History of the Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Redskins were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. The Redskins name and logo was viewed as controversial for decades before it was retired in 2020 as part of a wave of name changes during a period of racial unrest in the United States. The team played as the Washington Football Team before rebranding as the Commanders in 2022.
The redskins has won three Super Bowl championships (Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVI). They also played in and lost Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl XVIII. Before the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, Washington won two NFL Championships (1937 and 1942). They also played in and lost the 1936, 1940, 1943, and 1945 Championship games. Only six teams have appeared in more Super Bowls than the redskins: the New England Patriots (11), Dallas Cowboys (eight), Pittsburgh Steelers (eight), Denver Broncos (eight), San Francisco 49ers (eight), and the Kansas City Chiefs (six); Washington's five appearances are tied with the Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and New York Giants.
All of the franchise's championships were attained during two 10-year spans. The first period of success was from 1936 to 1945, when they went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them. The second period of success was from 1982 and 1991, when they appeared in the postseason seven times, captured four Conference titles, and won three Super Bowls. This period included the 1983 and 1991 seasons when the team won 14 games, the most the team has won in a single season.
Washington has also experienced periods of extended failure in its history. The most notable period of continued failure was from 1946 to 1970, when they posted only four winning seasons and did not have a single postseason appearance. During this period, they went without a single winning season between 1956 and 1968 and posted their worst regular-season record in franchise history, going 1–12–1 in 1961. Washington experienced its second period of failure, which began in 1993 and continued through the entire franchise ownership of Daniel Snyder until their 2024 season. Since 1993, they have posted only nine winning seasons and seven postseason appearances.