Jay Gruden’s club got off to good start in 2018 but by season’s end, the Washington Redskins missed the playoffs once again. Can they bounce back this year?
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs was at the helm of the Washington Redskins for 12 seasons from 1981-92. He led the club to four Super Bowl appearances, three resulting in wins. He would return to the franchise and enjoyed a four-year stint from 2004-07 that included two more postseason appearances.
Unfortunately, he’s one of nine different sideline leaders for the organization dating back to 1993. The latest is Jay Gruden, who enters his sixth NFL season as the leader of this club. He’s the team’s longest-tenured head coach since Norv Turner held the job from 1994 to late in 2000, before he was dismissed with three games to go. He took over in 2014 and while the team finished 4-12 that year, the ‘Skins rebounded by going 9-7 and winning the NFC East in 2015.
But it’s been a little rough ever since. The team fell to 8-7-1 in 2016 and out of the playoffs. The Redskins have posted back-to-back 7-9 campaigns these last two years, the second after a promising 6-3 start.
That 2018 showing saw veteran quarterback Alex Smith go down with a broken leg in a Week 11 home loss to the Texans. Gruden’s team never recovered, winning only once the remainder of the season.
Still, it’s a new year and there are a few new faces when it comes to the quarterback position in D.C. So what numbers stand out when it comes to a team that has finished in third place in the NFC East each of the last three seasons?