kleese

Yes because that night in particular really stuck out to me. I thought it was loud and felt highly enthused on TV. From afar it seemed like a really good/positive atmosphere at that game. I thought week 1 the crowd that was there was pretty energized as well. Didn’t notice it so much yesterday. I’ll defer to those that were there though, and against the Giants seemed like most fans were saying the same. And ultimately yeah, if you walk out of the stadium after a thrilling win as opposed to a crushing loss, it likely affects how you view your experience. It actually makes some sense because at this point if you are a WFT fan and you are still going to games, chances are you REALLY care and likely contribute to a good atmosphere of the overall small volume.

Obviously in a year when we are say, 2-9, I’m not all hyped up for game #10. I’ve checked out late emotionally in individual seasons (1994, 2009, 2019) coming to mind immediately as years where I was sleepwalking watching games second half of year. But for the most part, the passion and excitement remains. Again, for me I feel that’s something I can control to a certain extent. And if I don’t allow them to still mess with my emotions one way or the other, then it’s all sort of pointless. Other thing I want to make clear is that my enthusiasm shouldn’t be mistaken for positivity. I knew that game was over the instant they caught the Hail Mary. I am for sure damaged and jaded by the 30 years in that regard. It’s just that I care and enjoy going through the process as much as I did then.

I’d agree that it isn’t just about the record at the time of the date of the game. People make plans in advance, etc… that year the 6-3 start was a bit of a surprise and they very much stumbled to get there with an old QB, a coach people generally didn’t love, etc. For me it was more about the tone. You started the thread, so I’ll ask you. Let’s say we started on fire this year— 5-0 and trounced the Saints yesterday… do you think you start the same thread? That’s all I’m saying. Not that a hot start to the season would have equaled sell outs or rabid fans. I agree it goes deeper.

I’m glad this hasn’t happened to me. I figure the day I no longer really care if they lose, is probably the same day I no longer really care if they win, which is then the day I just no longer care. If I ever get to a point where I feel emotionless towards the team, I’ll be out. I feel like I’m in control of that though, so hoping it never gets there. To your point, no it’s not JUST about this loss of course, or this season… however, I do think there might be some underlying disingenuous posts here— people venting about “not caring” when it appears they still do. And for those that say it’s not just about the losing— let’s be 100% honest— if we were 5-0 right now, this thread wouldn’t exist. I mean it when I said the fanbase is dead— the numbers just aren’t there anymore. But winning would absolutely quiet the complaints and there would be at least a few more in the stands.

Lots of random thoughts on this… —OP is correct… fanbase isn’t dying, it’s dead. And death is final. It cannot under any circumstance be brought back to life— not even with a new owner. What COULD happen is a rebirth of sorts. This is why the name change might work in their favor. You have lost an entire generation of potential fans— we have almost no young fans. And you’ve alienated a huge chunk of your previously loyal base. So now you need new people. At this rate, that isn’t happening. New name, new stadium, that stuff could help spawn something new. But it’s going to take years, maybe decades. No quick fix here. —I am a non-local fan. WFT fans are a little unique there— it’s not as geographic in terms of loyalty as other teams. The Bills prior to the last couple of years had been worse than us for 20 years. Lions are somehow still worse than us. Both have ownership issues over years. But their fanbase hasn’t wavered the way ours has in large part due to that geographic loyalty. Buffalo and Detroit have STRONG cultural loyalties among the people from those areas. DC is a unique spot. Lots and lots of people (like me) “adopted” the Redskins during the Glory years— I’ve never gotten the impression there is a super strong city loyalty among our base likely due to the transient nature of the area. Makes it easier to bail. —FedEx is really bad and the majority of that has nothing to do with Snyder. It offers nothing fun or interesting in terms of experience. It’s a pain to get to, there is nothing around it, aesthetics suck, nothing cool has ever happened there, etc so the ONLY reason to go is to watch an NFL game. Most other stadiums in the league offer other things— if not amenities and location, then history. What a colossal mistake by JKC. Yes, if we were really good over these years the place would be full and people wouldn’t hate it as much. Of course. But it’s an extra challenge to overcome— you need to get people to come IN SPITE of your stadium. And you’re already trying to get them to come IN SPITE of your team. Bad combo. —As others have stated, non-local fans still roll out fairly strong and generally seem a bit less jaded. Probably because non local fans were never there to experience the area when things were good so that’s one thing they aren’t missing. —I’m old— 44 and experienced the 80s and early 90s as a very young fan. My passion personally has not wavered. Not at all actually. But it’s been a conscious decision/action on my part. Because football is only 17 weeks (18 now I guess) and it is so rhythmic, it has become a massive part of my life. And I’ve chosen to have it remain a positive. If you ask me “have I enjoyed being a fan the past 25 years?” The answer is yes. Unequivocally. I’ve had a great time. It’s a tortured existence with a TON of frustration and disappointment, but I still enjoy the rhythm of it and the pangs of hope and occasional good moments. I am under no delusions about our owner or situation. I have just chosen to not let them ruin for it. I get why others bail. I dont blame them, but I do feel a bit bad for them. Sucks that it’s gotten to that point for so many. For me, I woke up Sunday, geared up, had the TVs set up on the deck, made some Gumbo in honor of playing NOLA, watched the London game, and watched our game with my son— who is getting into it this year for the first time. We had a really fun moment last week at the end vs Atlanta— yesterday was super frustrating and felt like so many other games over the years. But I still enjoyed the build up to the game, etc. This week I’ll make jokes all week about how we will get shredded by KC (we will) but I’ll still enjoy the process and sit down at noon with that 5% part of my brain that will have some hope we can do something memorable. —At this point I take some pride in the fact that I’m still plugging away. With so few of us left, I accept my place as an unwavering fan. It’s part of who I am and what I do and I feel like it’s up to ME to make the most of it because I obviously can’t depend on them. I figure if they are ever good again in my lifetime that it will feel even better that I stuck around. Maybe that’s it. I’m afraid if I bail and then they ever see glory again, it won’t feel as great because I let it die. So I just keep at it. Eventually I’m gonna check out from this world and I’ve spent so much time on this that I better keep it an overall positive experience.. or else, man, that’s sad. —Even just this season, I’ve paced my deck twice at the end of games, nervous as hell, and then ecstatic to win at the end. Those reactions are mostly involuntary but I guess set up by the conscious practice to continue to care. And chasing those moments is still worth it to me— even as fleeting as they are. And if at some point this year we find ourselves sitting at 3-10 or whatever, well, then I’ll check out emotionally for those remaining games and save it up for the next year.

No reason to rush to judgment here. I have no clue. But I will say it IS possible to do something bad/nefarious while hiding it from others and simultaneously being good at doing non-nefarious things. It’s actually one of the hallmarks of a “successful” criminal.

The thread focuses on only road games at Buffalo. We actually beat them at FedEx in 2015.

Me too. Then I remember our 9 game losing streak in games at Dallas (1996-2004). Every year I was like, “well, THIS year we are due…”

I don’t begrudge the Bills for that play. Why concede a down? If we really wanted to make a statement but not have it affect the game, Gregg could have approved it through Gibbs and then they could have gone to the Bills and informed them and maybe ask them to take a delay of game— which we then could decline. You get a 30 second “moment” there and move on. We didn’t handle that aspect of the day well and I have no problem with Buffalo for that.

That loss was one of the only times I’ve kinda sorta been mad at the God’s— football or otherwise. I just felt the outcome of that day was just unfair, quite frankly (of course we all know life ain’t fair). But the fanbase was hurting, the team was hurting, and Gibbs was hurting and to go down like that just wasn’t right. For sure one of my most down moments as a fan— but it was unique because it wasn’t anger/frustration/sadness TOWARDS our failures— it was honestly feeling sorry for myself/the team. Painful day all around and still stings to remember it.

No offense taken. You’re not far off in terms of franchise history. The short of it is that the Redskins were a good team for approx the first 10-15 years of their existence into the 1940’s. Then they crashed in the 50’s and it stayed that way until Lombardi arrived in 1969. From then through 1992 was by far the greatest stretch in our history. It was essentially 25 years of misery, followed by 20+ years of greatness, followed by 30 years of disappointment and failure. That’s our history in a nutshell.

First of all, there are actually some teams we’ve owned over the last 30 years (looking at you Chicago) and others where we’ve been at least decent. Secondly, and more importantly, these threads don’t exist to draw any parallels to the present or future— just a fun exercise in reminiscing.

Good catch on that, forgot he was a year earlier. Because the answer to that question is literally unknown. Its as if I was born a Redskins fan. Dad is an Eagles fan and Mom Bills, but neither were big fans at all and it isn't something I was indoctrinated with either way. I literally do not recall ever choosing to be a Redskins fan or knowing someone who was. It's like its just always been that way. I imagine I was a front-runner and chose them because they were good in the early 80's, but have no recollection of making a conscious decision. It's weird.

The good news is that if a member of Bills Mafia ever gets too chesty with a Redskins/WFT fan, we can always simply remind them about Jan. 26th, 1992-- this was obviously the most significant game these two teams have ever played-- and we all know how that turned out. Overall, the history between these two teams is really light-- only 14 total games played (Including the SB) since the 1970 merger over 50 years ago. In that limited sample, one thing is for sure-- Buffalo has NOT treated us well when we've come to visit. At all. While our team hasn't been treated well, I certainly always was on a personal level... My Mom and her entire family hail from Buffalo. I was born in 1977 in NJ and then grew up mostly in OK/TX. But my Mom's family remained in Buffalo. From the time I was born through the early 90's, I spent quite a bit of time in Buffalo. We grandmother lived in a row house, very close (as in just a few houses down) to other aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. She worked for the Mayor's Office at City Hall for many years. My Uncle was an officer in Buffalo PD. My memories of Buffalo are just great. Sure, a lot of it has to do with just good family moments/memories, but I loved the city too. It was so different from where I lived- like a different world-- very much a throwback. People were friendly, food was great, atmosphere was warm and welcoming. There was a deli right down the block from my Grandmother's house called "Johnny's Meats." Whenever we arrived, that's the first place we'd hit. They would recognize me as "Edna's grandson." We even got snowed in once and had to stay an extra few days before we could fly out. I loved it. My Grandma was very proud of her city and defensive when it came to the jokes often hurled at Buffalo and Buffalonians. She did NOT like it when people talked about how cold it was and how much it snowed-- I think she felt that they should be known for more than that-- we tried to tell, you know Nana, it DOES snow a lot-- but she wasn't having it. After joining the NFL in 1970, the Bills spent the next 15 years or so being generally disappointing-- certainly never making a big impact. In the later part of the 80s the nucleus for their great teams began to form and they became a MASSIVE source of proud for the city-- and for my family-- especially my Grandma. She was far from a die-hard sports fan, but she loved the Bills because they were a representation of Buffalo. If anyone hasn't seen "The Four Falls of Buffalo" I can't recommend it enough. It does a great job of depicting the connection between the Bills and the city during that era. In 1991 I was mildly bummed the Bills won the AFC because I would have preferred to beat someone else in the SB (I knew we were going to win). I had some good natured barbs with my Grandma about it, but I never dared to get too deep there. As I entered HS and then college, the trips to Buffalo slowed considerably. My grandma spent more time visiting us than vice versa. Started seeing my cousins and extended family less and less-- and then of course, people started dying. From approx. 1992-mid 2000's I think I only went three times-- and two of those were for the funerals of my Nana and my Uncle. It's been well over 15 years since I've been now. Somewhat strangely, never made it to a Bills game. It was on the radar briefly for this year, but it didn't come together. Part of me thinks maybe I should never go back and let that place and those memories stay the way they are. So I can't speak to what Buffalo is like today, but I can attest that my experience there was top notch. Now, to the games: 12-4-1977: Redskins 10, Bills 0: Our first ever game at Buffalo was a real yawner-- can't say I remember it though as I was less than 3 months old. 11-29-1981: Bills 21, Redskins 14: This one was also goes farther back than my memory bank. This was Gibbs' first year where we started 0-5 and then finished 8-3. This was one of the 3 losses. The 1981 Bills were a rarity for them in this era-- they made the playoffs, beat the Jets in the Wild Card game, and then went down to the wire with the Bengals in Cincinnati before losing in the divisional round. 11-1-1987: Redskins 27, Bills 7: Very strange blind spot for me here. From approx. 1986-present I can pretty much remember at least SOMETHING about every single game we've played-- or at least can easily jog my memory by reading something or viewing a clip. This is one of the few games that totally escapes me-- especially odd because I was pretty locked into the teams in this era as you might expect. I literally have no recall of this game-- it was a few years before satellite viewing became an option so it wouldn't have been on locally for me-- but even in those cases I can usually remember seeing the scroll, watching highlights, etc. This is a totally blank page for me. The game is on youtube in it's entirety so I killed some time checking it out--- Bills were just getting their act together with Levy, Kelly, and company. Not quite there yet. We handled them pretty easily on a gray day in Buffalo. 11-1-1993: Bills 24, Redskins 10: I've talked about the 1993 season before and how I was in complete denial about what was going on. We were 1-5 heading into this game on Monday Night and I was still very confident in the team and thought they would bounce back and go on a winning streak-- despite the fact that Buffalo was headed to their fourth straight SB, I had confidence and was excited for the game-- watched from our loft room on one of those old, giant big screen TVs at our home in Houston. We hung around and were only down 14-10 in the third before Buffalo pulled away late. This was the night reality started to set in that this was NOT a good team and a rebuild was probable. 11-3-1996: Bills 38, Redskins 13: Sort of the opposite of 1993... we were 7-1 heading into this game. Riding high. Buffalo was pretty good too, but we were on fire. I do remember thinking that we'd eventually come down to earth-- remember, we lost week 1 and then rattled off 7 straight-- but I was pretty confident. This was a late afternoon game-- I was a freshmen in college now, catching the game from The Vista Sports Grill on the 6th floor of a downtown building in Norman, OK. We scored early to take a 7-0 lead-- it was a disaster from there. Total domination from the Bills. Honestly, I wasn't too bummed about this one-- again, figured we'd eventually lose again and dropping a road game to an AFC team was no biggie. It would be the following week-- the infamous Boomer Esiason game when things would get iffy. 10-19-2003: Bills 24, Redskins 7: Another late afternoon start.. the score here was worse than it indicates. Buffalo dominated. Patrick Ramsey was brutal for us and we gave up over 160 yards rushing to Travis Henry. We had started the season 3-3 under Spurrier that year and this is where the season started to really take a turn for the worse. 10-30-2011: Bills 23, Redskins 0: And another late afternoon game on the road in Western NY... or Canada I should say... this was the annual Toronto game for Buffalo during those few years where they did that... and oh what a terrible display for us. All Redskins fans will remember this as the game where John Beck was sacked 10 times. Obviously, that's an indictment of the offensive line, but in this care, it was actually obvious without even watching film that Beck himself was the cause of most of the sacks. Never seen a QB so stuck in the headlights like that. It was almost like his objective was to take a seven step drop and then just fall down. He was so, so bad. What did he start-- three games for us total? Something like that. But if feels like so many more because he was so incompetent that it really sticks out. Fitzpatrick started and played well for the Bills that day. 11-3-2019: Bills 24, Redskins 9: The 2019 is one of the least entertaining/interesting in my fan history-- I just wanted every game to end before it started. I was mildly more interested in this one because it was Haskins' first start. Another game where the score wasn't quite indicative of the way the game actually went. This was a very easy win for Buffalo-- even though it was a one-score game for awhile in the second half. A bland, boring game between two rookie QBs who have since gone down very different paths. So, 2-6 overall Average score: Bills 20, Redskins 11 If you just focus on the five straight losses since we lost one in 1987, the average score is Bills 27, Redskins 8 In the 8 games, only one (1981) has been even moderately competitive.

Little bit of an overreaction to the Bills 35-0 win this week, just as there was likely the same to their ugly loss in week one. It’s unlikely the Bills lose their first two at home. It’s more likely they got a bit of a wake up call from the Steelers and got some things together in week 2 for Miami. History doesn’t really matter, but our history in games at Buffalo/Toronto is absolutely abysmal. Not just losing, but all blowouts. Every single one. To me the only real chance we have to actually win this game is if TH is legitimately good and not just catching lightning in a bottle. If you add a legitimately good QB to the mix for any team, it becomes a game changer. And if the oddsmakers knew that right now the number would be lower. No one knows right now though and the odds are he’s just a guy. But IF he’s more than that, then that changes things. I do think at some point fairly soon, our defense will figure a few things out and play better. All that said, I think the number is fair. From a gambling standpoint I would say this game is a slight lean to Buffalo for me, but it’s likely a game I’d advise to just stay away from. I’d pick Buffalo 31-20 right now. Not likely to be one of the top 5 games on the board for me though either way.

The fans I’m citing aren’t talking about raw numbers. They are talking about the atmosphere and how it was heavier towards being full with our own fans than usual. I observed same on TV. Looks like they are doing something right by pushing the fans to lower level and just saying forget it with the upper level. It looks better and sounds better. The players also all talked about the atmosphere and the sound tonight— not something we normally hear post game. To me, I’d rather see 50K of fans mostly in lower level, mostly rooting for us, making noise, than 65K spread out, 50/50 split on rooting interests.

Fans on Twitter are saying it was best atmosphere at FedEx since 2012. I will say on TV it sounded pretty loud and it sounded loud at the right times too. Also didn’t look like a crazy sea of blue or anything.

I also want to say the Bears played the Vikings in 1985 also on a Thursday night earlier in the season... the game where McMahon was hurt but played anyway....yep, it was week 3 that year (9-19) and it was one of the few games for the Bears in 85 that was ever in doubt.

Since the inception of the franchise in 1932, we have played 22 games on a Thursday. 12 of those games have been played on Thanksgiving and 10 have been played on non-holiday Thursdays. In those 22 games, we've only played 6 different teams: Cowboys (11), Giants (5), Vikings (3), Bears (1), Jets (1), Lions (1) 8-14 overall 4-1 at home 4-13 on road 4-8 on Thanksgiving 4-6 non-Thanksgiving Most points scored: 41 (2020 at Dallas) Most points allowed: 45 (2014 vs Giants) Fewest points scored: 7 (2008 at Giants) Fewest points allowed: 0 (1973 at Lions) Here is the all-time list, Thanksgiving games bolded **Game I attended personally 1937: W vs Giants 13-3 1968: L at Cowboys 29-20 1973: W at Lions 20-0 1974: L at Cowboys 24-23 1978: L at Cowboys 37-10 1984: W at Vikings 31-17 1990: L at Cowboys 27-17 1996: L at Cowboys 21-10 2002: L at Cowboys 27-20** 2003: W vs Jets 16-13 2007: W vs Bears 24-16 2008: L at Giants 16-7 2012: W at Cowboys 38-31** 2013: L at Vikings 34-27 2014: L vs Giants 45-14 2015: L at Giants 32-21 2016: L at Cowboys 31-26 2017: W vs Giants 20-10 2017: L at Cowboys 38-14** 2018: L at Cowboys 31-23 2019: L at Vikings 19-9 2020: W at Cowboys 41-16 --Interesting note is that the game in 1937 was the season opener-- which of course also means it was the first game we ever played as the Washington Redskins, having moved from Boston the previous off-season. --I wasn't alive, but for those of that were, I won't even mention the 1974 game... --Do not recall why we would have been playing the Vikings on a Thursday night back in 1984. This was WAY before the Thursday night thing became the norm (2013 I believe). I want to say I've heard the reasoning behind this before, but I can't recall. --Little bit of a story on that 2002 game. Lived in Tulsa at the time with my wife-- still pretty much newlyweds. No kids, not a lot of extra money, etc. Her family lived in OKC (about a 2 hour drive) and she was looking forward to going back for Thanksgiving. But she surprised me with tickets to the game. Plan was to drive to Dallas from Tulsa early that morning, attend the game, and then drive back to OKC after the game and celebrate Thanksgiving the next day. I was super pumped. We had a fun day... this game still mattered at the time-- it was essentially our do or die game for that season. Game started very well-- and then, it went south. Biggest play was an interception by Danny Wuerful right to Roy Williams in the end zone. I was so frustrated and back then I made zero attempt to mask this frustration. We left a few minutes early and I handed my wife the keys and just said "you drive." I then proceeded to not speak during the drive home. Silence. About halfway there I realized my error. I could tell my wife was seething, but by then it was too late. From the minute the game ended until almost five hours later we proceeded in silence. It was induced by me-- but then it became awful FOR me. Bad, bad move on my part on a day where she had gone out of her way to do something nice for me. This remains perhaps the most angry she has ever been with me-- it lingered for several days. When she finally came around to talking to me again, she declared she would never attend a game with me in Dallas again. She held tight to this until 2013 when she relented. We lost that night as well, but I kept things in check on that one. --2012 might be the most fun I've ever had attending a game. We went to Dallas for a couple of days with my in-laws. My wife and mother-in-law went to the zoo with the kids that day and my father in law and I went to the game. I helped organize a huge ES tailgate that day and it was awesome. Met so many fellow fans/ES members that day and it was great. So much excitement about RG3 and then he took the field and delivered. Such a fun game and a rare happy memory for me attending games in Dallas. --The 2013 bugged me. That was the game where I still felt we could turn it around and then afterwards knew we wouldn't. Tough loss that night in what was a pretty entertaining game in Minny. Generally, I do NOT like playing on Thursday. I much prefer the normal Sunday routine. Thursday's just don't feel right to me. And losing on a Thursday is terrible. The worst. It almost feels like a double loss. You get robbed of a game that weekend and you also have the taste of loss lingering for longer than normal. On the flip side, a Thursday win is really nice. For example, if we win tonight, I will relax and enjoy the weekend games and build-up to Buffalo WAY more than if we lose-- and it differs from a normal Sunday feeling. I am glad we get Thursday out of the way early this year and don't have to mess with a Thanksgiving Game (hate playing on Thanksgiving).

Very very bad day for us all around. I will say some of those conversions were exceptional throws by Herbert and not necessarily bad defense. But obviously setting a franchise record for third down conversions given up is an awful way for the defense to start. Chargers looked more prepared and comfortable than we did in all facets. It’s an L in the standings and a firm L for our players and staff— meaning no moral victories out there today. They got outcoached and outplayed. I would also add Scherff to the list. Up 16-13 and driving with total momentum. He had two penalties on the drive after we neared the red zone. Hopkins eventually missed the FG. That was the biggest spot of the game IMO.

Why not… 10-9-1977: W at Bucs 10-0 12-4-1977: W at Bills 10-0 12-3-1978: L at Dolphins 16-0 9-17-1979: W vs Giants 27-0 9-28-1980: L vs Seahawks 14-0 10-19-1980: W vs Cardinals 23-0 11-16-1980: L vs Eagles 24-0 1-2-1983: W vs Cardinals 28-0 (last game 82) 9-30-1984: W vs Eagles 20-0 1-11-1987: L at Giants 17-0 NFCCG 12-23-1989: W at Seahawks 29-0 9-9-1990: W vs Cardinals 31-0 9-1-1991: W vs Lions 45-0 9-15-1991: W vs Cardinals 34-0 9-30-1991: W vs Eagles 23-0 12-11-1993: L vs Jets 3-0 9-24-2001: L at Packers 37-0 12-14-2003: L vs Cowboys 27-0 10-30-2005: L at Giants 36-0 12-27-2009: L vs Cowboys 17-0 10-30-2011: L at Bills 23-0 12-7-2014: L vs Rams 24-0 12-30-2018: L vs Eagles 24-0 10-20-2019: L vs 49ers 9-0 11-13 8-8 at home 3-5 on road The current 9 game shutout losing streak sticks out, as does the fact that it is the 30th anniversary this season of the last time we delivered a shutout. Crazy that we had THREE shutouts in September of 1991 alone and none since. It’s as if the Football Gods said “enough of that…” In the 17 seasons between 1977-1993, we were involved in 16 shutouts. In the 26 seasons since we’ve only been involved in 8. My guess is that while some of that has to do with how good we were in that first span, it’s more a league-wide change— just better offenses and especially better kicking games making it harder to blank a team (I don’t have data to back that up, but it’s a strong guess). Lastly, man it was fun having the Cardinals in the division back in the day. We shut them out 4 times out of 10 at home over a 10 year span. We were 10-0 against them in that span as well.

1 day until we kickoff against the Chargers… Why pick just one, one point game when you can choose them all. Here it is.. the list of every 1 point game we’ve played in my lifetime (starting with 1977 season) along with some stats to break it down and one memory: 11-21-77 MNF (W 10-9 vs Packers) 12-16-79 (L 35-34 at Cowboys) 12-19-82 (W vs Giants 15-14) 9-5-83 MNF (L vs Cowboys 31-30) 10-17-83 MNF (L at Packers 48-47) 9-20-87 (L at Falcons 21-20) 10-25-87 (W vs Jets 17-16) 9-11-88 (W vs Steelers 30-29) 12-4-88 (W at Eagles 20-19) 12-17-89 (W at Falcons 31-30) 12-9-90 (W vs Bears 10-9) 12-15-96 (L at Cardinals 27-26) 9-7-97 (L at Steelers 14-13) 1-15-00 (L at Bucs 14-13) Divisional Playoffs 11-5-00 (L at Cardinals 16-15) 11-23-03 SNF (L at Dolphins 24-23) 9-19-05 MNF (W at Cowboys 14-13) 11-13-05 (L at Bucs 36-35) 12-2-07 (L vs Bills 17-16) 11-22-09 (L at Cowboys 7-6) 12-12-10 (L vs Bucs 17-16) 9-18-11 (W vs Cardinals 22-21) 12-3-12 MNF (W vs Giants 17-16) 12-15-13 (L at Falcons 27-26) 12-22-13 (L vs Cowboys 24-23) 10-25-15 (W vs Bucs 31-30) 10-13-19 (W at Dolphins 17-16) 10-18-20 (L at Giants 20-19) 12-16 8-4 at home 4-12 on road Cowboys x5 (1-4) Lots of good (and bad) stuff here. My choice to highlight isn’t the best or most important from this list, but it is one that has really stuck with me… the Bears game from 1990, a 10-9 win. December, late afternoon. Always knew it REALLY mattered if it was dark out and Madden and Summerall were on the call. This game was a brutal battle. Rypien threw FIVE interceptions. Lohmiller missed a go ahead FG with about 4:00 to go. But back then, there was still some magic to the team— especially at RFK. You always felt we had a shot. So right after Lohmiller missed the FG, the Bears gave the ball to their fullback, Brad Muster. Darryl Grant reached his hand out, popped the ball around the line of scrimmage and Todd Bowles recovered. Lohmiller didn’t miss this time and we held on for the grinding 10-9 win. I can still see that fumble in my mind. Then, the elation/relief that followed. 1991 was of course awesome, but I have always viewed it as a 3 year from 1990-1992 of basically the same team vying for the SB each year. 1991 was when it all came together, but the bookend teams were good (and fun) too. Hope everyone enjoyed the little stroll down memory lane. Here’s to a season that has us reminiscing about it someday. You are 100% correct… I think we beat Dallas in 91 at RFK of it came down to it, but that would have been a scary game. And I also agree that had we won the game in SF in 1992, it is possible we would have gotten smoked in Dallas. We were on fumes. But I have always wondered if MAYBE we could have thrown some magic out that hypothetical day.

I really think the biggest thing was going up against Falcons and Lions in playoffs. Very random, two teams with no cache and did nothing after that season.

2 days until we kickoff against the Chargers... Have we ever scored EXACTLY 2 points in a game? Glad you asked... The answer is Yes, with a bit of an asterisk In 1936 we lost to the Packers 31-2. For you historians out there, you would realize that because it was 1936, the team was still in Boston, moving to Washington prior to the 1937 season. That is the only time we have scored 2 points in a game-- we have never played a game where our opponent finished with exactly 2 points. For my memory today, doing another one that is a bit obscure, but one I believe has had a LITTLE bit to do with how history has viewed our most recent SB team... December 22nd, 1991 (Eagles 24, Redskins 22) First of all, this game meant absolutely nothing. We were 14-1 and had wrapped up the 1 seed. Eagles had already been eliminated as well, they were 9-6 heading into this game-- that 1991 Eagles team would have been REALLY good had Randall not torn his ACL week one that season. Their defense was insanely good and their QB situation was SO bad-- and they still managed a 10 win season. If Randall was healthy, they absolutely could have provided us our greatest challenge that season. What sticks out to me about this game was how excited I was for it. Such a fun scene/time to remember. I was 14 years old, 8th grade. Old enough to sort of "get it" on some things, but still very much a kid and a goofball obsessed with sports, girls, video games, staying up late to watch HBO (or better yet, Cinemax if I was at a friends house). The 1991 season was a total joy all around. I did not care that the game didn't matter, I wanted to go 15-1. The game was late afternoon at The Vet. Three days before Christmas; already out of school. Parents dropped me at my usual spot in those years-- The Outback Sports Cafe. Sat there all day watching games. Two weeks off a school ahead, presents three days away, Redskins already clinched playing the divisional round. Just awesome. Even though the game meant little, we started our guys and played them fairly deep into the game. As was typical for that season, the Eagles had a terrible time moving the ball. We shut them out (scroll back in this thread to #23) at RFK on MNF. In this game, the Eagles scored first on a pick 6-- but we led 19-7 early in the fourth. So through the first seven quarters of games against the Eagles that year, we gave up 0 points to their offense. I figured the game was a wrap. We pulled some guys, including Rypien. Jeff Kemp (son of Jack) was not good. But in the fourth quarter, he made a few plays. 19-7 became 19-14, then we fell behind 21-19. We drove and Lohmiller kicked his fifth FG of the game to give us a 22-21 lead. But boom, Eagles go right back down and kick a FG (pretty sure as time expired) to win it 24-22. This was one of those losses that bugged me for about 5 minutes. I really wanted that 15th win, but by the time I got in the car to go home I was over it. Already moved on to the looking forward to the fun weeks ahead. In 1991 and 1987 we earned the privilege to sit out WC weekend. That is really fun-- watching the first weekend of playoffs with no stress. I can't believe it's been 30 years since we had a bye in the playoffs-- and now that there is only one bye per conference who knows if we will ever get to enjoy that again. The one historical footnote on this game is that I think had we won and finished 15-1, people might remember that team a bit differently. In most retrospectives, the 1991 Redskins are considered one of the more underappreciated teams of all time. Adjusted for metrics that didn't apply then, that team ranks near the top in a ton of categories. It was as easy of a season as I've ever witnessed in the NFL. It was a down year for a bunch of teams that dominated that era (Giants, Bears, 49ers) and Dallas was still a year away from turning corner. Beating the Falcons and Lions to get to the SB always hurt our legacy I thought-- and I think that 15th win may have helped as well. None of if it really matters of course. But man, it's fun to look back at the fun and simple time in my life.

If you would like to lose 19 minutes of your life that you can never get back, here is that Jets game in condensed form: