Head coach Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins looks on.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, Md. – Bye to the bye.
The Redskins return to action after a bye week when the team plays host to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at FedExField. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
The Redskins finished the first quarter of their season with a 2-2 record despite facing the league’s toughest opening schedule, statistically. Including action during Washington’s bye in Week 5, the Redskins’ first four opponents are now a collective 14-6, including a 12-4 mark in games against teams other than Washington.
Sunday’s contest between the Redskins and 49ers will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two franchises, including postseason play. The 49ers hold a 20-10-1 all-time advantage in the series, including a 17-9-1 mark in regular season play. The Redskins will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak in their series against the 49ers. A win would be Washington’s first in the series since a 52-17 win at FedExField on Oct. 23, 2005.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
San Francisco is coached by first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan spent four seasons (2010-13) as offensive coordinator of the Redskins. In 2013, the Redskins finished ninth in the NFL in total offense (369.7) and fifth in rushing yards per game (135.3) as WR Pierre Garçon, now a member of the 49ers, set a franchise record and led the NFL with 113 receptions for a career-high 1,346 yards.
“He’s got talent, that’s for sure,” Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said of Shanahan. “They’ve lost four games by three points or less, I believe, two overtime games, so they’re right there. They had the Rams on their heels. They had a horrific – unlucky, I should say – offensive pass interference call that cost them, so they’re right there.”
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan of the Washington Redskins.
(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
“I’ve been so fortunate to have Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, those people leading me my first few years,” Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins explained. “And then to have Sean McVay, Jay Gruden, Matt Cavanaugh, I’ve felt like has had a big impact on my career, and now Kevin O’Connell. I really feel like that’s seven coaches that I would really – if I was ever head coach, I would want to hire all of them to be on my staff because I think so highly of them. Kyle stands out looking back just because the information we have now, we didn’t have then. No one knew what was going to happen and Kyle believed in me when it was just potential. There was no production. I hadn’t done anything to earn his belief and he believed in me, and Mike did too, and Matt LaFleur for that matter.”
Sunday represents the Redskins’ annual Breast Cancer Awareness game, which kicks off the team’s awareness efforts throughout the entire month of October. Fans on Sunday will be welcomed by Tanya Snyder, wife of Redskins owner Dan Snyder, and hundreds of Zeta Tau Alpha members distributing THINK-PINK!® ribbons and breast cancer awareness educational materials. For more information on the team’s Breast Cancer Awareness initiatives, see Page 3.
