# 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).
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. Statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the team had the worst run defense they had ever tracked. At the end of the season, in a 37–10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, past and present Redskins greats were honored at halftime.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1996 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 30 | Andre Johnson | Offensive tackle | Penn State |
| 4 | 102 | Stephen Davis * | Running back | Auburn |
| 5 | 138 | Leomont Evans | Safety | 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 ||||||

## 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 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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