| Team: | Washington Redskins |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Record: | 5–11 |
| Division Place: | 4th NFC East |
| Coach: | Mike Shanahan |
| General Manager: | Bruce Allen |
| Owner: | Daniel Snyder |
| Off Coach: | Kyle Shanahan |
| Def Coach: | Jim Haslett |
| Stadium: | FedExField |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | LB London Fletcher |
| Ap All-Pros: | LB London Fletcher (2nd team) |
| Shortnavlink: | Redskins seasons |
The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 80th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 75th representing the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.). Their home games were played at FedExField in Landover, Maryland for the 15th consecutive year. Washington played in the Eastern division of the National Football Conference (NFC). The Redskins failed to improve on their 2010 record of 6–10, but did manage to defeat the New York Giants, the eventual Super Bowl champions, twice in the regular season, becoming only the sixth team to do so (the 1969 Oakland Raiders, 1983 Seattle Seahawks, 1995 Washington Redskins, 2002 New Orleans Saints, and 2007 Dallas Cowboys, also against the Giants, being the others).
The season is also notable for being the first of three Redskins seasons to include four future head coaches on the coaching staff: Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay, and Mike McDaniel.[1]
See main article: 2011 NFL draft.
The Redskins finished the 2010 season with a record of 6–10 and will be picking 6th overall.
| Draft order | Player name | Position | Height | Weight | College | Contract | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Choice | Overall | ||||||||
| 1 | 10 | 10 | Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||||
| 1 | 16 | 16 | Ryan Kerrigan | Defensive end | 6'3" | 267 | Purdue | |||
| 2 | 9 | 41 | Jarvis Jenkins | Defensive tackle | 6'4" | 310 | Clemson | |||
| 2 | 17 | 49 | Traded to the Indianapolis Colts | |||||||
| 3 | 8 | 72 | Traded to the New Orleans Saints | |||||||
| 3 | 15 | 79 | Leonard Hankerson | Wide receiver | 6'2" | 209 | Miami (Fl) | |||
| 4 | 7 | 104 | Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||
| 4 | 8 | 105 | Roy Helu | Running back | 6'0" | 220 | Nebraska | |||
| 5 | 13 | 144 | Traded to the Houston Texans | |||||||
| 5 | 15 | 146 | DeJon Gomes | Safety | 5'11" | 208 | Nebraska | |||
| 5 | 21 | 152 | Traded to the Houston Texans | |||||||
| 5 | 24 | 155 | Niles Paul | Wide receiver | 6'1" | 224 | Nebraska | |||
| 6 | 12 | 177 | Evan Royster | Running back | 6'1" | 212 | Penn State | |||
| 6 | 13 | 178 | Aldrick Robinson | Wide receiver | 5'10" | 176 | Southern Methodist | |||
| 7 | 10 | 213 | Brandyn Thompson | Cornerback | 5'10" | 188 | Boise State | |||
| 7 | 14 | 217 | Maurice Hurt | Offensive tackle | 6'3" | 318 | Florida | |||
| 7 | 21 | 224 | Markus White | Defensive end | 6'4" | 266 | Florida State | |||
| 7 | 50 | 253 | Chris Neild | Defensive tackle | 6'2" | 319 | West Virginia | |||
The Redskins' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011. It was finalized on April 19, 2011.[2]
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | TV | NFL.com recap | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||||
| 1 | August 12 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 16–7 | 1–0 | FedExField | WRC | Recap | ||
| 2 | August 19 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | at Indianapolis Colts | W 16–3 | 2–0 | Lucas Oil Stadium | WRC | Recap | ||
| 3 | August 25 | 8:00 p.m. EDT | at Baltimore Ravens | L 31–34 | 2–1 | M&T Bank Stadium | ESPN | Recap | ||
| 4 | September 1 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 29–24 | 3–1 | FedExField | < | --TV--> | Recap | |
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | TV | NFL.com recap | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | ||||||||
| 1 | September 11 | 4:15 p.m. EDT | New York Giants | W 28–14 | 1–0 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 2 | September 18 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | Arizona Cardinals | W 22–21 | 2–0 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 3 | September 26 | 8:30 p.m. EDT | at Dallas Cowboys | L 16–18 | 2–1 | Cowboys Stadium | ESPN | Recap | |
| 4 | October 2 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | at St. Louis Rams | W 17–10 | 3–1 | Edward Jones Dome | Fox | Recap | |
| 5 | Bye | ||||||||
| 6 | October 16 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–20 | 3–2 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 7 | October 23 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | at Carolina Panthers | L 20–33 | 3–3 | Bank of America Stadium | Fox | Recap | |
| 8 | October 30 | 4:05 p.m. EDT | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–23 | 3–4 | Rogers Centre (Toronto) | Fox | Recap | |
| 9 | November 6 | 1:00 p.m. EST | San Francisco 49ers | L 11–19 | 3–5 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 10 | November 13 | 1:00 p.m. EST | at Miami Dolphins | L 9–20 | 3–6 | Sun Life Stadium | Fox | Recap | |
| 11 | November 20 | 1:00 p.m. EST | Dallas Cowboys | L 24–27 (OT) | 3–7 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 12 | November 27 | 4:05 p.m. EST | at Seattle Seahawks | W 23–17 | 4–7 | CenturyLink Field | Fox | Recap | |
| 13 | December 4 | 1:00 p.m. EST | New York Jets | L 19–34 | 4–8 | FedExField | CBS | Recap | |
| 14 | December 11 | 1:00 p.m. EST | New England Patriots | L 27–34 | 4–9 | FedExField | CBS | Recap | |
| 15 | December 18 | 1:00 p.m. EST | at New York Giants | W 23–10 | 5–9 | MetLife Stadium | Fox | Recap | |
| 16 | December 24 | 1:00 p.m. EST | Minnesota Vikings | L 26–33 | 5–10 | FedExField | Fox | Recap | |
| 17 | January 1 | 1:00 p.m. EST | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–34 | 5–11 | Lincoln Financial Field | Fox | Recap | |
Royal blue indicates that the Redskins were the visiting team in the Bills Toronto Series.
The Redskins opened the 2011 season at home against their division rival the New York Giants, to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001; both teams represented the cities that were targeted by the terrorists that day.[3]
With the win, the Redskins started their season at 1–0.
With the win, the Redskins improved to 2–0. This would be the last time the team would win a game at home until hosting the Minnesota Vikings during the middle of the 2012 season.
Coming off their home win over the Cardinals, the Redskins flew to Cowboys Stadium for a Week 3 NFC East duel with the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. Washington threw the game's opening punch in the first quarter with a 46-yard field goal from kicker Graham Gano. The Cowboys answered with kicker Dan Bailey getting a 41-yard field goal, while the Redskins replied with Gano's 27-yard field goal. Dallas would take the lead in the second quarter as Bailey made a 27-yard and a 32-yard field goal, yet the Redskins closed out the half with Gano's 50-yard field goal.
Washington began the third quarter with quarterback Rex Grossman finding running back Tim Hightower on a 1-yard touchdown pass. The Cowboys would end the third quarter with Bailey making a 41-yard field goal. Dallas regained the lead in the fourth quarter with Bailey booting a 23-yard and a 40-yard field goal. The 'Skins tried to rally, but the Cowboys' defense held on to preserve the win.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 2–1.
With the win, the Redskins went into their bye week at 3–1.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 3–2.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 3–3.
Bills Toronto SeriesWith the loss, the Redskins fell to 3–4.
Although the Redskins lost and fell to 3–5, it was during this game that kicker Graham Gano made a 59-yard field goal, which set an all time Washington Redskin franchise record.[4]
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 3–6.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 3–7.
With the win, the Redskins improved to 4–7 and snapped their 6-game losing streak.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 4–8.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 4–9 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
With the win, the Redskins improved to 5–9 and swept the Giants for the first time since 1999.
With the loss, the Redskins fell to 5–10.
With the loss, the Redskins finished the season 5–11.