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2018 Washington Redskins season

The 2018 season was the Washington Redskins' 87th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Jay Gruden. This was the first season since 2011 that quarterback Kirk Cousins was not on the roster, as he joined the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason as a free agent.

The team tied their record from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. Despite a 6–3 start which was their best since 2008 plus leading the NFC East, the team suffered a late-season collapse, suffering four straight losses after the team lost their starting quarterback Alex Smith to a catastrophic leg injury in their Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans. This would cause Smith to miss both the remainder of the 2018 season and the entire 2019 season as Smith stated that he had taken a total of 17 surgeries to repair his leg and nearly had it amputated. Smith's injury also resulted in a quarterback hangover. First, it forced Colt McCoy into the starting role in Weeks 12 and 13 before also suffering a leg injury in a 28–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, thus forcing the Redskins to start journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez in Week 14 before starting another journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson against the Jacksonville Jaguars after benching Sanchez at halftime against the New York Giants. After the Alex Smith injury, the Redskins finished the last 7 games of the season with a record of 1–6. They were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Titans, including wins by the Seahawks and Vikings. The team's season ended with 25 players on injured reserve, which were a league high.

Draft

Draft trades

Supplemental Draft

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals

Week One: Washington Redskins at Arizona Cardinals – Game summary

at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

The Redskins started off 1-0.

Week 2: vs. Indianapolis Colts

Week Two: Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

Washington lost to Indianapolis, moving to 1-1.

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Three: Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

The Redskins fought back and started a 2-1 record, heading to their bye week.

Week 5: at New Orleans Saints

Week Five: Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints – Game summary

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Redskins hoped to get revenge for their loss in this game a year ago, where they blew a 31-16 lead with three minutes remaining and lost in overtime. Instead, the Redskins got blown out. This game was the point where Drew Brees passed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on most passing yards. The Redskins fell to 2-2.

Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Six: Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

  • Date: October 14
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EDT
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 60,482
  • Referee: Clay Martin
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook

This marked the first time since 2006 that the Redskins had defeated the Panthers. Then the Redskins started a 3 game winning streak and improved to 3-2.

Week 7: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week Seven: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

The Redskins got their first win over the Cowboys at home since 2012. Also, Preston Smith forced a fumble returned for a touchdown off Dak Prescott. As time expired, Brett Maher missed the potential game-tying 52-yard field goal to give the Redskins the win. With this win, the Redskins improved to 4-2.

Week 8: at New York Giants

Week Eight: Washington Redskins at New York Giants – Game summary

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: October 28
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EDT
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 77,537
  • Referee: Bill Vinovich
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Gamebook

The Redskins improved to 5-2. This was the last time the Redskins beat the Giants until 2021.

Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Nine: Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

  • Date: November 4
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 62,386
  • Referee: Walt Anderson
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Preview, Gamebook

The Redskins fell to 5-3.

Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Ten: Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: November 11
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C), clear
  • Game attendance: 52,667
  • Referee: Brad Allen
  • TV announcers (Fox): Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman and Shannon Spake
  • Recap, Gamebook

Then the Redskins improved to 6-3 but then Alex Smith got injured and they would only win 1 more time.

Week 11: vs. Houston Texans

Week Eleven: Houston Texans at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

During the game, starter Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture injury to his right leg after being sacked by J. J. Watt and Kareem Jackson and was replaced by his backup, Colt McCoy. Coincidentally, this was exactly 33 years to the day of Joe Theismann's career-ending leg injury. Joe Theismann was also present during the game and witnessed the injury. The Redskins fell to 6-4 by losing 23-21, which ironically was the same score in the game where Theismann was injured. Alex Smith would not play again until Week 5 in 2020 against the Rams.

Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys

NFL on Thanksgiving Day

Week Twelve: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary

at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

  • Date: November 22
  • Game time: 4:30 pm. EST/3:30 pm. CST
  • Game weather: Played indoors (retractable roof closed)
  • Game attendance: 92,076
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Gamebook

The Redskins fell down to 6-5.

Week 13: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Thirteen: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: December 3
  • Game time: 8:15 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 69,696
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters
  • Recap, Gamebook

Redskins fell to 6-6.

Week 14: vs. New York Giants

Week Fourteen: New York Giants at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

  • Date: December 9
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 57,437
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook

The Redskins fell down to 6-7.

Week 15: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week Fifteen: Washington Redskins at Jacksonville Jaguars – Game summary

at TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Date: December 16
  • Game time: 1:00 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C), partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 67,577
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon and Steve Tasker
  • Recap, Gamebook

The Redskins improved to 7-7. The Redskins would then eclipse 600 regular season wins in franchise, the fifth team to do so (with Bears, Packers, Giants, & Steelers) with a regular season record of 600-588-28 at that point.[4]

Week 16: at Tennessee Titans

Week Sixteen: Washington Redskins at Tennessee Titans – Game summary

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Date: December 22
  • Game time: 4:30 pm. EST/3:30 pm. CST
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 60,746
  • Referee: John Hussey
  • TV announcers (NFLN): Curt Menefee, Steve Mariucci and Nate Burleson
  • Recap, Gamebook

This loss dropped the Redskins to 7-8. Also with this loss, including wins by the Vikings and Seahawks eliminated the Redskins from playoff contention.

Week 17: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week Seventeen: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins – Game summary

at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland

  • Date: December 30
  • Game time: 4:25 pm. EST
  • Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 63,188
  • Referee: Craig Wrolstad
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook

The Redskins finished 7-9 despite starting with a 6-3 record.

Standings

Division

Conference

References

  1. ^ Nathan, Alec (January 30, 2018). "Report: Alex Smith, Redskins Agree to New 4-Year Contract After Chiefs Trade". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Jhabvala, Nicki (March 28, 2018). "Denver Broncos acquire safety Su'a Cravens from Washington Redskins". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  3. ^ Lewis, Edward (April 6, 2018). "Cleveland Browns trade QB Kevin Hogan to Redskins". NFL.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Kring-Schrelfels, Jake (December 16, 2018). "On A Day Of Milestones, The Redskins Come From Behind And Maintain Their Playoff Hopes". Washington Football Team. Retrieved November 10, 2021.

External links