Remembering Washington football at RFK Stadium in the 1980s
Joe Gibbs (1981-1992) and his teams were 124-60 (.673) which is slightly less successful than George Allen’s tenure in Washington. However, in the 1980s, Gibbs produced four NFC Championship games, three NFC Championships, three Super Bowls and two Super Bowl victories. Joe Gibbs was an astonishing 11-3 in the playoffs in the ’80s.
Gibbs in 1981, lost his first five games and not one was a single-score game. Gibbs later said he feared he may not win an NFL game before he was fired.
I recall little Joe Washington having big games in RFK wins over the Patriots and Lions. In that Lions game, the lead changed hands six times when Mark Moseley won it with a field goal 33-31. Some may recall Mike Nelms with a 75-yard punt return touchdown in that Patriots win as well.
Washington turned it around in that ’81 season winning their final five games in RFK, finishing the season 8-8. RFK was buzzing as fans excitedly anticipated 1982.
From 1982 I’ll always recall Joe Theismann going deep to Charley Brown in the 13-9 win over the Eagles. I was present at RFK when Joe Theismann executed a great block, allowing Joe Washington to score. RFK went crazy on that play! Moseley kicked the game-winner in the snow in the 15-14 win over the Giants.
The ’82 playoffs at RFK were magical. Art Monk was injured, but Alvin Garrett was awesome, hauling in three Joe Theismann touchdown passes in the 31-7 victory over the Lions.
The next week, John Riggins rushed for 185 yards and bowed to the RFK crowd; Washington defeated the Vikings 21-7, and late, fans started chanting, “We want Dallas.”
The NFC Championship game against Dallas was so intense as RFK fans during warmups chanted, “we want Dallas.” Defensive end Dexter Manley knocked quarterback Danny White out of the game (literally), then rushed Gary Hogeboom, and tipped his screen pass, which Darryl Grant intercepted for a touchdown. To this day, I still believe that play and moment was the greatest experienced at RFK, as Washington defeated Dallas 31-17 to go to Super Bowl XVII.
The ’83 season saw Washington down 35-20, comeback to beat the Raiders 37-35 when Theismann found Washington in the end zone. The season finale at RFK was ugly when fans booed the Redskins, trailing the Giants 19-7. But the team recovered to win 31-22.
The Rams came to town for the playoffs and were crushed 51-7, and the 49ers were down 21-0. Washington held on to win 24-21 earning a trip to Super Bowl XVIII.
In 1984 at RFK, Washington crushed Dallas 34-14; Art Monk broke the single-season reception record (106) in one of the most exciting season finales, I recall, a 29-27 win over the Cardinals.
Joe Theismann on a 1985 Monday Night Football game brought RFK to a stilled silence when he suffered a career-ending compound fracture of the lower leg. Jay Schroeder’s first pass was a bomb to Art Monk as Washington came from behind to defeat the Giants 23-21.
#OTD in 1985, Lawrence Taylor ends the career of Joe Theismann with a vicious sack that breaks his leg on Monday Night Football. #TogetherBlue #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/sg7s6Xceco
— Gershon Rabinowitz (@GershOnline) November 18, 2020
The most exciting 1986 win at RFK came when Washington trailed the Vikings 38-26, rallied to tie at 38-38, and then Gary Clark caught a short pass and ran down the left sideline for a thrilling 44-38 win. The most anticipated RFK game was the Giants game with both teams at 11-2, but the Giants won 24-14 and went on to win Super Bowl XXI.
In the 1987 NFC Championship game, Doug Williams had his worst day as a Washington quarterback. But Williams did find Gary Clark in the end zone for a 17-10 lead. The Redskins defensive stand inside the ten to end the game was epic as Joe Gibbs, knees on a towel, actually turned pale, later saying he thought he was going to pass out.
In 1988, Washington trailed Pittsburgh 29-20 late, but then Williams rallied the team with two scores for a 30-29 win as Williams passed for 430 yards. Later in the season, the Saints led at RFK 24-17, but Williams again led and Washington won 27-24.
What I have always remembered about RFK games in 1989 is the heart-breaking losses in the season’s first two games. Raul Allegre kicked a 52-yard field goal as the Giants won 27-24. The next week Washington led the Eagles 20-0. Gerald Riggs rushed for 221 yards, yet the Eagles rallied for a 42-37 win.
