Putting 2-0 in perspective on bye-week

The Washington Redskins’ Monday-night miracle Sept. 19 put the team where few thought they would be heading into the bye weekend – 2-0 and tied for first place in the NFC East.

This bye is the best thing that has happened to Redskins fans. A week off is almost as magical as the off-season, where we believe the sky is the limit and the future seems to hold nothing but promise of championship rings and Super Bowl trophies.

With only one-eighth of the season completed, just how realistic are these dreams?

One way to try to predict how a team will do in the future is to go back and see what they have done in the past. This is something Redskins fans do very well – live in the past, especially a past in which Joe Gibbs led the team.

In his 14th year as head coach, this season is his fourth beginning with a 2-0 record and his first in his second tenure. In his three previous 2-0 starts, two ended with world championship victories.

In 1982 the team jumped ahead to 2-0 after beating the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. From there the Redskins took advantage of a strike-shortened season, claiming the top seed in the playoffs with a 7-1 record, with the only defeat of the season coming in a 24-10 loss to Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys.

Joe Gibbs had his revenge against his rival team’s head coach when the two met again in the NFC championship game. Bruising running back John Riggins ground out 140 yards and led Washington to a 31-17 victory over Dallas. With a 2-0 start in 1982, the Redskins went on to win Super Bowl XVII 27-17 over the Miami Dolphins.

Joe Gibbs had his second 2-0 beginning as head coach four years later when Washington won their first five games on the way to an 11-2 start. The team finished the year 12-4 and entered the post-season as a wild card playoff team.

1986, however, was not the year the Skins would win a Super Bowl, losing to the New York Giants 17-0 in the NFC Championship game. Giants coach Bill Parcells, who now coaches the Dallas Cowboys, got the best of Gibbs that season with two regular season victories as well as the season-ender for Washington.

Fast-forward five years to 1991 when Joe Gibbs found his team starting the season 2-0 for the third time in his career. For a lot of students at VCU, we all remember the 1991 season as the one we were actually old enough to pay attention.

The Redskins opened the year with victories over the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, scoring 78 points during that span. Offense would set the tone for the year as Washington started out 11-0 and finished the year 14-2.

In the divisional playoff round, the Skins moved past the Atlanta Falcons, winning 24-7 at RFK stadium. Washington met Detroit again in the NFC championship game, winning 41-10 and advancing to Gibbs’ fourth Super Bowl in 10 years. Gibbs won his third Super Bowl title when the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24 with the help of Super Bowl XXVI MVP quarterback Mark Rypien.

What does this all tell us? The Redskins have been very successful under Joe Gibbs when they start out the season with two straight victories. Can this year’s team repeat that success?

Many can make the reasonable argument that this year’s squad is the weakest of all the teams that have gone 2-0 under his helm, as well as one of the weakest undefeated teams in the league this season.

Without the two big plays at the end of the Dallas game Monday, Washington looked horrific on offense. The defense held up on fourth down at the end of the game, but if it wasn’t for a missed field goal by Dallas kicker Jose Cortez in the first quarter, the Skins might not have been in the position to make the defensive play.

But they did. Two bombs won the game in the end for the Redskins and the team had the week off to revel in their success. They return to face an overrated Seattle Seahawks team at home Oct. 2, where I believe they will extend their winning streak to four in a row, including last year’s season-ending victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

Gibbs won a Super Bowl in his second season as head coach in 1982, and has a chance to repeat his success in his second season in his second stint as coach.