1977 Washington Redskins season

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

1977 Washington Redskins season
Owner Edward Bennett Williams
General manager George Allen
PresidentEdward Bennett Williams
Head coachGeorge Allen
Offensive coordinator Charlie Waller
Defensive coordinator LaVern Torgeson
Home field RFK Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1977 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 46th season overall, and would be the last under Hall of Fame head coach George Allen. The season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–4 record from 1976, but they would finish 9-5 and fail to qualify for postseason play.

Contents

Additionally; this would also mark the last season for several longtime Redskins stars in future Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Charley Taylor, tight end Jerry Smith, center Len Hauss, defensive tackle Bill Brundige and safety Brig Owens; all of whom retired after the season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1977 Washington Redskins Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
497 Duncan McColl Defensive endStanford
7190 Reggie Haynes Tight endUNLV
9246Mike NorthingtonRunning backPurdue
10273 James Sykes Running backRice
11300 Don Harris Defensive backRutgers
12327Curtis KirklandDefensive endMissouri

[1]

Roster

1977 Washington Redskins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserved


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 18at New York Giants L 17–200–1 Giants Stadium 76,086 Recap
2September 25 Atlanta Falcons W 10–61–1 RFK Stadium 55,031 Recap
3October 2 St. Louis Cardinals W 24–142–1RFK Stadium55,031 Recap
4October 9at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 10–03–1 Tampa Stadium 58,571 Recap
5October 16at Dallas Cowboys L 16–343–2 Texas Stadium 62,115 Recap
6October 23 New York Giants L 6–173–3RFK Stadium53,903 Recap
7October 30 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–174–3RFK Stadium55,031 Recap
8November 7at Baltimore Colts L 3–104–4 Memorial Stadium 57,740 Recap
9November 13at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–145–4 Veterans Stadium 60,702 Recap
10November 21 Green Bay Packers W 10–96–4RFK Stadium51,498 Recap
11November 27 Dallas Cowboys L 7–146–5RFK Stadium55,031 Recap
12December 4at Buffalo Bills W 10–07–5 Rich Stadium 22,975 Recap
13December 10at St. Louis Cardinals W 26–208–5 Busch Memorial Stadium 36,067 Recap
14December 17 Los Angeles Rams W 17–149–5RFK Stadium54,208 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

In front of a sell out crowd, Billy Kilmer lobbed a two-yard scoring pass to Mike Thomas in the third period and Atlanta failed to capitalize on several opportunities for touchdowns as Washington beats Atlanta. Despite the touchdown pass, Kilmer drew the ire of Washington's fans by throwing two interceptions and fumbling in Atlanta's territory.

Week 4

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to win their first ever game as they their proud defense held the Redskins to just 10 points and only 118 passing yards allowed but still they lost to the Redskins. All of the Redskins 10 points we're scored in the first period. Kicker Mark Moseley kicked a 44-yard field goal and Mike Thomas 6-yard td run were the only scores of the game for both teams. The Redskins limited the Bucs offense to minus 1 yard in the first half and never look back. Redskins Bill Brundige said it best about the Bucs when he said "I leave Tampa admiring their defense. It's a winner but the offense... coach John McKay is going to have to learn that the I-formation isn't going to work. He isn't at USC anymore playing Stanford.

Week 7

  • TV Network: CBS
  • Announcers: Don Criqui and Sonny Jurgensen

Joe Theismann started at quarterback for Washington and early on he was on his game as he threw two early touchdown passes and Mark Moseley kicked three field goals, Theismann replaced 38-yard-old Billy Kilmer, hit tight end Jean Fugett with a pair of 15-yard touchdown passes on Washington's first two possessions while Moseley kicked field goals of 46 and 30 yards. Moseley added a third one from 51 yards in the third quarter. The Eagles ran out of time in a bid to win, getting as close to the Redskins' 20-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 41 seconds to play. The Eagles though gave it a battle as Ron Jaworski tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Harold Carmichael, a 16-run touchdown by James Betterson and a 44-yard field goal made this a good game involving these two teams.

Week 9

  • TV Network: CBS
  • Announcers: Don Criqui and Sonny Jurgensen

In a rematch from two weeks ago, the Eagles opened up scoring with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Ron Jaworski to Tom Sullivan in the only score of the first half. The Redskins tied the score in the third period on a 6-play 65-yard drive and ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Joe Theismann to Frank Grant. The Eagles untied it in the fourth period as Jaworski scored from one yard. The Redskins then came back first Dallas Hickman blocked an Eagles punt and advanced it to the Philadelphia 19. A 10-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul moved the Skins to the 9 where Theismann and Calvin Hill each ran for 2 yards then Theismann hit Danny Buggs for 5 yards to tie the game. Later the Redskins' Mark Moseley kicked a 54-yard field goal to put the Skins ahead by 3, but back came the Eagles where they drove from their own 14 to the Washington 14 where after 3 incomplete passes. Horst Muhlmann came on and with 18 seconds to play miss an easy 31-yard field goal to seal an Redskins win.

Week 13

  • TV Network: CBS
  • Announcers: Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier

It was a key game for both teams. Washington drew first blood as the well rested Billy Kilmer tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Hill and later a 40-yard field goal by Mark Moseley. But back came the Cardinals, knowing that they need to win to stay in the playoff hunt, as they got a 32-yard field goal by Jim Bakken and later a 1-yard touchdown run by Steve Jones. Moseley then kicked a 23-yard field goal with 34 seconds left to give the Redskins a 13-10 halftime lead. Then Brad Dusek intercept a Hart pass in the second half at the Cardinals' 47 to set up Moseley's 42-yard field goal and the Redskins lead. Moseley also kicked a 37-yard field goal. The Redskins then added another touchdown as Mike Thomas scored from the 4 to give the Redskins a 26–13 lead. The Cardinals tried to muster their famed come from behind victories that was their trademark from 1974 to 1976, as quarterback Jim Hart hit Terry Metcalf for a 68-yard touchdown strike. Late in the game the Cardinals rallied to try to take the lead. Their first attempt ended on downs and then in their final fateful drive it ended with an interception by Eddie Brown to seal the Redskins win and with that loss The Cardinals we're out of the playoff picture.

Week 14

1234Total
Rams0001414
Redskins1403017

[2]

Standings

NFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Dallas Cowboys (1)1220.8577–111–1345212W4
Washington Redskins 950.6434–48–4196189W3
St. Louis Cardinals 770.5004–47–5272287L4
Philadelphia Eagles 590.3572–64–8220207W2
New York Giants 590.3573–55–7181265L2

Awards, records, and honors

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References

  1. "1977 Washington Redskins Draft". www.footballdb.com. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-30.