2018 Washington Redskins season | |
---|---|
Owner | Daniel Snyder |
President | Bruce Allen |
Head coach | Jay Gruden |
Offensive coordinator | Matt Cavanaugh |
Defensive coordinator | Greg Manusky |
Home field | FedExField |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 3rd NFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | OT Trent Williams LB Ryan Kerrigan |
Uniform | |
The 2018 season was the Washington Redskins' 87th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth under head coach Jay Gruden. This was the first season since 2011 that quarterback Kirk Cousins was not on the roster, as he joined the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason as a free agent.
The team tied their record from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. Despite a 6–3 start which was their best since 2008 plus leading the NFC East, the team suffered a late-season collapse, suffering four straight losses after the team lost their starting quarterback Alex Smith to a catastrophic leg injury in their Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans. This would cause Smith to miss both the remainder of the 2018 season and the entire 2019 season as Smith stated that he had taken a total of 17 surgeries to repair his leg and nearly had it amputated. Smith's injury also resulted in a quarterback hangover. First, it forced Colt McCoy into the starting role in Weeks 12 and 13 before also suffering a leg injury in a 28–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, thus forcing the Redskins to start journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez in Week 14 before starting another journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson against the Jacksonville Jaguars after benching Sanchez at halftime against the New York Giants. After the Alex Smith injury, the Redskins finished the last 7 games of the season with a record of 1–6. They were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Titans, including wins by the Seahawks and Vikings. The team's season ended with 25 players on injured reserve, which were a league high.