This Day in Redskins History (Christmas Eve)

[kleese]

The Redskins are 5-2 all time on Christmas Eve. They are 4-1 all time at home and 1-1 on the road. 

 

They won their first five games played on Christmas Eve before losing in 2006 and are currently on a two game losing streak. 

 

The only team they have played twice are the Rams-- oddly enough prior to 2016 both of our road games on 12-24 were played at the Rams--- one in Los Angeles and one in St. Louis. 

 

1972: Win vs Packers 16-3. This was the divisional playoff round-- shows you how the NFL has really expanded the season over the years. The first Super Bowl team for the organization handled the Pack that day setting up the showdown with Dallas the next week. Of course that one also went quite well. 

 

1994: Win at Los Angeles Rams 24-21. If I'm not mistaken this was the Rams last game played before their move to St. Louis. I've talked a lot in these threads about being so in denial in 93/94, but by this point in the season I finally lost interest. Pretty sure this was the only game in those two seasons I missed. Our family does a pretty big shindig on Christmas Eve afternoon/evening and with this being a late afternoon game I didn't bother with the sports bar. I have a vague recollection of a highlight of BMitch returning a punt for a TD, but that's about it. A truly miserable season came to an end. 

 

1995: Win vs Carolina Panthers 20-17. Panthers inaugural season and they had done surprisingly up to that point. We were 5-10 going into the game, but the 95 season felt like progress. We improved and just lost a ton of close games. It was a watchable season on the heels of going 7-25 the previous two. Don't remember much about the game other than it was the last game of the year and I did watch at the bar. 

 

2000: Win vs Arizona Cardinals 20-3. Worthless game. This was the third game of the brief Terry Robiskie era. We had gotten crushed the previous two and our playoff hopes were gone before this one started. 2000 was a terribly disappointing and bitter season.....I watched this game with no emotion-- the one thing I "remember" about it is thinking that our defense really was good that year and that all of our FA spending actually worked-- but the offense just completely let us down. 

 

2005: Win vs New York Giants 35-20. Game four of the "five in a row or we don't go" run to end the season. I was on such a high coming off the Dallas game-- my wife and I briefly owned our first house during the 2005 season in a Tulsa suburb before moving to OKC the next year. We weren't there long, but I have fond memories of that house-- it was our first and we had it built from the ground up, so that was kind of exciting at the time. And yes, it's possible that some of my fond memories are because the one Redskins season in that house was such a fun and positive one. On this day my parents were town staying with us for the holiday-- this was the early afternoon game and it is still one of my favorites. Santana crushed them with three long TD catches-- one coming from Patrick Ramsey after Brunell got hurt. This win made for a great Christmas and week leading up to the finale in Philly where we'd clinch the next week. 

 

2006: Loss at St. Louis Rams 37-31 OT. Exactly one year later and we were now in a tiny little rent house in OKC. We had packed up and moved and started new careers-- I started my first business and we felt OKC was a better market-- plus her family all lives here and later that year my parents would move here as well. Ever since the 2006 season we've also had Sunday Ticket at my in-laws house and it has become a tradition during football season. That's where all watched most of the games that disappointing year. But on Christmas Eve I wasn't feeling all that well plus my motivation had greatly diminished to watch that team. So I stayed home and instead either followed it via gamecast or listened over the internet--
Can't remember. All I really remember is that it was a pretty exciting game and Steven Jackson destroyed us-- including the game winner. 

 

2011: Loss vs Minnesota Vikings 33-26. Very similar to the Rams game above in a very similar season/situation. I did watch this one but didn't really care. No real memories here. 2011 was a total snoozer. 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I still remember the Santana Claus game from 2005. It's very underrated and sometimes forgotten compared to the Cowboy game before it and the playoff-clinching Eagle game after it. 

 

The 2006 game was interesting. Even though the season was lost, I remember how great that team could run the ball that year. I was in my fantasy football finals and remember I had picked up Betts (not sure when Portis got hurt that year). I also had Steven Jackson. Betts had a couple TDs and over 100 yards. I feel like Jackson had in the high-100s and the game-winning TD. 

 

That was just such an odd year when you put it in context of the entire Gibbs II era. Every other year, the defense led the way and we were a top-third scoring defense in the league. In 2006, we were a mess. 

[TimmySmith]

I remember the 2000 game quite well. Went with my BIL.  I still call it "The Champ Bailey Show". Terry Robiskie basically let Champ Bailey play the entire game. And Champ had an All-timer.  1 Rushing TD, 2 catches for 54 yards including a 42 yarder, an Interception, and 1 punt return.  What a great player.

[hail2skins]

Yeah, the 2005 game was great, and one of the best FedEx atmospheres I remember. Crushing Dallas was awesome but, despite history of some heartbreaking Cowboy comebacks against us, at 28-0 that game was essentially over at half.  The Giants game was very nip and tuck the whole way.....we jumped out early but then Brunell thew a pick-six.  After Brunell got hurt, Ramsey throwing the dart across the middle and Moss snagging it around midfield and taking it to the house was just pure drama. Happened after we had blocked a Giants FG that would've cut out lead to 1. After returning from the game I stopped and got a big order of BBQ wings and sat in front of ES for a few hours regaling in the win......remember some Giants fans (not Tom, of course) whining about the refs.

 

The 2006 game......ugh. There was a juncture where the Rams were leading by 3 with about 3.5 minutes left and we had the ball around their 30-35. We called timeout before our 3rd down play, and then timeout again before 4th down.  I'm like "does this team have any clue what its doing?"  We essentially sent Suisham out and he nailed a long FG to tie it. But there has always been debate on whether the game had passed Gibbs by, particularly in clock-management issues, and this sequence seemed to crystallize it.