# 2002 Washington Redskins season

The 2002 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 71st season in the National Football League, and their 66th representing Washington, D.C. They failed to improve on their 8–8 record from 2001, finishing at 7–9. For cornerback Darrell Green, this was his 20th and final season with the team. In honor of the team's 70th anniversary, their home uniforms for the season were based on their home uniforms from 1965–1969.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

2002 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 32 | Patrick Ramsey | Quarterback | Tulane | from New England |
| 2 | 56 | Ladell Betts | Running back | Iowa | from Baltimore |
| 3 | 79 | Rashad Bauman | Cornerback | Oregon | from Cleveland via Jacksonville |
| 3 | 87 | Cliff Russell | Wide receiver | Utah | from Baltimore |
| 5 | 159 | Andre Lott | Strong safety | Tennessee | from Baltimore |
| 5 | 160 | Robert Royal | Tight end | LSU | from N.Y. Jets |
| 6 | 192 | Reggie Coleman | Offensive tackle | Tennessee | |
| 7 | 230 | Jeff Grau | Center | UCLA | |
| 7 | 234 | Greg Scott | Defensive end | Hampton | from N.Y. Jets via New England |
| 7 | 257 | Rock Cartwright | Running back | Kansas State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Bruce Branch | Cornerback | Penn State |
| Bernard Jackson | Defensive end | Tennessee |
| Ricot Joseph | Safety | Central Florida |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 8, 2002 | Arizona Cardinals | W 31–23 | 1–0 | FedExField | 85,140 |
| 2 | September 16, 2002 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–37 | 1–1 | FedExField | 84,982 |
| 3 | September 22, 2002 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 10–20 | 1–2 | 3Com Park | 67,541 |
| 4 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 | October 6, 2002 | at Tennessee Titans | W 31–14 | 2–2 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,804 |
| 6 | October 13, 2002 | New Orleans Saints | L 27–43 | 2–3 | FedExField | 80,768 |
| 7 | October 20, 2002 | at Green Bay Packers | L 9–30 | 2–4 | Lambeau Field | 63,363 |
| 8 | October 27, 2002 | Indianapolis Colts | W 26–21 | 3–4 | FedExField | 80,169 |
| 9 | November 3, 2002 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 14–3 | 4–4 | Seahawks Stadium | 64,325 |
| 10 | November 10, 2002 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 7–26 | 4–5 | Alltel Stadium | 66,665 |
| 11 | November 17, 2002 | at New York Giants | L 17–19 | 4–6 | Giants Stadium | 78,727 |
| 12 | November 24, 2002 | St. Louis Rams | W 20–17 | 5–6 | FedExField | 79,823 |
| 13 | November 28, 2002 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 20–27 | 5–7 | Texas Stadium | 63,606 |
| 14 | December 8, 2002 | New York Giants | L 21–27 | 5–8 | FedExField | 78,635 |
| 15 | December 15, 2002 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 21–34 | 5–9 | Veterans Stadium | 65,615 |
| 16 | December 22, 2002 | Houston Texans | W 26–10 | 6–9 | FedExField | 70,291 |
| 17 | December 29, 2002 | Dallas Cowboys | W 20–14 | 7–9 | FedExField | 84,142 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Redskins hosted their now-former division foe in the Cardinals’ first season in the revamped NFC West. In Steve Spurrier’s debut as Skins coach his “Fun & Gun” offense put up 442 yards in a 31–23 win. Shane Matthews erupted to three touchdowns while Jake Plummer of the Cardinals was held to just fourteen completions.

#### Monday Night Football vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Spurrier's “Fun & Gun” was hammered 37-7 as Matthews completed just ten passes and Danny Wuerffel was sacked four times. At one point the exasperated Spurrier was caught on ABC cameras flapping his gums, a scene replayed in slow motion.

#### Week 7: at Green Bay Packers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Packers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 30 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: October 20, 2002
* Game time: 4:15 p.m.
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 44 °F (7 °C)
* Game attendance: 63,363
* Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
* TV: Fox
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
WAS – James Tuthill 25-yard field goal, 8:50. Redskins 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 64 yards, 6:10.
GB – Ahman Green 24-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 4:21. Packers 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:29.
Second quarter
WAS – James Tuthill 53-yard field goal, 7:57. Packers 7–6. Drive: 12 plays, 40 yards, 5:23.
GB – Ahman Green 2-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 5:07. Packers 14–6. Drive: 5 plays, 73 yards, 2:50.
GB – Ryan Longwell 36-yard field goal, 1:23. Packers 17–6. Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 2:03.
Third quarter
WAS – James Tuthill 31-yard field goal, 5:55. Packers 17–9. Drive: 8 plays, 38 yards, 4:28.
Fourth quarter
GB – Ryan Longwell 41-yard field goal, 9:21. Packers 20–9. Drive: 7 plays, 16 yards, 3:31.
GB – Ahman Green 8-yard run (Ryan Longwell kick), 7:48. Packers 27–9. Drive: 3 plays, 23 yards, 1:14.
GB – Ryan Longwell 28-yard field goal, 0:22. Packers 30–9. Drive: 9 plays, 27 yards, 5:36.
Top passers
WAS – Patrick Ramsey – 10/24, 135 yards
GB – Brett Favre – 11/14, 89 yards
Top rushers
WAS – Stephen Davis – 24 rushes, 91 yards
GB – Ahman Green – 24 rushes, 88 yards, 3 TD
Top receivers
WAS – Derrius Thompson – 5 receptions, 89 yards
GB – Donald Driver – 4 receptions, 44 yards :

### Standings
#### Division

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Philadelphia Eagles | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 11–1 | 415 | 241 | L1 |
| $^{(5)}$ New York Giants | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 320 | 279 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | 307 | 365 | W2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 217 | 329 | L4 |

#### Conference

NFCvte :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV |
| Division leaders |||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 11–1 | .469 | .432 |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .482 | .432 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | North | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .451 | .414 |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | West | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .504 | .450 |
| Wild Cards |||||||||||
| 5 | New York Giants | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .482 | .450 |
| 6 | Atlanta Falcons | South | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .494 | .429 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||||
| 7 | New Orleans Saints | South | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .498 | .566 |
| 8 | St. Louis Rams | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 5–7 | .508 | .446 |
| 9 | Seattle Seahawks | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .506 | .433 |
| 10 | Washington Redskins | East | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .527 | .438 |
| 11 | Carolina Panthers | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .486 | .357 |
| 12 | Minnesota Vikings | North | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4–2 | 5–7 | .498 | .417 |
| 13 | Arizona Cardinals | West | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 5–7 | .500 | .400 |
| 14 | Dallas Cowboys | East | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .500 | .475 |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | North | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | .521 | .430 |
| 16 | Detroit Lions | North | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .494 | .375 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||||
| 1 2 3 Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3). 1 2 Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). 1 2 Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4) 1 2 Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division. |||||||||||