Redskins vs. Falcons Timeline
By Rich Tandler
Warpath Confidential Historian
The First Time
Redskins 33, Falcons 20 October 9, 1966 at DC Stadium: The expansion Falcons hung with the Redskins for most of the first half, but an 86-yard touchdown bomb from Sonny Jurgensen to Charley Taylor just before halftime put the Redskins in the lead to stay.
The Last Time
Falcons 24, Redskins 14, December 3, 2006 FedEx Field: The Redskins bolted to a 14-0 first quarter lead but the offense stalled after that. Atlanta prevailed on the strength of a pair of Michael Vick touchdown passes and a 69-yard Jerious Norwood touchdown run.
The Best Time
Redskins 24, Falcons 7, NFC Divisional Playoff Game, January 4, 1992, RFK Stadium. The Falcons came into rain-soaked RFK Stadium for this one with Jerry Glanville talking trash, Deion Sanders doing a showy little dance during pregame introductions, and celebrities such as heavyweight champ Evander Hollyfield and rapper M. C. Hammer strolling the sidelines with them.
All the Redskins brought with them was a game perfectly suited to the elements. “Bad weather. Cold weather. Rainy weather. What kind of weather is it? Redskins weather,” said Art Monk.
“We’re a running team that can pass,” said center Jeff Bostic. On the other hand, Atlanta was a passing team that couldn’t run.
Two second-quarter touchdown runs, one by Ricky Ervins, the other by Gerald Riggs, pushed the home team to a 14-0 lead. To their credit, the Falcons didn’t fold up; they fought back with an 80-yard touchdown drive that made it 14-7 at the half.
In the third quarter, a Chip Lohmiller field goal made it 17-7, but victory was not assured until Riggs culminated a 52-yard drive that ate up nearly seven minutes of the fourth quarter with a one-yard touchdown burst. Suddenly, the air was filled with yellow seat cushions. The items were a giveaway to fans as they entered the stadium and they used them as giant pieces of confetti as they tossed them onto the field in celebration.
“It was a great feeling,” said tackle Joe Jacoby. “The fans rubbed it back in Glanville’s face.”
The Worst Time
Falcons 21, Redskins 20, September 20, 1987, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Two bad placement kick snaps by Jeff Bostic cost the Redskins dearly in this one.
The first bad snap came late in the first half, forcing a short field goal attempt by new kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh to be aborted. That left the score tied at seven going into intermission.
Washington scored first in the second half on the second of Doug Williams’ three touchdown passes on the day. This one covered 18 yards to Gary Clark. On the point after attempt, however, Bostic’s snap was behind holder Eric Yarber and Haji-Sheikh never got the kick off. The old cliché about missed conversions coming back to haunt you was certainly applicable here as that was the difference in Washington’s one-point loss.
Series Odds and Ends
–Gary Clark, Art Monk, and Mark Rypien had career days against Atlanta in the teams’ 1991 regular-season meeting, a 56-17 Redskin win at RFK. Clark had just four catches, but averaged over 50 yards on each of them, with scoring receptions of 61, 19, and 82 yards. Monk caught seven for 164 and two touchdowns. His defender was flagged for pass interference on each of his scoring grabs. And Rypien joined Sammy Baugh as the only Redskins quarterback to throw for six touchdowns in a game.
–Andre Collins closed out the scoring in that rout with a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown. Who threw the pick? The Falcons’ garbage-time quarterback was rookie Brett Favre.
