# 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 19–7 in the NFC Wild Card Game at RFK Stadium, then upset the defending champion Chicago Bears 27–13 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 17–0.

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
| 1 | September 7 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 41–14 | 1–0 | RFK Stadium | 53,982 | Recap |
| 2 | September 14 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 10–6 | 2–0 | RFK Stadium | 55,235 | Recap |
| 3 | September 21 | at San Diego Chargers | W 30–27 | 3–0 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 57,853 | Recap |
| 4 | September 28 | Seattle Seahawks | W 19–14 | 4–0 | RFK Stadium | 54,157 | Recap |
| 5 | October 5 | at New Orleans Saints | W 14–6 | 5–0 | Louisiana Superdome | 57,378 | Recap |
| 6 | October 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 6–30 | 5–1 | Texas Stadium | 63,264 | Recap |
| 7 | October 19 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 28–21 | 6–1 | RFK Stadium | 53,494 | Recap |
| 8 | October 27 | at New York Giants | L 20–27 | 6–2 | Giants Stadium | 75,923 | Recap |
| 9 | November 2 | Minnesota Vikings | W 44–38 (OT) | 7–2 | RFK Stadium | 51,928 | Recap |
| 10 | November 9 | at Green Bay Packers | W 16–7 | 8–2 | Lambeau Field | 47,728 | Recap |
| 11 | November 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 14–6 | 9–2 | RFK Stadium | 54,774 | Recap |
| 12 | November 23 | Dallas Cowboys | W 41–14 | 10–2 | RFK Stadium | 55,642 | Recap |
| 13 | November 30 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–17 | 11–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 35,637 | Recap |
| 14 | December 7 | New York Giants | L 14–24 | 11–3 | RFK Stadium | 55,642 | Recap |
| 15 | December 13 | at Denver Broncos | L 30–31 | 11–4 | Mile High Stadium | 75,905 | Recap |
| 16 | December 21 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–14 | 12–4 | Veterans Stadium | 61,816 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Season summary
#### Week 1 vs Eagles

| Quarter | 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 :
Eagles
Ron Jaworski 23/40, 227 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Randall Cunningham 2 Rush, 31 Yds
Phil Smith 3 Rec, 50 Yds
Redskins
Jay Schroeder 19/38, 238 Yds, 2 TD, INT
George Rogers 20 Rush, 104 Yds, TD
Gary Clark 7 Rec, 100 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | PHI | WSH |
| 1 | 9:21 | | | | Redskins | 19-yard field goal by Mark Moseley | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 6:59 | | | | Eagles | Ron Johnson 17-yard touchdown reception from Ron Jaworski, Paul McFadden kick good | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 8:48 | | | | Redskins | Kelvin Bryant 36-yard touchdown reception from Jay Schroeder, Mark Moseley kick good | 7 | 10 |
| 2 | 5:39 | | | | Redskins | Jay Schroeder 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good | 7 | 17 |
| 2 | 0:33 | | | | Eagles | Junior Tautalatasi 3-yard touchdown reception from Ron Jaworski, Paul McFadden kick good | 14 | 17 |
| 2 | 0:00 | | | | Redskins | 55-yard field goal by Steve Cox | 14 | 20 |
| 3 | 7:51 | | | | Redskins | Clint Didier 36-yard touchdown reception from Jay Scroeder, Mark Moseley kick good | 14 | 27 |
| 3 | 4:26 | | | | Redskins | Kelvin Bryant 16-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good | 14 | 34 |
| 4 | 3:36 | | | | Redskins | George Rogers 5-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good | 14 | 41 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 14 | 41 |

#### Week 4: vs Seattle Seahawks

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Redskins | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 19 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Date: September 28
* Game time: 1:00 pm local
* Game weather: cloudy, 67 °F (19 °C), 90% humidity, wind SE 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
* Game attendance: 54,157
* Referee: Pat Haggerty
* TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Jimmy Cefalo
* Gamebook
Game information :
First quarter
SEA – Curt Warner 2-yard run (Norm Johnson kick), 10:05 (SEA 7–0)
WAS – George Rogers 24-yard run (PAT failed), 5:21 (SEA 7–6)
Second quarter
WAS – Steve Cox 57-yard field goal, 0:12 (WAS 9–7)
Third quarter
WAS – George Rogers 7-yard run (Mark Moseley kick), 1:25 (WAS 16–7)
Fourth quarter
WAS – Mark Moseley 36-yard field goal, 8:14 (WAS 19–7)
SEA – Steve Largent 11-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 1:50 (WAS 19–14)
Top passers
SEA – Dave Krieg: 19/32, 219 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
WAS – Jay Schroeder: 14/26, 195 yds
Top rushers
SEA – Curt Warner: 16 car, 106 yds, 1 TD
WAS – George Rogers: 25 car, 115 yds, 2 TD
Top receivers
SEA – Byron Franklin: 5 rec, 79 yds
WAS – Art Monk: 5 rec, 103 yds
Team – pass – rush – total – to
SEA – 213 – 148 – 361 – 2
WAS – 195 – 162 – 357 – 1 :

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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
### Schedule

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
| Wild Card | December 28 | Los Angeles Rams (5) | W 19–7 | RFK Stadium | 54,180 | Recap |
| Divisional | January 3, 1987 | at Chicago Bears (2) | W 27–13 | Soldier Field | 65,141 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 11, 1987 | at New York Giants (1) | L 0–17 | Giants Stadium | 76,633 | Recap |

### NFC Wild Card Game

| Quarter | 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

| Quarter | 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 1987 at Chicago, in 1990 at Philadelphia, in 1992 at Minnesota, and in 2005 at Tampa.

### NFC Championship Game

| Quarter | 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