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The Redskins had a bye this week as the team finds itself at (surprise!) 3-6. Looking for a glimmer of hope (as well as an easy-to-write column), I decided to seek out the entire history of Washington's post-bye performance.
The NFL altered its scheduling structure in 1990. One of the changes was to introduce a bye week, rather than each team playing 16 straight weeks of football. The NFL briefly experimented with having two bye weeks in 1993, but reverted to a single bye after the double bye set-up killed television ratings on certain Sundays when too many good teams had the weekend off.
Here, for some reason, is the complete history of the Redskins' post-bye games:
1990 (Gibbs): Week 5. Lost to Giants 24-20 in Week 6. Finished 10-6 (1-1 in playoffs).
1991 (Gibbs): Week 8. Beat Giants 17-13 in Week 9. Finished 14-2 (3-0 in playoffs).
1992 (Gibbs): Week 4. Lost to Cardinals 27-24 in Week 5. Finished 9-7 (1-1 in playoffs).
1993-1 (Petitbon): Week 4. Lost to Dolphins 17-10 in Week 5.
1993-2 (Petitbon): Week 8. Lost to Bills 24-10 in Week 9. Finished 4-12.
1994 (Turner): Week 11. Lost to Cowboys 31-7 in Week 12. Finished 3-13.
1995 (Turner): Week 11. Lost to Seahawks 27-20 in Week 12. Finished 6-10.
1996 (Turner): Week 6. Beat Patriots 27-22 in Week 7. Finished 9-7.
1997 (Turner): Week 4. Beat Jaguars 24-12 in Week 5. Finished 8-7-1.
1998 (Turner): Week 8. Beat Giants 21-14 in Week 9. Finished 6-10. (Note: The Redskins were an abysmal 0-7 when they reached their bye week in '98.)
1999 (Turner): Week 5. Beat Cardinals 24-10 in Week 6. Finished 10-6 (1-1 in playoffs).
2000 (Turner): Week 11. Beat Rams 33-20 in Week 12. Finished 8-8.
2001 (Schottenheimer): Week 9. Beat Broncos 17-10 in Week 10. Finished 8-8.
2002 (Spurrier): Week 4. Beat Titans 31-14 in Week 5. Finished 7-9.
2003 (Spurrier): Week 8. Lost to Cowboys 21-14 in Week 9. Finished 5-11.
2004 (Gibbs): Week 7. Lost to Packers 28-14 in Week 8. Finished 6-10.
2005 (Gibbs): Week 3. Beat Seahawks 20-17 in Week 4. Finished 10-6 (1-1 in playoffs).
2006 (Gibbs): Week 8. Beat Cowboys 22-19 in Week 9. Finished 5-11.
2007 (Gibbs): Week 4. Beat Lions 34-3 in Week 5. Finished 9-7 (0-1 in playoffs).
2008 (Zorn): Week 10. Lost to Cowboys 14-10 in Week 11. Finished 8-8.
2009 (Zorn): Week 8. Lost to Falcons 31-17 in Week 9. Finished 4-12.
2010 (Shanahan): Week 9. Lost to Eagles 59-28 in Week 10. Finished 6-10.
2011 (Shanahan): Week 5. Lost to Eagles 20-13 in Week 6. Finished 5-11.
2012 (Shanahan): Week 10. Beat Eagles 31-6 in Week 11. Finished 10-6 (0-1 in playoffs).
2013 (Shanahan): Week 4. Lost to Cowboys 31-16 in Week 5. Finished 3-13.
2014 (Gruden): Week 10. Play Buccaneers in Week 11. Finished ?-?.
Total: 12-13 (.480)
So, the Redskins are below .500 when coming off of bye weeks over the last 24 years. However, that is still a very slight over-performance compared to Washington's overall record of 180-216-1 (.455) during that same span.
Conclusion? Even with the Super-Bowl-winning tail end of the first Gibbs tenure tacked on, the Redskins have been a sub-par team during the NFL's "bye era." Their performance after the bye week is just barely better than their overall performance. Neither of those facts are earth-shattering revelations.
With the woeful Buccaneers coming up next weekend, Washington stands a good chance to even its record at 13-13 in post-bye games. I'd go as far as to call the Tampa Bay game a "must-win." Note, however, that recent history is not on the Redskins' side: Washington's only post-bye victory in the six seasons since Joe Gibbs retired was the first game of that near-miraculous win streak in 2012. Otherwise, the Redskins have been a post-bye bust.
Washington will try to make it two-for-seven next Sunday. If the losing trend continues this year, the Redskins will be in huge trouble---if they aren't already. Playing the Buccaneers at home is close to the best scenario Washington could ask for in order to get a fresh start on the second part of the season.