How Elite Were They? #50- Jay Schroeder’s 12-win 1986 Season

Originally published on Feb. 18, 2025

By Zane Miller

After being taken with the 83^rd pick overall in the 1985 NFL Draft, Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) quarterback Jay Schroeder started his pro football career as a backup to previous “How Elite Were They?” subject Joe Theismann. The Super Bowl XVII winner and 1983 MVP was showing no signs of slowing down, until suffering an infamous career-ending leg injury near the end of the 1985 season. This forced Schroeder into the starting role for the remainder of the year, though he proved he was up for the challenge as he won four of the last five games. Despite finishing with the regular season with a 10-6 record, Washington failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1981. Schroeder was determined not to let that happen again in 1986.

Now with a fresh start as the main signal caller, Schroeder led the Redskins to 5-0 start to the year, as the team quickly became the early Super Bowl favorites. Although the potential undefeated season came to an end the next week with a 30-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Schroeder bounced right back with a three-touchdown performance on October 19^th against the St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals. In addition to getting 232 passing yards, the sophomore QB led the Redskins to a 28-21 win. While the team did not win against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football a week later, Schroeder had what would be his career-best game in terms of passing yardage. In a 27-20 loss, he passed for an impressive 420 yards and one touchdown, with the touchdown and 241 of those yards being shared with star wide receiver Gary Clark. However, this performance also came along with a pair of interceptions.

Continuing to wield a hot hand, Schroeder needed every bit of that momentum in a shootout with the Minnesota Vikings on November 2^nd. In an exciting contest from start to finish, Schroeder threw for 378 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a game-winning 38-yard TD pass in overtime to Clark to give the Redskins the 44-38 triumph. Two more wins later, Washington was ready for their grudge match against the Cowboys on November 23^rd. The Redskins completely flipped the script from their first matchup, winning 41-14 after taking a commanding 34-0 lead at halftime. Schroeder compiled 325 passing yards with a pair of touchdowns, as Clark broke through for a touchdown catch and 152 of said yards. Although the team’s success tapered off somewhat in the final weeks as they only won two of their last four games, it was still enough to make the postseason at a 12-4 record with Schroeder under center for every game. Schroeder’s 4,109 total passing yards placed him second to Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, while his 22 touchdown passes put him in a tie for fifth with Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly (though Marino had nearly lapped the entire field in this category with 44 touchdowns).

Although the 12-4 season was enough to make the playoffs, it wasn’t enough to unseat the juggernaut Giants for the NFC East crown. Therefore, the Redskins would be forced to play in the Wild Card round, hosting the Los Angeles Rams on December 28^th. Although Schroeder put up a miniscule 90 yards passing with one touchdown, a great game by him wasn’t needed as the Washington defense tormented the Rams all afternoon. The Redskins forced a whopping four fumbles, all of which were recovered for turnovers, while the team also snagged two interceptions off of quarterback Jim Everett (who finished with one touchdown and 136 passing yards) to bring the total number of turnovers to six. With the defense doing their part and then some, Schroeder essentially handed the keys to the offense to running back and former first overall pick George Rogers, who ran for 115 yards on the day as the Redskins won 19-7.

The calendar turned over to 1987, which would go down as one of the most infamous years in NFL history, yet this was unbeknownst to the NFL world on January 3^rd as they focused their attention to the Redskins and Chicago Bears in the divisional round. Looking to replicate their legendary Super Bowl run from the previous season, the Bears looked promising as they held a 13-7 lead at halftime. However, the offense completely stalled after that, giving up two turnovers while the special teams unit also gifted Washington an extra possession on a muffed punt. The Redskins offense took advantage of these lapses, eventually winning 27-13 to reach the NFC Championship Game for the third time in five years. Schroeder passed for 184 yards and found future Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk for both of his touchdown passes, as Chicago’s third-string rookie quarterback Doug Flutie had one touchdown pass for 134 yards and two interceptions in what would be his only NFL postseason appearance for the next 12 years.

On January 11^th, Washington took on a very familiar opponent and likely not one they were particularly enthralled to see. The Giants also made it to the conference championships after a 49-3 massacre of the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round and, if that wasn’t enough, the Giants had also handed the Redskins two of their four losses during the regular season. While the game wasn’t quite as easy for New York as their beatdown against the 49ers, they were never in real danger of not making it to the Super Bowl. Washington struggled to get anything going offensively in the incredibly windy conditions, while the Giants capitalized on the added home field advantage to lead 17-0 at halftime. The Redskins defense was able to get in gear and force a second half shutout, but it was ultimately too little, too late as the Giants were on to Super Bowl XXI with a 17-0 victory. Giants quarterback Phil Simms actually had the same statline as Schroeder from the Wild Card game against the Rams as he too had a touchdown pass and 90 yards, though he was aided by an 87-yard rushing performance from running back Joe Morris. Schroeder threw for 195 yards with no touchdowns and an interception as the Giants went on to earn their first championship since 1956.

Schroeder’s breakout 1986 campaign put him on the map as one of the better quarterbacks in the league, though he would not come close to reaching the 4,000-yard passing mark again. Strangely enough, though, he was not done putting up 12-win seasons.