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 since the 1988 New Orleans Saints to start the season 7–1 and not make the playoffs.
Although the Redskins' offense was eighth in the league in scoring, their defense surrendered 2,275 rushing yards (142.2 yards per game), the most in the NFL that year. Statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the team had the worst run defense they had ever tracked.Football Outsiders – DVOA 7.0: Worst Teams Ever , 1991–2011. At the end of the season, in a 37–10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, past and present Redskins greats were honored at halftime.1996 FOX broadcast of Dallas at Washington
Offseason NFL draft
Personnel Staff
Roster
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 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 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
Awards and records Darrell Green, Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
References