This list of seasons completed by the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL) documents the season-by-season records of them from 1932 to present, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches. The team was founded as the Boston Braves, being named after the local baseball franchise.[1] The team changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937.[2] In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly became the Washington Football Team, before choosing the Washington Commanders as their permanent name in 2022.
Washington has played over 1,000 games. In those games, the club won five professional American football championships including two NFL Championships and three Super Bowls. The franchise captured ten NFL divisional titles and six NFL conference championships.[3] Washington won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowl XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in and lost the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 Championship games, as well as Super Bowl VII and XVIII. They have made 24 postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23 wins and 19 losses. Only five teams have appeared in more Super Bowls than Washington: the New England Patriots (eleven), the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos (eight), and San Francisco 49ers (six); Washington's five appearances are tied with the Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.
All of Washington's league titles were attained during two ten-year spans. From 1936 to 1945, Washington went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them.[4] The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where Washington appeared in the postseason seven times, captured four Conference titles, and won three Super Bowls out of four appearances.[4] Washington has also experienced failure in its history. The most notable period of failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which they did not have a single postseason appearance.[5] During this period, Washington went without a single winning season between 1956 and 1968.[5] The franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing in 1961.[5]
Seasons
NFL champions (1920–1969) | Super Bowl champions (1970–present) | Conference champions | Division champions | Wild card berth |
Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | Awards | Head coaches | Owners | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | W | L | T | |||||||||
Boston Braves | ||||||||||||
1932 | 1932 | NFL | 4th | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | Lud Wray | George Preston Marshall | |||
Boston Redskins | ||||||||||||
1933 | 1933 | NFL | East | 3rd | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | William Henry Dietz | George Preston Marshall | ||
1934 | 1934 | NFL | East | 2nd | 6 | 6 | 0 | — | ||||
1935 | 1935 | NFL | East | 4th | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | Eddie Casey | |||
1936 | 1936 | NFL | East | 1st | 7 | 5 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (Packers) 6–21 | Ray Flaherty | |||
Washington Redskins | ||||||||||||
1937 | 1937 | NFL | East | 1st | 8 | 3 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (1) (at Bears) 28–21 | Ray Flaherty | George Preston Marshall | ||
1938 | 1938 | NFL | East | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 2 | — | ||||
1939 | 1939 | NFL | East | 2nd | 8 | 2 | 1 | — | ||||
1940 | 1940 | NFL | East | 1st | 9 | 2 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (Bears) 0–73 | ||||
1941 | 1941 | NFL | East | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | ||||
1942 | 1942 | NFL | East | 1st | 10 | 1 | 0 | Won NFL Championship (2) (Bears) 14–6 | ||||
1943 | 1943 | NFL | East | 1st | 6 | 3 | 1 | Won Divisional playoff (at Giants) 28–0 Lost NFL Championship (at Bears) 21–41 |
Dutch Bergman | |||
1944 | 1944 | NFL | East | 3rd | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | Dudley DeGroot | |||
1945 | 1945 | NFL | East | 1st | 8 | 2 | 0 | Lost NFL Championship (at Rams) 14–15 | ||||
1946 | 1946 | NFL | East | T-3rd | 5 | 5 | 1 | — | Turk Edwards | |||
1947 | 1947 | NFL | East | 4th | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | ||||
1948 | 1948 | NFL | East | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | — | ||||
1949 | 1949 | NFL | East | 4th | 4 | 7 | 1 | — | John Whelchel (3–3–1) Herman Ball (1–4) | |||
1950 | 1950 | NFL | American | 6th | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | Herman Ball | |||
1951 | 1951 | NFL | American | 3rd | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | Herman Ball (0–3) Dick Todd (5–4) | |||
1952 | 1952 | NFL | American | T-5th | 4 | 8 | 0 | — | Curly Lambeau | |||
1953 | 1953 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | ||||
1954 | 1954 | NFL | Eastern | 5th | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | Joe Kuharich | |||
1955 | 1955 | NFL | Eastern | 2nd | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | Joe Kuharich (COY) | |||
1956 | 1956 | NFL | Eastern | 3rd | 6 | 6 | 0 | — | ||||
1957 | 1957 | NFL | Eastern | 4th | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | ||||
1958 | 1958 | NFL | Eastern | 4th | 4 | 7 | 1 | — | ||||
1959 | 1959 | NFL | Eastern | 5th | 3 | 9 | 0 | — | Mike Nixon | |||
1960 | 1960[6] | NFL | Eastern | 6th | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | ||||
1961 | 1961[7] | NFL | Eastern | 7th | 1 | 12 | 1 | — | Bill McPeak | |||
1962 | 1962 | NFL | Eastern | 4th | 5 | 7 | 2 | — | ||||
1963 | 1963 | NFL | Eastern | 6th | 3 | 11 | 0 | — | ||||
1964 | 1964 | NFL | Eastern | T-3rd | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | Charley Taylor (OROY) | |||
1965 | 1965 | NFL | Eastern | 4th | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | Edward Bennett Williams | |||
1966 | 1966 | NFL | Eastern | 5th | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | Otto Graham | |||
1967[8] | 1967 | NFL | Eastern | Capitol | 3rd | 5 | 6 | 3 | — | |||
1968 | 1968 | NFL | Eastern | Capitol | 3rd | 5 | 9 | 0 | — | |||
1969 | 1969 | NFL | Eastern | Capitol | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 2 | — | Vince Lombardi | ||
1970 | 1970 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | Bill Austin | ||
1971 | 1971 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 9 | 4 | 1 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 20–24 | George Allen (COY) | George Allen | |
1972 | 1972 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 16–3 Won NFC Championship (Cowboys) 26–3 Lost Super Bowl VII (vs. Dolphins) 7–14 |
Larry Brown (MVP, OPOY) | ||
1973 | 1973 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd[9] | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 20–27 | |||
1974 | 1974 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Rams) 10–19 | Jack Kent Cooke | ||
1975 | 1975 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 8 | 6 | 0 | — | Mike Thomas (OROY) | ||
1976 | 1976 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd[10] | 10 | 4 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 20–35 | |||
1977 | 1977 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd[11] | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | |||
1978[12] | 1978 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | John Riggins (CBPOY) | Jack Pardee | |
1979 | 1979 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd[13] | 10 | 6 | 0 | — | Jack Pardee (COY) | ||
1980 | 1980 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | |||
1981 | 1981 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | Joe Gibbs | ||
1982[14] | 1982 | NFL | NFC | 1st | 8 | 1 | 0 | Won First Round Playoffs (Lions) 31–7 Won Second Round Playoffs (Vikings) 21–7 Won NFC Championship (Cowboys) 31–17 Won Super Bowl XVII (3) (vs. Dolphins) 27–17 |
Joe Gibbs (COY) Mark Moseley (MVP) John Riggins (SB MVP) Joe Theismann (WPMOY) | |||
1983 | 1983 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 14 | 2 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Rams) 51–7 Won NFC Championship (49ers) 24–21 Lost Super Bowl XVIII (vs. Raiders) 9–38 |
Joe Gibbs (COY) Joe Theismann (MVP, OPOY) | ||
1984 | 1984 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 11 | 5 | 0 | Lost Divisional Playoffs (Bears) 19–23 | |||
1985 | 1985 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd[15] | 10 | 6 | 0 | — | |||
1986 | 1986 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 12 | 4 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 19–7 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 27–13 Lost NFC Championship (at Giants) 0–17 |
|||
1987[16] | 1987 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 11 | 4 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (at Bears) 21–17 Won NFC Championship (Vikings) 17–10 Won Super Bowl XXII (4) (vs. Broncos) 42–10 |
Doug Williams (SB MVP) | ||
1988 | 1988 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | — | |||
1989 | 1989 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 10 | 6 | 0 | — | |||
1990 | 1990 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Eagles) 20–6 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 10–28 |
|||
1991 | 1991 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 14 | 2 | 0 | Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) 24–7 Won NFC Championship (Lions) 41–10 Won Super Bowl XXVI (5) (vs. Bills) 37–24 |
Joe Gibbs (COY) Mark Rypien (SB MVP)[17] | ||
1992 | 1992 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd[18] | 9 | 7 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Vikings) 24–7 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at 49ers) 13–20 |
|||
1993 | 1993 | NFL | NFC | East | 5th | 4 | 12 | 0 | — | Richie Petitbon | ||
1994 | 1994 | NFL | NFC | East | 5th | 3 | 13 | 0 | — | Norv Turner | ||
1995 | 1995 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | |||
1996 | 1996[19] | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd[20] | 9 | 7 | 0 | — | Darrell Green (WPMOY)[21] | ||
1997 | 1997[22] | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 8 | 7 | 1 | — | |||
1998 | 1998 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | |||
1999 | 1999 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Lions) 27–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Buccaneers) 13–14 |
Daniel Snyder | ||
2000 | 2000 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | Norv Turner (7–6) Terry Robiskie (1–2) | ||
2001 | 2001 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | Marty Schottenheimer | ||
2002 | 2002 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | — | Steve Spurrier | ||
2003 | 2003 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | |||
2004 | 2004 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | Joe Gibbs | ||
2005 | 2005 | NFL | NFC | East | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 0 | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Buccaneers) 17–10 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Seahawks) 10–20 |
|||
2006 | 2006 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | |||
2007 | 2007 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Seahawks) 14–35 | |||
2008 | 2008 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 8 | 8 | 0 | — | Jim Zorn | ||
2009 | 2009 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | — | |||
2010 | 2010 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 6 | 10 | 0 | — | Mike Shanahan | ||
2011 | 2011 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | |||
2012 | 2012 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 10 | 6 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Seahawks) 14–24 | Robert Griffin III (OROY) | ||
2013 | 2013 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | — | |||
2014 | 2014 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 4 | 12 | 0 | — | Jay Gruden | ||
2015 | 2015 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 9 | 7 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Packers) 18–35 | |||
2016 | 2016 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 8 | 7 | 1 | — | |||
2017 | 2017 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | — | |||
2018 | 2018 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 7 | 9 | 0 | — | |||
2019 | 2019 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 3 | 13 | 0 | — | Jay Gruden (0–5) Bill Callahan (3–8) | ||
Washington Football Team | ||||||||||||
2020 | 2020 | NFL | NFC | East | 1st | 7 | 9 | 0 | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Buccaneers) 23–31 | Chase Young (DROY) Alex Smith (CBPOY) |
Ron Rivera | Daniel Snyder |
2021 | 2021 | NFL | NFC | East | 3rd | 7 | 10 | 0 | — | |||
Washington Commanders | ||||||||||||
2022 | 2022 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 8 | 8 | 1 | — | Ron Rivera | Daniel Snyder | |
2023 | 2023 | NFL | NFC | East | 4th | 4 | 13 | 0 | — | Josh Harris | ||
Total | 629 | 643 | 29 | Regular season | ||||||||
23 | 20 | — | Postseason | |||||||||
652 | 663 | 29 | Total | |||||||||
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ "History: History by Decades". Washington Redskins. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ↑ "Washington Redskins (1937–present)". Sportsecyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ↑ "Washington Redskins History". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- 1 2 "Washington Redskins Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- 1 2 3 "Washington Redskins History". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ↑ The last year the Redskins played at Griffith Stadium.
- ↑ The first year the Redskins played at D.C. Stadium (RFK).
- ↑ The 1967 NFL season marks the first season in the league's history where the league was divided into two conferences which were subdivided into two divisions. Up to 1967, the league was either divided into two divisions, two conferences, or neither.
- ↑ At the end of the 1973 season, the Redskins and the Cowboys finished the season with identical 10–4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on better point differential in head-to-head games.
- ↑ At the end of the 1976 season, the Redskins and the St. Louis Cardinals ended the season with identical 10–4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Washington finished ahead of St. Louis based on head-to-head sweep.
- ↑ At the end of the 1977 season, the Redskins and the Bears finished the season with identical 9–5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Chicago finished ahead of Washington based on better net points in conference games.
- ↑ For the 1978 season, the NFL expanded from a 14-game season to a 16-game season.
- ↑ At the end of the 1979 season, the Redskins and the Bears finished the season with identical 10–6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Chicago finished ahead of Washington based on better net points in all games.
- ↑ The 1982 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 9 games because of a players' strike. The NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament; eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8, and division standings were ignored.
- ↑ At the end of the 1985 season, the Redskins, Cowboys, and the Giants finished the season with identical 10–6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of New York and Washington in the NFC East division race based on a better head-to-head record. New York then finished ahead of Washington and San Francisco in the NFC Wild-Card race based on a better conference record.
- ↑ The 1987 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 15 games because of a players' strike. Games to be played during the third week of the season were canceled, and replacement players were used to play games from weeks 4 through 6.
- ↑ "Super Bowl XXVI MVP". NFL.com. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ↑ At the end of the 1992 season, the Redskins and the Packers finished the season with identical 9–7 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Washington finished ahead of Green Bay based on a better conference record.
- ↑ The last year the Redskins played at RFK Stadium.
- ↑ At the end of the 1996 season, the Redskins and the Vikings finished the season with identical 9–7 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Minnesota finished ahead of Washington based on a better conference record.
- ↑ George, Thomas (1997-05-18). "Once Too Small. Now Too Old? Never". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ↑ The first year the Redskins played at FedExField.
References
- "Washington Commanders History". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "NFL.com – History – Yearly Standings". NFL.com. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "Pro Football Hall of Fame – Washington Commanders". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "Washington Commanders (1937 – )". Databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "Washington Commanders (1937–Present)". Sports E-Cyclopedia. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "Washington Commanders History". JT-SW.com. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
- "History – Washington Commanders". Hickoksports.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2007.