| Team: | Washington Redskins |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Record: | 7–9 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC East |
| Coach: | Jay Gruden |
| President: | Bruce Allen |
| Owner: | Daniel Snyder |
| Off Coach: | Matt Cavanaugh |
| Def Coach: | Greg Manusky |
| Stadium: | FedExField |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | OT Trent Williams LB Ryan Kerrigan |
| Shortnavlink: | Redskins seasons |
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.
See main article: 2018 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | |||||
| 2 | 59 | From San Francisco | |||
| 3 | 74 | From San Francisco | |||
| 4 | 109 | From Denver | |||
| 5 | 163 | From Denver | |||
| 6 | 197 | From LA Rams | |||
| 7 | 241 | From LA Rams | |||
| 256 | From LA Rams |
Draft trades
Supplemental Draft
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at New England Patriots | L 17–26 | 0–1 | Gillette Stadium | Recap | ||
| 2 | New York Jets | W 15–13 | 1–1 | FedExField | Recap | ||
| 3 | Denver Broncos | L 17–29 | 1–2 | FedExField | Recap | ||
| 4 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 20–30 | 1–3 | M&T Bank Stadium | Recap |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 24–6 | 1–0 | State Farm Stadium | Recap | |
| 2 | September 16 | Indianapolis Colts | L 9–21 | 1–1 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 3 | September 23 | Green Bay Packers | W 31–17 | 2–1 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 4 | Bye | ||||||
| 5 | at New Orleans Saints | L 19–43 | 2–2 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 14 | Carolina Panthers | W 23–17 | 3–2 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 7 | October 21 | Dallas Cowboys | W 20–17 | 4–2 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 8 | October 28 | at New York Giants | W 20–13 | 5–2 | MetLife Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | November 4 | Atlanta Falcons | L 14–38 | 5–3 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 10 | November 11 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 16–3 | 6–3 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 18 | Houston Texans | L 21–23 | 6–4 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 12 | November 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 23–31 | 6–5 | AT&T Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 13–28 | 6–6 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 9 | New York Giants | L 16–40 | 6–7 | FedExField | Recap | |
| 15 | December 16 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 16–13 | 7–7 | TIAA Bank Field | Recap | |
| 16 | at Tennessee Titans | L 16–25 | 7–8 | Nissan Stadium | Recap | ||
| 17 | December 30 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 0–24 | 7–9 | FedExField | Recap | |
The Redskins started off 1-0.
Washington lost to Indianapolis, moving to 1-1.
The Redskins fought back and started a 2-1 record, heading to their bye week.
The Redskins hoped to get revenge for their loss in this game a year ago, where they blew a 31-16 lead with three minutes remaining and lost in overtime. Instead, the Redskins got blown out. This game was the point where Drew Brees passed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on most passing yards. The Redskins fell to 2-2.
This marked the first time since 2006 that the Redskins had defeated the Panthers. Then the Redskins started a 3 game winning streak and improved to 3-2.
The Redskins got their first win over the Cowboys at home since 2012. Also, Preston Smith forced a fumble returned for a touchdown off Dak Prescott. As time expired, Brett Maher missed the potential game-tying 52-yard field goal to give the Redskins the win. With this win, the Redskins improved to 4-2.
The Redskins improved to 5-2. This was the last time the Redskins beat the Giants until 2021.
The Redskins fell to 5-3.
Then the Redskins improved to 6-3 but then Alex Smith got injured and they would only win 1 more time.
During the game, starter Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture injury to his right leg after being sacked by J. J. Watt and Kareem Jackson and was replaced by his backup, Colt McCoy. Coincidentally, this was exactly 33 years to the day of Joe Theismann's career-ending leg injury. Joe Theismann was also present during the game and witnessed the injury. The Redskins fell to 6-4 by losing 23-21, which ironically was the same score in the game where Theismann was injured. Alex Smith would not play again until Week 5 in 2020 against the Rams.
NFL on Thanksgiving Day The Redskins fell down to 6-5.
Redskins fell to 6-6.
The Redskins fell down to 6-7.
The Redskins improved to 7-7. The Redskins would then eclipse 600 regular season wins in franchise, the fifth team to do so (with Bears, Packers, Giants, & Steelers) with a regular season record of 600-588-28 at that point.[4]
This loss dropped the Redskins to 7-8. Also with this loss, including wins by the Vikings and Seahawks eliminated the Redskins from playoff contention.
The Redskins finished 7-9 despite starting with a 6-3 record.