The 2015 season was the Washington Redskins' 84th in the National Football League (NFL), their second under head coach Jay Gruden and their first under general manager Scot McCloughan. Quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a concussion during the second preseason game and consequently missed the rest of the preseason. Kirk Cousins was later named the starter for the season, and set multiple Redskins franchise records.
The Redskins improved from their 4–12 record from the previous season, going 9–7 and clinching the NFC East division title for the first time since 2012. However, they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers 35–18 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
This marks the last time they made the playoffs and won the NFC East title under the Redskins name before retiring both the name and banner in 2020 after years of keeping the controversial name.
Draft
2015 Washington Redskins draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 5 Brandon Scherff Offensive tackle Iowa 2 38 Preston Smith Defensive end Mississippi State 3 95 Matt Jones Running back Florida 4 105 Jamison Crowder Wide receiver Duke 112 Arie Kouandjio Guard Alabama 5 141 Martrell Spaight Linebacker Arkansas 6 181 Kyshoen Jarrett Safety Virginia Tech 182 Tevin Mitchel Cornerback Arkansas 187 Evan Spencer Wide receiver Ohio State 7 222 Austin Reiter Center South Florida Draft trades The Redskins traded their original third-round selection (No. 69 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the Seahawks' third- (No. 95 overall), fourth- (No. 112 overall), fifth- (No. 167 overall), sixth- (No. 181 overall) round selections. The Redskins traded their fifth-round selection (No. 167 overall) acquired by Seahawks to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for the Saints' sixth-round selection (No. 187 overall) and sixth-round selection in the 2016 NFL draft.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Cleveland Browns W 20–17 1–0 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 2 Detroit Lions W 21–17 2–0 FedExField Recap 3 at Baltimore Ravens W 31–13 3–0 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 4 Jacksonville Jaguars L 16–17 3–1 FedExField Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Miami Dolphins L 10–17 0–1 FedExField Recap 2 September 20 St. Louis Rams W 24–10 1–1 FedExField Recap 3 at New York Giants L 21–32 1–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 4 October 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–20 2–2 FedExField Recap 5 October 11 at Atlanta Falcons L 19–25 2–3 Georgia Dome Recap 6 October 18 at New York Jets L 20–34 2–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 7 October 25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–30 3–4 FedExField Recap 8Bye 9 November 8 at New England Patriots L 10–27 3–5 Gillette Stadium Recap 10 November 15 New Orleans Saints W 47–14 4–5 FedExField Recap 11 November 22 at Carolina Panthers L 16–44 4–6 Bank of America Stadium Recap 12 November 29 New York Giants W 20–14 5–6 FedExField Recap 13 Dallas Cowboys L 16–19 5–7 FedExField Recap 14 December 13 at Chicago Bears W 24–21 6–7 Soldier Field Recap 15 December 20 Buffalo Bills W 35–25 7–7 FedExField Recap 16 at Philadelphia Eagles W 38–24 8–7 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 17 January 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 34–23 9–7 AT&T Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Miami Dolphins
The Redskins kicked off their 2015 regular season by hosting the Miami Dolphins. After a Kai Forbath field goal put the Redskins up 3–0, they got the ball back, and newly minted starting quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a deep pass to DeSean Jackson. The ball was overthrown, and Jackson sustained a hamstring injury while stretching out to attempt to catch it. Early in the second quarter, Cousins was intercepted by Miami cornerback Brent Grimes at the Redskins' 25-yard line, continuing a trend from previous seasons of turnovers and ill-advised throws. Grimes returned the interception 11 yards to the 14-yard line, but the Dolphins failed to score any points off of the turnover. Near the end of the first half, with Washington still nursing a 3–0 lead, Cousins tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Reed, putting the Redskins up 10–0. Miami scored right before halftime, with Ryan Tannehill throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rishard Matthews with 27 seconds remaining. Washington led 10–7 entering halftime.
Miami got the ball to begin the second half, and on third-and-7 from the Miami 45-yard line, Tannehill threw deep down the right sideline to former Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron for a gain of 27. However, on third-and-4 from the Redskins' 22-yard line, inside of Miami kicker Andrew Franks' range, defensive end Jason Hatcher forced a Tannehill fumble that was bobbled back to the Miami 40 and recovered by Redskins rookie outside linebacker Preston Smith. The Redskins did not capitalize, however, losing two yards on an Alfred Morris run and two short Cousins passes. On their next possession, Washington drove to the Miami 22-yard line—easily inside Forbath's range—but three consecutive penalties pushed them back 24 yards and forced a punt, squandering a valuable chance to extend the lead. On the ensuing drive, Franks converted a 22-yard field goal attempt to tie the score at 10–10 entering the fourth quarter. The Redskins continued to have no success on offense, resulting in a punt to Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry, who fielded the ball at the Miami 31-yard line, broke a few tackles and burst into the clear for a 69-yard score and a 17–10 Dolphins lead. On third-and-13 from their own 29-yard line, with a chance to cut into or tie the Dolphins' lead, Cousins threw to the end zone for Pierre Garçon, but the ball was intercepted by Miami cornerback Brice McCain, ending the Redskins attempt at a potential field goal to narrow the deficit. That ended up being Washington's best chance, as they could not score on any of their subsequent possessions. Miami scored 17 unanswered points and shut out the Redskins in the second half to win 17–10 and win their third straight season opener under coach Joe Philbin. Washington, by contrast, lost in Week 1 for the third consecutive season and for the second straight time under head coach Jay Gruden. It was also Washington's first home loss to the Dolphins since 1984.
After the game, it was announced that receiver DeSean Jackson would miss several weeks with his hamstring injury, and that kicker Kai Forbath had been released and replaced by former Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints kicker Dustin Hopkins.
Week 2: vs. St. Louis Rams
In Week 2, the Redskins played their second straight home game, this time hosting the St. Louis Rams, who had upset the two-time defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks the previous week. Despite concerns that former Pro Bowl running back Alfred Morris was not a good fit for coach Jay Gruden's offensive scheme, he rattled off a 35-yard run in the first quarter to give Washington some momentum. Third-round draft pick and former Florida Gators running back Matt Jones was able to capitalize, breaking loose on a 39-yard run for his first NFL touchdown and a 7–0 Redskins lead. In the second quarter, with the Redskins having added a Dustin Hopkins field goal for a 10–0 lead, their offensive line continued to overpower the Rams' vaunted defensive front, with Jones bursting through for a gain of 25 down to the St. Louis 23-yard line. A few plays later Kirk Cousins threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Pierre Garçon, and the Redskins led 17–0 at halftime, their first shutout in the first half in nearly four years.
St. Louis began the second half with a 52-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal to get back within two scores, 17–3. On Washington's ensuing drive Cousins handed the ball off to Jones near midfield but fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Rams safety T.J. McDonald. The Rams took advantage of the turnover a few plays later, with quarterback Nick Foles, a free agent pickup from Philadelphia, throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kenny Britt. All of a sudden St. Louis had pulled to within 7 points. Still holding onto that slim lead with 6 minutes remaining in the game, Cousins hit tight end Jordan Reed for a 29-yard gain, which got the Redskins into field goal range at the Rams' 31-yard line. The Redskins were able to run 3 more minutes off the clock while driving down to the St. Louis 3-yard line, where Jones overpowered several Rams defenders for his second touchdown of the day and a 24–10 lead to put the game away.
The story of the day was the Redskins offensive line. They were able to block for running back Matt Jones well enough that he scored the first two touchdowns of his career and rushed for over 120 yards. They also kept the pressure away from Kirk Cousins, allowing him to throw for a career-high 85% completion percentage and zero interceptions. With the win, both teams moved to 1–1 on the season.
Week 3: at New York Giants
With the news that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had fractured his left clavicle in Dallas' Week 2 win coupled with star wide receiver Dez Bryant's broken foot, Washington and New York, both one game behind Dallas, looked to use this primetime game as a springboard to the division lead. In Week 4 of the 2014 season, Kirk Cousins threw a career-high four interceptions against the Giants in a 45–14 blowout loss. This game began inauspiciously for Washington as well; after their opening drive stalled, punter Tress Way's punt was blocked by Giants running back Rashad Jennings. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety and a 2–0 Giants lead. On the Redskins' next possession they again had the ball near their own end zone, and Cousins' pass intended for Pierre Garçon was intercepted by Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara and returned to the Washington 15-yard line. Giants second-year running back Andre Williams capitalized, running through Redskins defenders for a 1-yard touchdown and a 9–0 Giants lead just 9 minutes into the game. The teams exchanged field goals to make the score 12–3 in the middle of the second quarter, when Giants tight end Larry Donnell, who had caught 3 touchdown passes in Week 4 of 2014, dropped a pass that would have given New York a first-and-goal. They eventually settled for another Josh Brown field goal to go up 15–3. On the Redskins' next possession, Kirk Cousins underthrew tight end Jordan Reed, who was open in the end zone. They had to settle for a Dustin Hopkins field goal to make the score 15–6 entering halftime.
The Giants again entered Redskins territory but were unable to get in the end zone, leading to Josh Brown's third field goal of the game. Later in the third quarter, a promising Redskins drive into Giants territory was disrupted by a Cousins pass being tipped into the air and intercepted by New York linebacker Uani 'Unga. It was Cousins' 8th career interception against the Giants to go with only 1 career touchdown. With the score still 18–6 in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning hit star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who had sprinted past Redskins corner Bashaud Breeland, for a 30-yard touchdown. Redskins running back Chris Thompson caught a 4-yard Cousins pass for a touchdown to provide a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly squashed by a 41-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Rueben Randle to put the Giants lead at 32–13. Redskins rookie receiver and returner Rashad Ross later returned a kickoff 101 yards to make the final score 32–21.
After losing fourth-quarter leads in their first two games, the Giants got their first win of the season to move to 1–2. After leading the NFL in rushing yards per game through the first two weeks of the season, the Redskins' run game was stagnant, with Matt Jones 38 rushing yards leading the team, followed by Alfred Morris' 19. Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions, giving him a total of four in three games.
Week 4: vs. Philadelphia Eagles