Oilman Clint Murchison Jr had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas ( also Lamar Hunt – who ended up with an AFL franchise ), but George Preston Marshall owner of the Washington Redskins had a monopoly in the south.

Wismer, who had previously had a 25 % stake in the Washington Redskins, was interested in the American Football League and was given a franchise to develop in New York.

For example, by ensuring that the team would be able to select Robert Griffin III of Baylor University in the 2012 draft, the Washington Redskins likely became more attractive for free agents who wished to play with the Heisman Trophy winner.

Despite the lopsided loss in the Super Bowl, Beathard, who traded for or drafted the bulk of the Chargers roster, and who hired coach Ross, was named the NFL's smartest man by Sports Illustrated, and became the only general manager to lead three different teams to the Super Bowl ( Chargers, Dolphins, Redskins ).

Yepremian attempted to bat the ball out of bounds, but instead batted it back up into the air, and it went right into the arms of Redskins cornerback Mike Bass, who returned the fumble 49 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 2: 07 left in the game.

The Cowboys, who traditionally wear their white jerseys in home games and often only wear their blue jerseys against teams that have similar policies for themselves ( most notably against the Washington Redskins and occasionally the Philadelphia Eagles ), were forced to wear their blue jerseys as the " home " team in Super Bowl V, which the team lost to the Baltimore Colts and is widely believed where the " blue jersey jinx " started with America's Team.

The Cowboys would later repeat the option of wearing white jerseys as the " home " team in Super Bowl XXVII, while the Redskins would do so in Super Bowl XVII and, ironically, the Steelers ( who always wear their black jerseys in home games ) in Super Bowl XL due to the team's success on the road that season.

The Redskins defense was led by 6-foot-7 296-pound defensive tackle Dave Butz, who anchored the line, along with defensive ends Dexter Manley and Tony McGee, who each recorded 6. 5 sacks.

Another reason why the Redskins were the underdogs was because they had 26 players on their 45-man roster who had been signed by the team as free agents, including 14 who had never even been drafted by an NFL team.

The Redskins main receiving threat was wide receiver Gary Clark, who caught 56 passes for 1, 066 yards, an average of 19 yards per catch.

The Redskins also had an excellent defensive unit, led by defensive backs Barry Wilburn who recorded nine interceptions for 135 return yards and one touchdown, Todd Bowles, who intercepted four passes, and Darrell Green.

On the Redskins ' first play of the second quarter, receiver Ricky Sanders got behind defensive back Mark Haynes ( who tried to jam him at the line of scrimmage ), caught a pass from Williams, and took it 80 yards for a touchdown.

The Redskins primary weapon in the backfield was running back Earnest Byner, who ranked 5th in the NFL with 1, 048 rushing yards, while also catching 34 passes for 308 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns.

On Buffalo's first play after the botched field goal attempt, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly gave Washington another chance to score by throwing an interception to Redskins safety Brad Edwards, who returned it 21 yards to the Bills 12-yard line.

The Chargers offense was led by quarterback Stan Humphries, who was the Redskins ' backup to Mark Rypien during the 1991 season when they won Super Bowl XXVI.

In 1969, the Redskins hired Vince Lombardi — who gained fame coaching with the Green Bay Packers — to be their new head coach.

They also took black fullback Ron Hatcher in the eighth round, a player from Michigan State who became the first black American football player to sign a contract with the Redskins.

The Redskins routed the Denver Broncos 42 – 10 after starting the game in a 10 – 0 deficit, the largest come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl history, which was tied by the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, who trailed the Indianapolis Colts 10 – 0 after the 1st quarter, and won 31 – 17.

Many fans place the direct blame for the Redskins ' poor performance on owner Daniel Snyder, along with his former general manager and personal friend Vinny Cerrato, who shared control of the team with Snyder for 10 of the past 17 years.

If the final score is Redskins 24, Giants 17, the total is 41 and bettors who took the under will win.

In 1934, the club completed a 13 – 0 record but were defeated by the New York Giants, and in 1942 the club completed an 11 – 0 record but were defeated by the Redskins.

The closest team to Baltimore was the Washington Redskins, but they were not in the same division, and they were not very competitive at that time.

They became the first NFL team to wear all-black uniforms in a week 5 road game against the Carolina Panthers, and again in weeks 16 and 17 in home games against the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers ; the Saints were outscored 78-10 in the final two contests to end a 7-9 campaign.

With the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970, the Eagles were placed in the NFC East Division with their archrivals the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and the Dallas Cowboys.

The black jerseys were most recently used in a November 29, 2009 game against the Washington Redskins.

However, there have been exceptions, such as the home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003 and the Washington Redskins in 2007 that were played at night.

The Redskins were making their first Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11-3 regular season record and playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Still, many favored the Redskins to win the game because of their group of " Over the Hill Gang " veterans, and because Miami had what some considered an easy schedule ( only two Dolphin opponents, Kansas City and the New York Giants posted winning records, and both of those teams were 8-6 ) and had struggled in the playoffs.

After the Redskins were forced to punt again, Miami reached the 47-yard line with a 13-yard run by Larry Csonka and an 8-yard run by Kiick.

The Redskins were forced to use up all of their timeouts on the Dolphins ' ensuing five-play possession, but forced Miami to punt ( nearly blocking the punt ) from its own 36-yard line with 1: 14 remaining in the game, giving themselves a chance to drive for the tying touchdown.

The Vikings were making their second Super Bowl appearance after also finishing the regular season with a 12-2 record, and posting postseason victories over the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.

The Vikings were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance, and seeking their first Super Bowl title, after posting an 11-2-1 regular season record and playoff victories over the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams.

Super Bowl XVII was the Redskins ' first Super Bowl victory ( third NFL championship overall ), and their second Super Bowl appearance, since they were defeated by the Dolphins, 14-7, in Super Bowl VII.

Theismann's subsequent pass was caught by Garrett, but he was tackled at the 9-yard line by defensive back Glenn Blackwood, preventing any field goal attempt as the Redskins were unable to stop the clock before time expired in the half.

The Redskins finished the regular season with a 14 – 2 record, the best in the NFL, and their two losses were only by one point each.

Coming into Super Bowl XVIII, the Redskins were favored to win because of their offense, their number one-rated rush – defense, their league best 14 – 2 regular season record, and their Super Bowl win from last season.

Moseley's extra point attempt was blocked by reserve tight end Don Hasselbeck, but the Redskins had cut the score to 21-9 and were just two touchdowns away from taking the lead.

After the game, Redskins general manager Bobby Beathard said that Hayes and Haynes were the difference in the game.

The Redskins became the second defending champion to lose a Super Bowl ( their divisional rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, were the first, losing Super Bowl XIII after winning Super Bowl XII ).

The Redskins increased their lead to 28 – 10 on their next possession with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Sanders, making him the first player in Super Bowl history to catch 2 touchdowns in a single quarter.

His first major alteration happened on June 14, 1950, when it was announced that American Oil Company planned to televise all Redskins games, making Washington the first NFL team to have an entire season of televised games.

In 1986, the road to the playoffs was even harder, with the Redskins making the postseason as a wild-card team despite having a regular season record of 12 – 4.

Akers was signed by the Washington Redskins in 1998 and played in one game for them, making two extra points but missing two field goal attempts of 50 + yards each.

He signed a one-year contract with the Redskins and received $ 8, 000, making him the highest paid player on the team.

In 1979 he led the Redskins to within 1 game of making the playoffs, but in the season's final week they blew a 13-point lead to the eventual NFC East champions Dallas Cowboys and missed the playoffs.

After the 2009 season, Grossman signed a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins, making Orlovsky the backup quarterback for the Texans.