# 1988 Washington Redskins season

The 1988 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 53rd in Washington, D.C. They failed to improve on their 11–4 record from 1987, when they won Super Bowl XXII, and finished 7–9. The Redskins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1985. They were the seventh team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.
The Week 8 meeting against Green Bay at Lambeau Field would be the two teams' final meeting for 13 years.
The 7–9 finish would be the only time during Gibbs' first stint with the Redskins that the team finished with a losing record.

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 5 | at New York Giants | L 20–27 | 0–1 | Giants Stadium | 76,417 | Recap |
| 2 | September 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–29 | 1–1 | RFK Stadium | 54,083 | Recap |
| 3 | September 18 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–10 | 2–1 | RFK Stadium | 53,920 | Recap |
| 4 | September 25 | at Phoenix Cardinals | L 21–30 | 2–2 | Sun Devil Stadium | 61,973 | Recap |
| 5 | October 2 | New York Giants | L 23–24 | 2–3 | RFK Stadium | 54,601 | Recap |
| 6 | October 9 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 35–17 | 3–3 | Texas Stadium | 63,325 | Recap |
| 7 | October 16 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 33–17 | 4–3 | RFK Stadium | 54,402 | Recap |
| 8 | October 23 | at Green Bay Packers | W 20–17 | 5–3 | Lambeau Field | 51,767 | Recap |
| 9 | October 30 | at Houston Oilers | L 17–41 | 5–4 | Astrodome | 48,781 | Recap |
| 10 | November 6 | New Orleans Saints | W 27–24 | 6–4 | RFK Stadium | 54,183 | Recap |
| 11 | November 13 | Chicago Bears | L 14–34 | 6–5 | RFK Stadium | 52,418 | Recap |
| 12 | November 21 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 21–37 | 6–6 | Candlestick Park | 59,268 | Recap |
| 13 | November 27 | Cleveland Browns | L 13–17 | 6–7 | RFK Stadium | 51,604 | Recap |
| 14 | December 4 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–19 | 7–7 | Veterans Stadium | 65,947 | Recap |
| 15 | December 11 | Dallas Cowboys | L 17–24 | 7–8 | RFK Stadium | 51,526 | Recap |
| 16 | December 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–20 (OT) | 7–9 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,157 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| • Giants | 0 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 27 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 3 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 29 |
| • Redskins | 7 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 30 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Redskins | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 20 |
| Eagles | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 19 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Philadelphia Eagles$^{(3)}$ | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 379 | 319 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 9–5 | 359 | 304 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 345 | 387 | L2 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 6–6 | 344 | 398 | L5 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 265 | 381 | L1 |
1988 Team Starters
Offense
Defense

## Awards and honors

* Charles Mann, Pro Bowl selection