The 2016 season was the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

' 85th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), their 20th playing home games at

FedExField Northwest Stadium is an American football stadium in Landover, Maryland, U.S., located east of Washington, D.C.. It is the home stadium of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 until 2010, it had the NFL's ...

and their third under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Jay Gruden Jay Michael Gruden (born March 4, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jackson ...

. The season saw the Redskins play in London for the first time in franchise history, where they tied the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

27–27. After a disappointing loss in the final week to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, the Redskins were eliminated from playoff contention. Despite missing the playoffs, the Redskins finished the season with a record of 8–7–1, which was the first consecutive winning seasons for the team since the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

seasons. Along with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Washington was the only team in 2016 that played seven regular-season games against teams that would reach the playoffs: four games combined against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and the New York Giants, games against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

(as the NFC North was the only division besides the NFC East to send more than one team to the 2016 postseason) and a game against the sole AFC North 2016 playoff team (the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

); the Redskins' 2–5 record in these contests was a major reason they did not return to the playoffs. This is the last time that the team finished with a winning record as the Redskins, and their last until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, by which point they were known as the Commanders.

Offseason changes

Free agency

All 2015 contracts expired to coincide with the beginning of the 2016 NFL League Year at 4:00 EDT on March 9, 2016. However, before that date, all teams had until March 1 to place the franchise tag on a player, and could begin negotiations with a player's agent on March 7.

Waivers and releases

On March 8, the Redskins

released Released may refer to: * Released (Jade Warrior album), ''Released'' (Jade Warrior album), 1971 * Released (Patti LaBelle album), ''Released'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1980 * ''Released: 1985–1995'', an album by Kronos Quartet, 1995 * ''Released'' ...

S Dashon Goldson, DE Jason Hatcher, QB

Robert Griffin III Robert Lee Griffin III (born February 12, 1990), nicknamed RGIII or RG3, is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, most notably with the Washington Redskins. He ...

, and S Jeron Johnson. On April 14, the Redskins

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...

OLB ''OLB'' may stand for: * Oh Lord Buddha - Quotes related to Buddhism * Olbia - Costa Smeralda Airport, IATA airport code *Outside linebacker, a defensive position in American and Canadian football * Object Language Bindings (SQL/OLB) - a standard f ...

Jackson Jeffcoat.

Team re-signings/contract extensions

Free agency transactions

Draft

The 2016 NFL draft occurred from April 28 to April 30, 2016. Going into the draft, the Redskins had eight selections, two of which were from another team: the additional seventh-round (#232) selection from the Dashon Goldson trade in 2015 and a sixth-round selection (#187) from the New Orleans Saints (the Redskins sent their sixth-round selection to Tampa Bay as part of the Goldson trade). During the draft, the Redskins swapped first-round selections (#21 for #22) with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in exchange for their 2017 sixth-round selection, traded their 2016 fourth round selection (#120) to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in exchange for the Saints' fifth-round selections in 2016 (#152) and 2017, and traded their fifth-round selection (#158) to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in exchange for their 2017 fourth-round selection.

Undrafted free agents

After the draft, the Redskins signed 14 undrafted college free agents to the team as part of the off season roster:

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Redskins entered this Week 1 matchup against the Steelers having lost five consecutive games against Pittsburgh dating back to 1991. They scored an average of 8.2 points per game in those five losses. The Redskins' 22-point defeat was their worst in a Week 1 game in 15 years. It was also their worst opening day home loss since 1966. The Redskins defense had a very hard time containing DeAngelo Williams as he exploded for 143 rushing yards and the Steelers explosive receiving corps of Antonio Brown and Eli Rogers who would go on to have strong performances.

Week 2: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 3: at New York Giants

With the win, the Redskins improved 1–2 and won at

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the ...

for the first time since 2011.

Week 4: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 5: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

The Redskins rallied with a late touchdown run by Cousins, but the Lions responded with Matthew Stafford throwing the game winner to Anquan Boldin, thus ending the Redskins winning streak.

Week 8: at Cincinnati Bengals

NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) regular season that are played outside the United States. The series has several sub-series: the NFL London Games in the United Ki ...

Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Detroit Lions, the Redskins played in the third and final game of the year in London against the Cincinnati Bengals. With a few minutes left in overtime, Dustin Hopkins missed a game-winning field goal and allowed the Bengals to take over. After that, Bengals' Andy Dalton fumbled and allowed the Redskins to take back the ball. A Hail Mary attempt failed, making the Redskins tie for the first time since 1997 when they tied 7–7 against the Giants.

Week 10: vs. Minnesota Vikings

After their tie against the Bengals and their bye week, the Redskins came back home to host the Minnesota Vikings on Homecoming Weekend. After allowing the Vikings to score 20 unanswered points to end the first half, the Redskins shut out the Vikings 12–0 in the second half, improving to 5–3–1 on the season.

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Redskins avenged their 35–18 loss to the Packers in the wildcard round of last season's playoffs by beating them 42–24. They also were the last team to beat the Packers, as they went on a 6-game winning streak to finish the season.

Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys

Thanksgiving Day game An attempted rally by the offense did not pay off. The Redskins dropped to 6–4–1 and were swept by the Cowboys for the first time since 2013.

Week 13: at Arizona Cardinals

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...

attempted to drive down the field but was intercepted by

Patrick Peterson Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. ( Johnson; born July 11, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he wo ...

to seal the second straight loss for the Washington Redskins. With the loss, the 'Skins dropped to 6–5–1 and allowed the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

to clinch a playoff spot by virtue of the loss.

Week 14: at Philadelphia Eagles

The Redskins rebounded from a disappointing loss at Arizona to break their two-game losing streak. Chris Thompson scored the game-winning touchdown, while

Ryan Kerrigan Patrick Ryan Kerrigan (born August 16, 1988) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the assistant linebackers and pass rush specialist coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He pla ...

sealed the game with a strip sack of

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS national championships as the starter. Wentz was s ...

Week 15: vs. Carolina Panthers

Josh Norman's revenge against his former team came up short in an abysmal Monday Night performance by the Redskins.

Week 16: at Chicago Bears

Week 17: vs. New York Giants

With their playoff hopes on the line, the Redskins hosted the 10–5 New York Giants. The Redskins were pressured all day and two picks by

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Dominique Reshard Rodgers-Cromartie (born April 7, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a cornerback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennesse ...

made the Redskins miss out on the playoffs.

Standings

Division

Conference

Notes

References

External links

* {{2016 NFL season by team

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Washington Redskins seasons