Washington Redskins Complete Turnaround

The Washington Redskins had been a moribund franchise for 13 seasons after Joe Gibbs retired for the first time in 1992, but a successful 2005 season brought the team back to respectability.

Gibbs was responsible for the team’s resurgence as he brought back stability to the franchise in his second tour of duty of head coach of the Redskins.

In the 12 seasons Gibbs was retired, the Redskins were a model of instability with five head coaches and constant roster turnover with high-priced free agents which did not yield results as the Washington only made the playoffs only one time during those 12 wayward years.

That all changed under Gibbs. He brought instant credibility to the franchise and slowly brought stability to the franchise.

Before his first season as head coach, the Redskins traded for Clinton Portis and signed Mark Brunell, but the Redskins struggled throughout the season and finished 6-10.

The offseason before 2005 campaign was the quietest in Washington since Gibbs’ first tenure as coach. Uncharacteristically, the Redskins did not get heavily involved on the free agent market, and their only significant move was trading disgruntled receiver Laveraneous Coles to the Jets for Santana Moss.

As a result in his second year back, Gibbs led the Redskins to the playoffs for the first time in six years in a season that could only be described a wild.

The Redskins jumped out to a 3-0 start, including a thrilling Monday Night Football victory over bitter rival Dallas 14-13. Washington erased a 13-0 deficit in the final 3:56 when Brunell tossed two long touchdowns passes to Moss to give the Redskins the win.

After the 3-0 start, the Redskins proceeded to lose six of their next eight games, including three in a row, to fall to 5-6 with five games to go.Following a loss to the San Diego Chargers, the offensive line told the coaching staff to get let the line would carry the Redskins to the playoffs.

From that point, Washington took on the personality of the offensive line which was an extension of Gibbs and offensive line coach Joe Bugel, and the played a physical brand of football that wore down opponents and made few mistakes.

Behind the offensive line, the Redskins went on to win the last five games of the regular to earn the playoff berth. The line opened up holes for the running backs as the Redskins rushed for 844 yards and had seven rushing touchdowns during the streak.

Clinton Portis was the main beneficiary of the offensive line’s stellar play as he compiled 573 yards and six touchdowns in the team’s final five games.

The signature game during the five-game run was against the Cowboys. This time the game was never in doubt as the Redskins decimated their rivals 35-7, highlighted by three touchdown receptions by tight end Chris Cooley.

The Redskins clinched a playoff berth with a hard-fought 31-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on the last game of the season, which Washington trailed entering the fourth quarter.

Washington entered the playoffs as the sixth-seed and had to travel to Tampa Bay to play third-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round.

The Redskins jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and let the defense do the rest as Washington upset the Buccaneers 17-10 despite gaining only 120 yards of total offense in the game.

Washington’s season ended a week later with a 20-10 loss to the eventual NFC champion Seattle Seahawks, but what Redskins fans will remember about the 2005 season is the return to respectability the team achieved.