A Complete History of the Redskins' Post-Bye Games

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.