1976 Washington Redskins season

1976 Washington Redskins season
Owner	Jack Kent Cooke
Head coach	George Allen
Home field	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 20–35

The 1976 Washington Redskins season was the franchise’s 45th overall and 40th in Washington, D.C. The season began with the team trying to improve on their 8–6 record from 1975, which they did, finishing 10-4, second in the NFC East behind the Dallas Cowboys. They would be eliminated from the NFL playoffs by the Minnesota Vikings by the score of 35-20. This was the first season as a Redskin for Hall of Fame running back John Riggins, signed as a free agent after spending the first five seasons of his career with the New York Jets. This was also the last season in which the Redskins would make the playoffs under Hall of Fame head coach George Allen.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

1976 Washington Redskins Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
14	393	Quinn Buckner	Defensive back	Indiana

Roster

1976 Washington Redskins roster

	Quarterbacks 17 Billy Kilmer  7 Joe Theismann Running backs 43 Larry Brown 35 Calvin Hill 44 John Riggins FB 22 Mike Thomas Wide receivers 88 Danny Buggs 85 Brian Fryer 46 Frank Grant 80 Roy Jefferson Tight ends 84 Jean Fugett 87 Jerry Smith		Offensive linemen 56 Len Hauss C 75 Terry Hermeling G 54 Bob Kuziel C 73 Paul Laaveg G 62 Ray Schoenke T 74 George Starke T Defensive linemen 77 Bill Brundige DT 65 Dave Butz DT 61 Dennis Johnson DE 79 Ron McDole DE 72 Diron Talbert DT		Linebackers 59 Brad Dusek 55 Chris Hanburger 53 Harold McLinton 67 Rusty Tillman Defensive backs 37 Pat Fischer CB 27 Ken Houston SS 20 Joe Lavender CB 23 Brig Owens SS 30 Bryant Salter FS 13 Jake Scott FS 45 Gerard Williams CB Special teams 4 Mike Bragg P 3 Mark Moseley K		Reserve lists Practice squad {{{practice_squad}}} Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 12	New York Giants	W 19–17	1–0	RFK Stadium	54,245	Recap
2	September 19	Seattle Seahawks	W 31–7	2–0	RFK Stadium	53,174	Recap
3	September 27	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	3–0	Veterans Stadium	66,005	Recap
4	October 3	at Chicago Bears	L 7–33	3–1	Soldier Field	52,105	Recap
5	October 10	Kansas City Chiefs	L 30–33	3–2	RFK Stadium	53,060	Recap
6	October 17	Detroit Lions	W 20–7	4–2	RFK Stadium	45,908	Recap
7	October 25	St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–10	5–2	RFK Stadium	48,325	Recap
8	October 31	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–20	5–3	RFK Stadium	55,004	Recap
9	November 7	at San Francisco 49ers	W 24–21	6–3	Candlestick Park	56,134	Recap
10	November 14	at New York Giants	L 9–12	6–4	Giants Stadium	72,975	Recap
11	November 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 16–10	7–4	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,833	Recap
12	November 28	Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–0	8–4	RFK Stadium	54,292	Recap
13	December 5	at New York Jets	W 37–16	9–4	Shea Stadium	46,638	Recap
14	December 12	at Dallas Cowboys	W 27–14	10–4	Texas Stadium	59,916	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 1: New York Giants at Washington Redskins

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	3	7	0	7	17
Redskins	0	3	9	7	19

at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.

• Date: September 12, 1976
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game attendance: 54,245
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui and Sonny Jurgenson
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Giants Redskins

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYG WSH "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 19

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Venue	Attendance	Game recap
Divisional	December 18	at Minnesota Vikings (1)	L 20–35	Metropolitan Stadium	47,221	Recap

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys(2)	11	3	0	.786	6–2	9–3	296	194	L1
Washington Redskins(4)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	291	217	W4
St. Louis Cardinals	10	4	0	.714	5–3	9–3	309	267	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	4	10	0	.286	2–6	4–8	165	286	W1
New York Giants	3	11	0	.214	1–7	3–9	170	250	L1