The 2017 Washington Redskins season was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's 86th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

and the fourth under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

Jay Gruden Jay Michael Gruden (born March 4, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is an offensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the Washington ...

. The Redskins ended the season losing eight of the final 13 games after a 2–1 start, failing to improve on their 8–7–1 record from the previous season, and were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Chargers. This was likely due to the abundance of injuries at key positions and one of the league's toughest schedules. In Week 2, the Redskins played the Rams in Los Angeles for the first time in 23 years. It was also their first game in the L.A. Coliseum in 28 years. Washington got their first win in the Coliseum in 43 years. In addition, this was the last of six seasons that quarterback

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...

was on the roster, as he would join the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

in the following offseason.

Offseason

Organizational changes

On January 6, the Redskins fired defensive coordinator

Joe Barry Joe Barry (born July 5, 1970) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the Los Ang ...

, secondary coach

Perry Fewell Perry Fewell (born September 7, 1962) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the senior vice president of officiating administration for the National Football League's officiating department. Previously, he served as the defensive ...

, defensive line coach

Robb Akey Robb Alan Akey (born July 24, 1966) is an American football coach, currently the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan University. He was the head coach at the University of Idaho from 2007 to 2012. Early years Born and raised in Colorado S ...

, and strength and conditioning coach Mike Clark. General manager

Scot McCloughan Scot G. McCloughan (born March 1, 1971) is an American football executive. He was formerly the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, as well as a senior personnel executive for the Seattle Seahawks, helping the 49ers ...

was fired on March 9.

Signings

2017 NFL Draft

Draft

Notes * The Redskins swapped 1st round picks in 2016 with the Houston Texans and acquired a second 6th round pick (No. 209th overall) this year. The Redskins also traded their 4th round pick in 2016 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and received a 5th round pick in 2016 and 5th round pick (No. 154th overall) this year. Lastly, the Redskins swapped their 5th round pick from 2016 for the 4th round pick (No. 114th overall) this year from the New York Jets.

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

With the loss, the Redskins began the season 0-1, losing their fifth consecutive season opener. They also had their 5-game winning streak against the Eagles snapped.

Week 2: at Los Angeles Rams

Thanks to a 220-yard day from the running game, Cousins's late touchdown pass to Ryan Grant and a late interception by Mason Foster, the Redskins started the season 1-1 for the first time since 2015.

Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 4: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 6: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles

With the loss, the Redskins fell 3-3 and were swept by the Philadelphia Eagles for the first time since 2013.

Week 8: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 10: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 11: at New Orleans Saints

The Redskins suffered a loss to the Saints after going up 31–16 with 5:58 remaining in the fourth quarter. In under three minutes Drew Brees and the Saints offense rallied back to tie the game 31–31 with 1:05 left in the fourth. In overtime, Saint's kicker

Wil Lutz William “Wil” Lutz (born July 7, 1994) is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia State. Early life Lutz was born in Newnan, Georgia. Both his ...

kicked the game-winning field goal from 28 yards away, handing the Redskins their most devastating loss of the season.

Week 12: vs. New York Giants

NFL on Thanksgiving Day Since its inception in 1920, the National Football League (NFL) has played games on Thanksgiving Day, patterned upon the historic playing of college football games on and around the Thanksgiving holiday. The NFL's Thanksgiving Day games have tra ...

The Redskins won on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and their third time ever.

threw a pick six to

Janoris Jenkins Janoris Jermain Jenkins (born October 29, 1988), nicknamed "Jackrabbit", is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Alabama and Florida and was draf ...

, who suffered a season-ending injury on the play, to tie the game at 10. The Giants defense hung tough until Cousins and

Josh Doctson Josh Doctson (born December 3, 1992) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas Christian and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also been ...

broke through in the final minutes of the game. This was

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

's 210th consecutive and final start before infamously being benched for

Geno Smith Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to multiple bowl gam ...

for one game. He was the second quarterback to ever start 210 consecutive games and has since been passed by

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was s ...

Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 14: at Los Angeles Chargers

With the loss, the Redskins were eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season.

Week 15: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 17: at New York Giants

Standings

Division

Conference

References

External links

* {{2017 NFL season by team

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Washington Redskins seasons 2017 in sports in Maryland