Redskins Evoke Some Bad Memories : Rams: Robinson compares 11-1 Washington to Bears of 1985 and 49ers of 1989, both championship teams.

After 11 weeks of chasing perfection, the Washington Redskins, losers for the first time last Sunday, have the mundane chore of playing the Rams, a team with nine losses, but a nervous Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs says all he wants to do is find a way to win.

Ram Coach John Robinson, who might be heading into the final month of his tenure, looks at the Redskins (11-1) and sees everything his team isn’t, and might never be.

“I compare them to the (Super Bowl-winning) ’85 Bears and ’89 49ers,” Robinson said. “We played both in the NFC Championship games (losing to Chicago, 24-0, and to San Francisco, 30-3).

“(The Redskins) are doing a lot of those kinds of things, dominant or high on the list in every category. Playing runaway games with people, just zoom ! just running by, which was true of both of those teams--seemingly just brushing teams aside.

“So, I would say there’s a comparison. Now they’ve got a long ways to go. (They were) set back a little by that loss last week (to Dallas), but it probably woke them up.”

What the Redskins, awakened or not, are doing this season is staying consistent, in all aspects of their play.

When the Redskins eventually broke down and lost to the Cowboys, it was because the consistency vanished, although Anaheim Stadium has been known to solve that problem for opponents.

The outmanned Ram defense has tried to beat offenses by keying on one aspect and daring the teams to try something else, which they usually have. Against the Redskins, who have the No. 3 offense in the NFL, that’s not a path to glory.

“It’s a challenge and you can’t say anything else,” said Ram defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher. “We’re not expected to do well against them, I think. So we’re the big underdog, and all you can do is try to rise to the challenge.

“The thing we can’t do is, we can’t afford to stack the running game or drop back into the passing game because their offensive scheme is set to take advantage of what you’re doing.

“This year, the Redskins are clicking on all cylinders.”

But Gibbs attributes most of the Redskins’ success to surprising performances by young players and courageous play, not overwhelming talent and coaching genius.

“I don’t feel that about our football team, that we’re a dominant football team,” Gibbs said. “I can definitely tell you that. I think we’re a team, and it showed up (against Dallas), that we have to play smart and we have to play extremely hard to win games.

“I think our (Super Bowl-runner-up) ’83 team had probably fewer questions about it than this team has. We’ve got a young quarterback, (and) the interior part of our defense--our two tackles, middle linebacker, free safety and strong safety--all are brand new to our team this year.

“We’ve had a lot of changes really, and for it all to come together like this has really been a miraculous thing.”

The Rams, he says, aren’t too different from his team--except the Rams have lost the close games, the Redskins have won them. The Rams are headed toward a possible coaching change, Washington toward the Super Bowl.

“I say (the Rams have a chance) because anybody that can go back and beat the Giants at their place (as the Rams did in Week 2) certainly has tremendous respect here,” Gibbs said. “And I say it because I feel like everybody in this league is pretty close.

“It’s just that when things start going bad for us sometimes, it’s hard to find something to give you a win, and sometimes when you’re going good, it’s hard to lose it.”

Ram Notes

The Redskins have the NFL’s fifth-best defense against the run, but they gave up some big rushing plays to the Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith last Sunday. . . . The Rams have moved 300-pound Bern Brostek to left guard to beef up the interior line. . . . The Redskins have 42 sacks this season, third-highest total in the league. The Rams have 13, third-lowest. The Redskins have surrendered only four against Mark Rypien, or 12 fewer than anybody else. The Rams have surrendered 22.