Associated Press
It's been 20 Long Years!
My young adult son and I were chatting last night regarding Redskins recent history.
He mentioned remembering when he was a young kid the Redskins defeating the Tampa Bay Bucs in Tampa in a playoff game.
His memory was correct, as the Redskins, with only 9 first downs and a mere 120 yards, had won 17-10 in an intense defensive battle in the 2005 playoffs.
He then inquired, when was the last time the Redskins won a playoff game prior to that Tampa game?
From memory I told him it was during the 1999 season when the Redskins easily defeated the Detroit Lions 27-13.
When our discussion had concluded, I then decided to read about that game and something jumped out at me right away.
The date of the game was January 8, 2000.
My son was asking me about the last Redskins home playoff win on the 20th anniversary to the very day itself!
It has been 20 years since the Burgundy and Gold have been victorious in a home playoff game?
Yes, 20 years. Their only home playoff win in their current home.
The 1999 Redskins (10-6) were the NFC East Champs, earning the number 3 seed and thus hosted the number 6 seed Detroit Lions (8-8) at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium (now FedExField) before 79,411 fans.
Washington scored on each of its first four offensive possessions and five of six possessions in the first half.
Running Back Steven Davis rushed for two first-half touchdowns and Brad Johnson connected with Albert Connell for a 30-yard touchdown and the Redskins were routing the Lions 27-0 at the half.
Detroit would only muster one offensive touchdown and also had a blocked field goal return resulting in the 27-13 final score.
The game was not a competitive contest.
The Redskins had the ball for 38:28 and the Lions only 21:22, as Davis rushed for 119 yards on 15 carries and Brian Mitchell totaled 55 yards in 7 carries.
An ironic twist was the Lions starting quarterback had been a round-seven Redskins draft pick in 1995.
Gus Frerotte instantly had been better than the overall number 3 pick in the draft quarterback Heath Shuler and seized the starter’s role from Shuler.
But a disastrous 1998 season, led to Frerotte losing the job to Trent Green, and Frerotte would never drop back to pass again for Washington.
Gus Frerotte is more known for this but he's tied to the last time the Redskins won a home playoff game.
NFL.com
The next week in the divisional playoff round in Tampa, Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff of the second half, giving the Redskins a 10-0 lead over the Buccaneers.
Brian Mitchell did it all in his NFL career.
The Sporting News
Brett Conway kicked a 48-yard field goal providing the Redskins a 13-0 lead in the third quarter.
However, the Redskins could not maintain the lead, eventually losing to the Bucs 14-13.
Washington hosted playoff games in only 2012 and 2015 to Seattle and Green Bay respectively.
And that’s it, no more home playoff games for the home fans to see.
There were road playoff games closing the 2005 and 2007 seasons, losing to Seattle both times.
Yesterday was 20 years to the day, the last home playoff win for the Washington Redskins.
Here’s to hoping new Washington Redskins Head Coach Ron Rivera and his new coaching staff can bring enough wins to Washington that the Redskins will be hosting and winning playoff games soon.
Ivan Lambert is a lifelong die-hard Washington Redskins fan, raised in Berryville, Virginia. He is married and the father of two fine young men. He is currently a sports correspondent for The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida and can be found on Twitter @IvanLambert18
