1988 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

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The 1988 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 53rd in Washington, D.C. They failed to improve on their 11–4 record from 1987, when they won Super Bowl XXII, and finished 7-9. The Redskins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1985. They were the seventh team in NFL history to enter a season as the defending Super Bowl champion and miss the playoffs.^[1]

The Week 8 meeting against Green Bay at Lambeau Field would be the two teams' final meeting for 13 years.

The 7-9 finish would be the only time during Gibbs' first stint with the Redskins that the team finished with a losing record.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

**1988 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Mark Rypien 17 Doug Williams Running backs 29 Reggie Branch 22 Jamie Morris KR 25 Mike Oliphant KR/PR 36 Timmy Smith Wide receivers 89 Anthony Allen PR 84 Gary Clark PR 81 Art Monk 83 Ricky Sanders KR 80 Derrick Shepard KR/PR Tight ends 88 Joe Caravello 32 Craig McEwen 86 Ron Middleton 87 Terry Orr 85 Don Warren		Offensive linemen 53 Jeff Bostic C 68 Russ Grimm G 66 Joe Jacoby T 79 Jim Lachey T 73 Mark May G/T 63 Raleigh McKenzie C/G 76 Ed Simmons T 69 R.C. Thielemann G Defensive linemen 65 Dave Butz DT 77 Darryl Grant DT 78 Dean Hamel DT 64 Steve Hamilton DE 72 Dexter Manley DE 71 Charles Mann DE		Linebackers 50 Ravin Caldwell OLB 51 Monte Coleman OLB 54 Kurt Gouveia MLB 55 Mel Kaufman OLB 91 Greg Manusky OLB/MLB 58 Wilber Marshall OLB 52 Neal Olkewicz MLB Defensive backs 23 Todd Bowles FS 37 Travis Curtis FS 48 Steve Gage SS 31 Clarence Vaughn SS 40 Alvin Walton SS 45 Barry Wilburn CB 46 Dennis Woodberry CB Special teams 15 Greg Coleman P 59 Dave Harbour LS 8 Chip Lohmiller K		Reserve lists 14 Tommy Barnhardt P (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 95 Dan Benish DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Brian Bonner LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 24 Kelvin Bryant RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Dale Chipps WR (PUPTooltip Physically unable to perform) 56 Eric Coyle C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 34 Brian Davis CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 75 Mark Duckens DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 28 Darrell Green CB/PR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 62 Ray Hitchcock C (PUPTooltip Physically unable to perform) 16 Stan Humphries QB (NF-Ill.Tooltip Non-football injury and illness) 61 Rick Kehr G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 74 Markus Koch DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 39 Darryl McGill RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Carl Mims CB (NF-Inj.Tooltip Non-football injury and illness) -- Blake Peterson LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 38 Willard Reaves RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 47 Johnny Thomas CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Eric Yarber WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad None 47 active, 19 inactive Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 5	at New York Giants	L 20–27	0–1	Giants Stadium	76,417	Recap
2	September 11	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–29	1–1	RFK Stadium	54,083	Recap
3	September 18	Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–10	2–1	RFK Stadium	53,920	Recap
4	September 25	at Phoenix Cardinals	L 21–30	2–2	Sun Devil Stadium	61,973	Recap
5	October 2	New York Giants	L 23–24	2–3	RFK Stadium	54,601	Recap
6	October 9	at Dallas Cowboys	W 35–17	3–3	Texas Stadium	63,325	Recap
7	October 16	Phoenix Cardinals	W 33–17	4–3	RFK Stadium	54,402	Recap
8	October 23	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–17	5–3	Lambeau Field	51,767	Recap
9	October 30	at Houston Oilers	L 17–41	5–4	Astrodome	48,781	Recap
10	November 6	New Orleans Saints	W 27–24	6–4	RFK Stadium	54,183	Recap
11	November 13	Chicago Bears	L 14–34	6–5	RFK Stadium	52,418	Recap
12	November 21	at San Francisco 49ers	L 21–37	6–6	Candlestick Park	59,268	Recap
13	November 27	Cleveland Browns	L 13–17	6–7	RFK Stadium	51,604	Recap
14	December 4	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–19	7–7	Veterans Stadium	65,947	Recap
15	December 11	Dallas Cowboys	L 17–24	7–8	RFK Stadium	51,526	Recap
16	December 17	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–20 (OT)	7–9	Riverfront Stadium	52,157	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	6	7	0	7	20
• Giants	0	3	10	14	27

Date: September 5
Location: Giants Stadium
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	3	10	6	10	29
• Redskins	7	3	7	13	30

Date: September 11
Location: RFK Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 54,083
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C)
Referee: Gene Barth
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Merlin Olsen

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Redskins	7	0	3	10	20
Eagles	3	13	3	0	19

Date: December 4
Location: Veterans Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Dan Fouts

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	379	319	W2
New York Giants	10	6	0	.625	5–3	9–5	359	304	L1
Washington Redskins	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	345	387	L2
Phoenix Cardinals	7	9	0	.438	3–5	6–6	344	398	L5
Dallas Cowboys	3	13	0	.188	2–6	3–9	265	381	L1

1988 Team Starters

Offense

17 Doug Williams     QB
32 Craig McEwan      RB
36 Timmy Smith       FB
81 Art Monk          WR
84 Gary Clark        WR
85 Don Warren        TE

66 Joe Jacoby        LT
63 Raleigh McKenzie  LG
53 Jeff Bostic       C
73 Mark May          RG
79 Jim Lachey        RT

Defense

71 Charles Mann     LDE
65 Dave Butz        LDT
77 Darryl Grant     RDT
72 Dexter Manley    RDT

51 Monte Coleman    LB
52 Neal Olkewicz    LB
58 Wilber Marshall  LB

45 Barry Wilburn    LCB
28 Darrell Green    RCB
40 Alvin Walton     SS
23 Todd Bowles      FS

8 Chip Lohmiller    K
15 Greg Coleman     P
80 Derrick Shepherd PR
22 Jamie Morris     KR

Awards and honors

Charles Mann, Pro Bowl selection

References

^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 256

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons Players Coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
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Key personnel	Team president: Jason Wright General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American
Lore	Bears 73, Redskins 0 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Body Bag Game Raljon, Maryland Redskins Rule Ricky Williams trade
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Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
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Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1988 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay