The Washington Redskins season was the franchise's strike season. The 56th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 52nd in Washington, D.C., and their seventh under head coach Joe Gibbs. The season was a shortened season due to the 1987 NFL strike.
The team had finished second in the NFC East the previous season with a 12–4 record. Games to be played during the third week of the season were canceled, and replacement players were used to play games from weeks 4 through 6; every union member on the team joined the strike, making them the only team to have no one break. The replacement team was dubbed by fans as the Washington Scabskins.
The Redskins won the NFC East with an 11–4 record. The Redskins defeated the Denver Broncos 42–10 to win Super Bowl XXII. It was the Redskins' second Super Bowl win in six seasons, and coincidentally, their second Super Bowl win in a strike season.The 1982 season also had a players' strike
Redskins quarterback Doug Williams became the first black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and was the only one to have emerged victorious until Russell Wilson won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks.As of the 2014 season, he is one of only two African-American quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl, the other being Russell Wilson; Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb and Cam Newton have all started at quarterback in the Super Bowl, but each of the three lost their Super Bowl appearance.
By virtue of the Redskins' 17–10 victory over Minnesota in the NFC title game, head coach Joe Gibbs earned his 10th playoff victory. He surpassed the legendary Vince Lombardi, who had retired after his 9th playoff victory and (coincidentally) later coached the Redskins for one season. Also ironic was the rumor that, following a disastrous 5-9-1 season, Green Bay would hire Gibbs to replace the dismissed Forrest Gregg. However, after the game, Gibbs would deny that he was interested.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1987 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDarrick BrilzOffensive tackle Oregon StateMark CarlsonOffensive tackle Southern Connecticut StateEric CoyleCenterColoradoKeith RadecicCenterPenn StateEd RubbertQuarterbackLouisvilleTed RomneyOffensive tackle MissouriNorries WilsonOffensive tackleMinnesota
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
NFL replacement players After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:
1987 Washington Redskins replacement rosterQuarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight endsOffensive linemen
Defensive linemenLinebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–171–0 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 2 vs Green Bay PackersW 33–02–0 Camp Randall StadiumRecap 3 at Tampa Bay BuccaneersL 10–172–1 Tampa StadiumRecap 4 at Los Angeles Rams W 26–143–1 Anaheim StadiumRecap
Regular season In 1987, Redskins starting QB Jay Schroeder got injured early in the opening game against the Eagles and was replaced by Williams, who led the team to victory. In his NFL debut, replacement player Ed Rubbert passed for 334 yards.Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16 Rubbert also threw three touchdown passes to Anthony Allen. Allen would have 255 receiving yards.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Philadelphia EaglesW 34–24 1–0Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 2 at Atlanta FalconsL 20–21 1–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Recap - September 27 New England Patriots Cancelled due to the 1987 NFL strike † 3 October 4 St. Louis Cardinals W 28–21 2–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 4 October 11 at New York Giants W 38–12 3–1 Giants Stadium Recap 5 at Dallas Cowboys W 13–7 4–1 Texas Stadium Recap 6 October 25 New York Jets W 17–16 5–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 7 at Buffalo Bills W 27–7 6–1 Rich Stadium Recap 8 November 8 at Philadelphia Eagles L 27–31 6–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 9 November 15 Detroit Lions W 20–13 7–2 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 10 Los Angeles Rams L 26–30 7–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 11 November 29 New York Giants W 23–19 8–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 12 December 6 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–17 9–3 Busch Memorial Stadium Recap 13 December 13 Dallas Cowboys W 24–20 10–3 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 14 December 20 at Miami Dolphins L 21–23 10–4 Joe Robbie Stadium Recap 15 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–24 11–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
Regular season summaries Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 2 (Sunday, September 20, 1987): at Atlanta Falcons The Football Database. Retrieved 2026-Jan-21.
Point spread: Redskins –6½ Over/under: 41.5 (under) Time of game:
RedskinsGame statisticsFalcons21 First downs 1832–145 Rushes–yards 29–125198 Passing yards 27118–30–2 17–34–11–8 Sacked–yards 1–2190 Net passing yards 269325 Total yards 394111 Return yards 775–51.6 6–46.52–1 Fumbles–lost 2–05–54 Penalties–yards 8–5033:02 Time of possession 26:58
Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateWilliams18/3019832193585.1
Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Griffin1473013Bryant1570012Branch1303Williams1303Monk1−40−4
Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Bryant676135Sanders445014Clark352129Monk21216Dennison2805Yarber1505
Redskins KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPAHaji-Sheikh0–12–3
Missed Field Goals: Haji-Sheikh 33
Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckCox525851.6
Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngGriffin3289.300
Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngYarber46115.300
Redskins SacksSacksHamilton1.0
Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDWilburn1220220
Week 3: vs. New England Patriots (Canceled) The Redskins were scheduled to host the New England Patriots, but a players' strike was called following the conclusion of week 2. The week 3 slate of games were cancelled as a result. Games would resume the following week with team rosters mostly made up of replacement players.
Week 4: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
In the first game since the start of the strike, Washington hosted divisional rival St. Louis. The Cardinals' roster had a few players that crossed the picket line, while the Redskins' roster was completely made up of replacement players. Wide receiver Anthony Allen finished the game with 255 receiving yards, breaking the franchise record for receiving yards in a single game.
Week 5: at New York Giants
Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys
Days before the game, the players' strike was ended. However, the replacement players were still in use week six due to an owner-induced deadline for the regular players to return, with the union missing the deadline. Washington traveled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on ABC's Monday Night Football in what would be the last game to feature the replacement players. The Redskins' roster consisted entirely of replacement players while the Cowboys had several players that crossed the picket line, including star defensive tackle Randy White and running back Tony Dorsett. With the strike over, Washington was only one of two franchises to not have any players cross the picket line, with the other being the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Redskins would sign some of the replacement players to the regular roster. Players of note include wide receiver Anthony Allen and tight end Craig McEwen.
Week 7: vs. New York Jets
In the first game with its regular players since week 2, Washington hosted the New York Jets. Washington's offense struggled throughout most of the game, with fans booing the team and demanding that the replacement players be put into the game. The Redskins would come back in the fourth quarter to defeat the Jets 17–16, with kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh kicking the game-winning field goal with just under a minute left to play.
Week 8 (Sunday, November 1, 1987): at Buffalo Bills The Football Database. Retrieved 2026-Jan-23.
Point spread: Redskins –3½ Over/under: 45.0 (under) Time of game:
RedskinsGame statisticsBills24 First downs 1453–299 Rushes–yards 10–21132 Passing yards 29211–18–0 25–43–32–25 Sacked–yards 3–33107 Net passing yards 259406 Total yards 28092 Return yards 745–44.4 5–41.62–1 Fumbles–lost 2–16–45 Penalties–yards 7–5540:58 Time of possession 19:02
Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateScheoeder11/181322022551120.6
Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Rogers30125014Smith754016Monk354026Bryant946015Schroeder315113Griffin1505
Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Monk538011Bryant319212Clark272051Rogers13035
Redskins KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPAHaji-Sheikh2–23–3
Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckCox522244.4
Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngGriffin11515.000
Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngYarber22512.500
Redskins SacksSacksManley2.0Milot1.0
Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDColeman1280280Bowles1240240Wilburn10000
Week 9: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 11: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 12: vs. New York Giants
Week 13: at St. Louis Cardinals
Week 14: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 15: at Miami Dolphins
Week 16: at Minnesota Vikings
Standings
Postseason
Schedule Playoff Round Date Opponent (Seed) Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap Divisional at Chicago Bears (2) W 21–17 1–0 Soldier Field Recap NFC Championship January 17, 1988 Minnesota Vikings (5) W 17–10 2–0 RFK Stadium Recap Super Bowl XXII January 31, 1988 Denver Broncos (A1) W 42–10 3–0 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap
Game summaries NFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, January 10, 1988): at Chicago Bears The Football Database. Retrieved 2026-Jan-24.
Point spread: Redskins +4½ Over/under: 38.0 (push) Time of game: 3 hours, 5 minutes
RedskinsGame statisticsBears17 First downs 1529–72 Rushes–yards 30–110207 Passing yards 19714–29–1 15–29–31–7 Sacked–yards 5–27200 Net passing yards 170272 Total yards 280144 Return yards 1154–42.3 4–36.31–1 Fumbles–lost 1–03–20 Penalties–yards 5–5027:03 Time of possession 32:57
Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateWilliams14/2920711173269.2
Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Smith1666013Rogers61314Bryant3806Williams2−100Clark1−60−6Schroeder1−80−8
Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Sanders692032Clark456021Didier232118Warren116016Rogers111011
Redskins KickingFGM–FGAXPM–XPAHaji-Sheikh3–3
Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckCox416942.3
Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngSanders22512.5013Smith11919.0019Branch11212.0012
Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngGreen15252.0152Yarber2136.508
Redskins SacksSacksMann3.0Hamilton1.0Grant0.5Koch0.5
Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDDavis123023Wilburn1000Woodberry1000
After a first-round bye, Washington's playoff run began in the divisional round at Chicago. The Bears were the NFC's 2nd-seed, having finished the regular season at 11–4 and winning the NFC Central. Chicago jumped out to a 14–0 lead, but Washington would score 21 unanswered points, winning the game 21–17.
NFC Championship vs. Minnesota Vikings
After defeating the Bears in the divisional round, the Redskins hosted the surprising Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship. Minnesota just scraped into the playoffs, finishing the regular season 8–7, earning the NFC's fifth and final seed. The Vikings finished the regular season losing three of their last four, but pulled off two major upsets once the playoffs started. Minnesota defeated the 12–3 New Orleans Saints 44–10 in the wild card round, then took down the NFC's top seed, the San Francisco 49ers, 36–24 in the divisional round.
Washington would end Minnesota's run of upsets, limiting the Vikings' run game to only 76 yards and sacked quarterback Wade Wilson eight times. The Vikings' defense would limit Doug Williams, who finished the game only completing 9 passes on 26 attempts for 119 yards. The Redskins' defense prevented a game-tying touchdown in the final minute of regulation to give Washington the 17–10 victory and send the team to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in franchise history.
Super Bowl XXII