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.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 256
The Week 8 game against Green Bay was the two teams' final meeting for 13 years.
The 7–9 finish would be the only time during Gibbs's first stint with the Redskins that the team finished with a losing record.
Offseason
NFL draft
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 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 Milwaukee County Stadium 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 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 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
Week 2
Week 14
Standings
1988 Team Starters
Offense
17 Doug Williams QB 32 Craig McEwan RB 36 Timmy Smith FB 81 Art Monk WR 84 Gary Clark WR 85 Don Warren TE
66 Joe Jacoby LT 63 Raleigh McKenzie LG 53 Jeff Bostic C 73 Mark May RG 79 Jim Lachey RT
Defense
71 Charles Mann LDE 65 Dave Butz LDT 77 Darryl Grant RDT 72 Dexter Manley RDT
51 Monte Coleman LB 52 Neal Olkewicz LB 58 Wilber Marshall LB
45 Barry Wilburn LCB 28 Darrell Green RCB 40 Alvin Walton SS 23 Todd Bowles FS
8 Chip Lohmiller K 15 Greg Coleman P 80 Derrick Shepherd PR 22 Jamie Morris KR
Awards and honors Charles Mann, Pro Bowl selection
References