1986 Washington Redskins season
The 1986 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 55th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 51st in Washington, D.C.. The team improved on their 10–6 record from 1985 and returned to the playoffs after missing them the previous year, finishing with a 12–4 record, a second place finish in the NFC East, and qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. They defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Game at RFK Stadium, then upset the defending champion Chicago Bears in the Divisional Playoffs. The season came to an end in the NFC Championship Game when the Redskins were defeated by their division rivals, the New York Giants.
1986 Washington Redskins season | |
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Head coach | Joe Gibbs |
Home field | RFK Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 12–4 |
Division place | 2nd NFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 19–7 Won Divisional Playoffs (Bears) 27–13 Lost Conference Championship (Giants) 17–0 |
Offseason
NFL Draft
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 7, 1986 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 41–14 | |
2 | September 14, 1986 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 10–6 | |
3 | September 21, 1986 | at San Diego Chargers | W 30–27 | |
4 | September 28, 1986 | Seattle Seahawks | W 19–14 | |
5 | October 5, 1986 | at New Orleans Saints | W 14–6 | |
6 | October 12, 1986 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 30–6 | |
7 | October 19, 1986 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 28–21 | |
8 | October 27, 1986 | at New York Giants | L 27–20 | |
9 | November 2, 1986 | Minnesota Vikings | W 44–38 | |
10 | November 9, 1986 | at Green Bay Packers | W 16–7 | |
11 | November 17, 1986 | San Francisco 49ers | W 14–6 | |
12 | November 23, 1986 | Dallas Cowboys | W 41–14 | |
13 | November 30, 1986 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–17 | |
14 | December 7, 1986 | New York Giants | L 24–14 | |
15 | December 13, 1986 | at Denver Broncos | L 31–30 | |
16 | December 21, 1986 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–14 |
Season summary
Week 1 vs Eagles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Redskins | 3 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 7
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
- Game attendance: 53,982
- Referee: Gene Barth
- Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database
Game information | ||
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Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Standings
NFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
New York Giants(1) | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 7–1 | 11–1 | 371 | 236 | W9 |
Washington Redskins(4) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–3 | 9–3 | 368 | 296 | W1 |
Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 346 | 337 | L5 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 1–6–1 | 3–8–1 | 256 | 312 | L1 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 11 | 1 | .281 | 1–6–1 | 3–10–1 | 218 | 351 | W1 |
Playoffs
NFC Wild Card Game
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Redskins | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 54,180
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
NFC Divisional Playoff
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redskins | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
Bears | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
- Game attendance: 65,141
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Dan Dierdorf
In knocking off the defending Super Bowl champion Bears, the Redskins scored their first road playoff win under Joe Gibbs. It would not be the Gibbs-led Redskins' last road playoff win, though, as they scored wins in 1988 at Chicago, in 1990 at Philadelphia, in 1992 at Minnesota, and in 2005 at Tampa.
NFC Championship Game
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Giants | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 76,633
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden