1996 Washington Redskins season

The 1996 season was the Washington Redskins' 65th in the National Football League, and their 61st since the franchise moved to Washington, D.C. It was their last season playing at RFK Stadium, where they had played since 1961. They began the season aiming to improve on their 6–10 record from the year before, but after winning seven of their first eight games, they managed just two victories in the second half of the season and finished with a 9–7 record. By virtue of their inferior intra-conference record (6–6) compared to the Minnesota Vikings (8–4), the Redskins became the first team in NFL history to start the season 7–1 and not make the playoffs (this was later matched by the 2012 Chicago Bears).[1]

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

Although the Redskins' offense was eighth in the league in scoring, their defense surrendered 2,275 rushing yards, the most in the NFL that year.[2] Statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the 1996 Redskins had, play-for-play, the worst run defense they had ever tracked.[3] At the end of the season, in a 37-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, past and present Redskins greats were honored at halftime and were introduced and taken around in golf carts in a final "victory lap" around the stadium to acknowledge the fans one last time.[4]

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

[5]

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

Roster

1996 Washington Redskins roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Gus Frerotte 10 Trent Green  5 Heath Shuler Running backs 21 Terry Allen 35 William Bell 47 Larry Bowie FB 48 Stephen Davis 20 Marc Logan FB 30 Brian Mitchell Wide receivers 83 Flipper Anderson 80 Bill Brooks 85 Henry Ellard 86 Leslie Shepherd 82 Michael Westbrook Tight ends 84 Jamie Asher 89 Scott Galbraith 88 James Jenkins		Offensive linemen 75 Bob Dahl G 77 Tre' Johnson G 64 Trevor Matich C 68 Joe Patton T 67 Shar Pourdanesh T 59 Chris Sedoris C 76 Ed Simmons T 55 Jeff Uhlenhake C Defensive linemen 93 Marc Boutte DT 91 Jeff Cross DE 95 William Gaines DT 94 Sean Gilbert DT 78 Ryan Kuehl DT 92 Dexter Nottage DE 96 Rich Owens DE 97 Sterling Palmer DE 98 Tony Woods DE		Linebackers 58 Patrise Alexander 50 Darrick Brownlow 54 Alcides Catanho OLB 57 Ken Harvey 53 Marvcus Patton 99 Rod Stephens MLB Defensive backs 25 Tom Carter CB 35 Leomont Evans 28 Darrell Green CB 38 Darryl Morrison FS 22 Eric Sutton 27 Keith Taylor SS 29 Scott Turner CB 45 Brian Walker Special teams 16 Scott Blanton K  1 Matt Turk P		Reserve lists 26 Muhammad Oliver CB (IR) 52 Cory Raymer C (IR) 70 Kelvin Kinney DE (IR) 71 Matt Reem T (IR) 74 Brian Thure T (IR) 91 Matt Vanderbeek LB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 1	Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–17	0–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	53,415
2	September 8	Chicago Bears	W 10–3	1–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,711
3	September 15	at New York Giants	W 31–10	2–1	Giants Stadium	71,693
4	September 22	at St. Louis Rams	W 17–10	3–1	Trans World Dome	62,303
5	September 29	New York Jets	W 31–16	4–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,068
6	Bye
7	October 13	at New England Patriots	W 27–22	5–1	Foxboro Stadium	59,638
8	October 20	New York Giants	W 31–21	6–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,684
9	October 27	Indianapolis Colts	W 31–16	7–1	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	54,254
10	November 3	at Buffalo Bills	L 38–13	7–2	Rich Stadium	78,002
11	November 10	Arizona Cardinals	L 37–34 (OT)	7–3	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	51,929
12	November 17	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–21	8–3	Veterans Stadium	66,834
13	November 24	San Francisco 49ers	L 19–16	8–4	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	54,235
14	November 28	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–10	8–5	Texas Stadium	64,955
15	December 8	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 24–10	8–6	Houlihan's Stadium	44,733
16	December 15	at Arizona Cardinals	L 27–26	8–7	Sun Devil Stadium	34,260
17	December 22	Dallas Cowboys	W 37–10	9–7	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	56,454

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 (December 30, 2012). "Bears miss playoffs despite 26–24 win over Lions". Boston.com. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1996 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
3. Football Outsiders – DVOA 7.0: Worst Teams Ever, 1991–2011.
4. 1996 FOX broadcast of Dallas at Washington
5. "1996 Washington Redskins Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.