The 2013 season was the Washington Redskins' 82nd in the National Football League (NFL). They failed to improve on their 10–6 regular season record from 2012, and suffered through a 3–13 season, which was the worst record that the team had posted since 1994, resulting in the firing of head coach Mike Shanahan and most of his staff after four seasons.
The 2013 Redskins struggled mightily in part because of the regression from quarterback Robert Griffin III, who suffered a devastating knee injury in the previous years' playoffs and whose playstyle shifted to accommodate the injury, leading to less than desirable results. The team was also notable for having one of the worst special teams units in league history, and this played a major role in several of their losses. Football Outsiders listed the 2013 Redskins as having the second-worst special teams unit they had ever tracked.
While not at the time, this team would go on to be known for its coaching staff. The 2013 Redskins' coaching staff produced four future head coaches: wide receivers coach Mike McDaniel with the Dolphins, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan with the 49ers, tight ends coach Sean McVay with the Rams, and quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur with the Packers. Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett had both also been former NFL head coaches as of that season.
Offseason Signings Pos. Player 2012 Team Contract CB E.J. Biggers Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 year, $1.5 million LB Nick Barnett Buffalo Bills 1 year, $940,000 DE Darryl Tapp Philadelphia Eagles 1 year, $865,000 S Jose Gumbs Kansas City Chiefs
Re-signings Pos. Player Contract DT Kedric Golston 3 years, $3.3 million TE Fred Davis 1 year, $2.5 million QB Rex Grossman 1 year, $960,000 CB DeAngelo Hall 1 year, $1.2 million K Sav Rocca 2 years, $2.2 million LB Bryan Kehl 1 year, $740,000
Departures Pos. Player 2013 Team LB Lorenzo Alexander Arizona Cardinals TE DeAngelo Peterson Denver Broncos OT Jeremy Trueblood Atlanta Falcons OT Jammal Brown WR Devery Henderson OT Jordan Black WR Donté Stallworth TE Chris Cooley QB Pat White DE Phillip Merling
2013 draft class
Round Selection Player Position College 1 22 2 51 David Amerson Cornerback NC State 3 85 Jordan Reed Tight End Florida 4 119 Phillip Thomas Safety Fresno State 5 154 Chris Thompson Running Back Florida State 162 Brandon Jenkins Outside Linebacker Florida State 6 191 Bacarri Rambo Safety Georgia 7 228 Jawan Jamison Running Back Rutgers Notes The team traded its first-round selection (No. 22 overall) in 2013, along with its first- and second-round selections in 2012 and its and 2014 first-round selection to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the Rams' 2012 first-round selection. The team acquired this fifth-round selection in a trade that sent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots.
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason The Redskins' finished the preseason going undefeated for the first time since the 1985 preseason.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Tennessee Titans W 22–21 1–0 LP Field Recap 2 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–13 2–0 FedExField Recap 3 Buffalo Bills W 30–7 3–0 FedEx Field Recap 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–12 4–0 Raymond James Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Philadelphia Eagles L 27–33 0–1 FedExField Recap 2 September 15 at Green Bay Packers L 20–38 0–2 Lambeau Field Recap 3 September 22 Detroit Lions L 20–27 0–3 FedExField Recap 4 September 29 at Oakland Raiders W 24–14 1–3 O.co Coliseum Recap 5Bye 6 October 13 at Dallas Cowboys L 16–31 1–4 AT&T Stadium Recap 7 October 20 Chicago Bears W 45–41 2–4 FedExField Recap 8 October 27 at Denver Broncos L 21–45 2–5 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 9 November 3 San Diego Chargers W 30–24 3–5 FedExField Recap 10 at Minnesota Vikings L 27–34 3–6 Mall of America Field Recap 11 November 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 16–24 3–7 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 12 San Francisco 49ers L 6–27 3–8 FedExField Recap 13 December 1 New York Giants L 17–24 3–9 FedExField Recap 14 December 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 10–45 3–10 FedExField Recap 15 December 15 at Atlanta Falcons L 26–27 3–11 Georgia Dome Recap 16 December 22 Dallas Cowboys L 23–24 3–12 FedExField Recap 17 December 29 at New York Giants L 6–20 3–13 MetLife Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
With the much-anticipated return of quarterback Robert Griffin III, Washington began its 2013 campaign on Monday Night Football against the Chip Kelly coached Philadelphia Eagles, seeking a third straight win against Philadelphia.
Philadelphia got the ball first, and approached Washington's red zone, however Eagles quarterback Michael Vick threw a backward pass that was ruled a fumble, and recovered by Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall who raced to the opposite end zone to give Washington a 7–0 lead. The Eagles got the ball back, and moved into scoring range, but could not punch it in and settled for an Alex Henery 48-yard field goal to cut the Redskins' lead to 7–3. Washington's offense finally possessed the ball, but running back Alfred Morris fumbled, giving possession right back to Philadelphia. Vick would make Washington pay, finding wide receiver DeSean Jackson for a 25-yard touchdown, and a 10–7 Eagles lead. After a poor kick return, Washington found themselves backed up in their own end, and Griffin and Morris exchanged a poor option pitch, and Morris fumbled in the end zone, forced to fall on it and giving Philadelphia a safety. The first quarter ended without any further scoring, and Philadelphia led 12–7.
In the second, Washington's offense continued to sputter, and Philadelphia's offense continued to click. Vick would find tight end Brent Celek for a 28-yard score, and Vick would, after another Redskins punt, run for a 3-yard score to go up 26–7 as the teams headed to the locker room. Philadelphia's offense gained 331 yards of total offense in the first half alone.
Washington got the ball to start the third, and on the third play from scrimmage, Griffin III threw an ill-advised pass to Santana Moss, and was intercepted again. Philadelphia would score again, with running back LeSean McCoy racing for a 34-yard score and a 33–7 Philadelphia lead. Washington finally got their offense moving, but their drive went for naught, as Kai Forbath, who missed only one field goal in all of 2012, missed. Philadelphia punted again, and on Washington's ensuing possession, they were able to finish a drive. With seconds remaining in the third, Morris scored from 5 yards out, to cut the Philadelphia advantage to 33–14.
After a Philadelphia punt in the fourth, Washington's offense gained possession again. A solid, methodical drive ensued, with Griffin finding Leonard Hankerson for a 10-yard score, but a failed two-point conversion left the score at 33–20. After another Philadelphia punt, Washington got the ball back again, but could not convert a 4th-and-15, as Aldrick Robinson could not haul in the pass. Philadelphia was able to wind the majority of the clock down, but not all of it. Washington got the ball back again, and Griffin found Hankerson a second time to cut the score to 33–27. Needing an onside kick recovery to finish their comeback, it fell short as Jason Avant fell on the kick, and Philadelphia knelt down to seal their win.
With the loss, Washington began the season 0–1 for the first time since 2009, lost their home opener for a second consecutive year, lost to Philadelphia for the first time since 2011, fell to 0–1 in the NFC East, and lost a regular season game for the first time since Week 9 of last season against Carolina.
Week 2: at Green Bay Packers
Coming off their season-opening loss to Philadelphia, Washington traveled to historic Lambeau Field to take on the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers in a battle of defending division champions and also the first meeting between these two teams since Week 5 of 2010. This meeting marked the 30th anniversary of their meeting on October 17, 1983, in which Green Bay beat Washington 48–47 in the highest-scoring Monday Night Football game in history (although October 17 fell on a Thursday in 2013, the NFL ultimately did not schedule the teams to meet that night).
Green Bay got possession first, and Washington's defense was able to stiffen once Green Bay got deep into their territory, and the Packers settled for a Mason Crosby 28-yard field goal. After a Washington three-and-out, Green Bay drove into field goal range, but on 4th-and-3, instead of punting or kicking a long field goal, Rodgers found wide receiver Randall Cobb for a 35-yard touchdown to extend the Green Bay advantage to 10–0.
Washington's struggles would continue, both offensively and defensively, in the second. Rodgers connected with Jordy Nelson for a 15-yard score to make Green Bay's advantage 17–0. Green Bay would score yet again, this time by Rodgers finding Jermichael Finley for a 3-yard score to make it 24–0. Washington finally got a drive going offensively, but after opting to not test new placekicker John Potter, who was filling in for an injured Kai Forbath, Washington could not convert a fourth down, and Green Bay began driving yet again. Washington got a reprieve, however, when Randall Cobb, extending for the pylon to try to make it 31–0 right before halftime, lost control of the ball, fumbled at the pylon, awarding the ball to Washington by way of a touchback, finishing the first half scoring at 24–0 Green Bay.
Washington got the ball to start the third, and got into field goal range again. This time, they tested Potter from 50 yards, and he was well wide of the mark, and Green Bay took possession again. Green Bay would continue to take it to Washington, as Rodgers connected with Nelson once more, to make it 31–0 Green Bay. Washington got the ball back and was finally able to respond, with quarterback Robert Griffin III connecting with Pierre Garçon for a 6-yard score to cut the deficit to 31–7. Any hopes of a comeback were stumped out, however, when Packers running back James Starks raced past defenders into the end zone for a 32-yard score to put the advantage up to 38–7.
In the fourth, Washington tried to rally and was once again able to sustain its offense, once again, when the game was either out of reach or close to it. Griffin found rookie tight end Jordan Reed for a 3-yard score. After a Green Bay punt, Washington scored again, this time by way of Griffin floating a pass to the corner of the end zone for veteran wide receiver Santana Moss to cut the deficit to 38–20. Needing a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to two scores, Washington failed in this endeavor, and kicked the ball back to Green Bay. After two stops on first and second down, Rodgers went back to the air on 3rd-and-9, and connected with James Jones, and Washington never saw the ball again. Green Bay ran out the clock and preserved the 38–20 win.
With the loss, Washington fell to 0–2 for the first time since 2006, and remained in the NFC East Cellar. Washington also allowed Green Bay to have a 100-yard rusher. The last time Green Bay had a 100-yard rusher was in Week 5 of the 2010 season, also against Washington, when Brandon Jackson racked up over 100 yards on the Redskins, although Washington won that game. Green Bay set a franchise record, as Aaron Rodgers' 480 passing yards tied Matt Flynn for the most in a game, and James Starks' 100-yard rushing performance snapped a 44-game streak of games without a 100-yard rusher for Green Bay. This was also the first time in Packers history that they had a 400-yard passer and 100-yard rusher in the same game.
Week 3: vs. Detroit Lions
Coming off their road loss to Green Bay, Washington returned home for a duel at FedExField with the Detroit Lions, matching up with them for the first time since 2010, but the first time in DC since 2007.