scouting – George Saimes Head coaches Head Coach – Norv Turner Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Cam Cameron Running Backs – Bobby Jackson Wide Receivers – Terry Robiskie Tight Ends – Russ Grimm Offensive Line – Jim Hanifan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ron Lynn Defensive Line – Bob Karmelowicz Linebackers – Mike Haluchak Defensive Backs – Tom Hayes Assistant Secondary – Ray Horton Special teams coaches Special Teams – Pete Rodriguez Strength and conditioning Strength – Dan Riley Conditioning Director – Jason Arapoff

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	September 1, 1996	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–14	53,415	Redskins put up 220 yards of offense to the Eagles' 402
2	September 8, 1996	Chicago Bears	W 10–3	52,711	Redskins managed only 249 yards of offense
3	September 15, 1996	at New York Giants	W 31–10	71,693	Dave Brown was intercepted four times
4	September 22, 1996	at St. Louis Rams	W 17–10	62,303	Gus Frerotte and Steve Walsh combined for five interceptions
5	September 29, 1996	New York Jets	W 31–16	52,068	Both teams combined for 295 rushing yards
6	Bye
7	October 13, 1996	at New England Patriots	W 27–22	59,638	Redskins stopped late 2-point conversion run
8	October 20, 1996	New York Giants	W 31–21	52,684	Redskins scored 21 points in second quarter
9	October 27, 1996	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–16	54,254	Two teams combined for 315 rushing yards
10	November 3, 1996	at Buffalo Bills	L 38–13	78,002	Redskins gashed for 266 rushing yards
11	November 10, 1996	Arizona Cardinals	L 37–34 OT	51,929	Boomer Esiason threw for 522 yards despite four interceptions
12	November 17, 1996	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–21	66,834	Jamie Asher caught two touchdowns
13	November 24, 1996	San Francisco 49ers	L 19–16	54,235	Redskins forced six fumbles but recovered only one of them
14	November 28, 1996	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–10	64,955	Emmitt Smith's 155 rushing yards nearly eclipsed Gus Frerotte's 175 passing yards
15	December 8, 1996	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24–10	44,733	Gus Frerotte and Trent Dilfer combined for only 331 passing yards
16	December 15, 1996	at Arizona Cardinals	L 27–26	34,260	Redskins swept by Cardinals for third time in four seasons
17	December 22, 1996	Dallas Cowboys	W 37–10	56,454	Final game for RFK Stadium

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Dallas Cowboys	10	6	0	.625	286	250	L1
^(5) Philadelphia Eagles	10	6	0	.625	363	341	W2
Washington Redskins	9	7	0	.563	364	312	W1
Arizona Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	300	397	L1
New York Giants	6	10	0	.375	242	297	L2

Awards and records

• Darrell Green, Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

References

1. Trister, Noah (2012-12-30). "Bears miss playoffs despite 26–24 win over Lions". Boston.com. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1996 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
3. Football Outsiders – DVOA 7.0: Worst Teams Ever, 1991–2011.
4. "1996 Washington Redskins Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.