The 1978 Washington Redskins were starting a new era in franchise history. The had a new coach in Jack Pardee and were moving forward with Joe Theismann as their quarterback after going on-again, off-again between Theismann and veteran Billy Kilmer in 1977. The first year of Pardee & Theismann got off to a fantastic start, but it had an all-too-familiar ending.
George Allen had arrived in the nation’s capital prior to the 1971 season and he made the Washington Redskins a winner. The next five seasons saw Allen go 58-25-1, make the playoffs four times (at a time when only one wild-card per conference qualified) and reach the 1972 Super Bowl. But Allen was clashing with ownership and the 1977 Washington Redskins team would be the coach’s last ride.
Quarterback Joe Theisman led an explosive offense. The Redskin run under Joe Gibbs from 1982-91 would be ultimately defined by “The Hogs”, the big offensive line, and in the early 1980s, the work of power running back John Riggins. But Theisman was always instrumental in leading the passing game and he had the best year of his career in 1983, en route to an MVP award.
The NFL season of 1982 was overshadowed by labor difficulties and after two games, the season was temporarily shut down with a players’ strike. Play would not resume until November 21 with plans for a truncated nine-game schedule and divisional distinctions abandoned for playoff purposes. Nothing—not the strike, not broken momentum, not anyone in the NFL could stop the 1982 Washington Redskins, as they won the franchise’s first Super Bow
The 1976 Washington Redskins were a team of proud veterans struggling to hang on in a tough division at a time when playoff berths were at a premium. They made it to the postseason for the fifth time in six years thanks to a memorable stretch drive led by 37-year-old quarterback Billy Kilmer.
Russell Wilson became the second African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl when he led the Seattle Seahawks past the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The first one to do it was Doug Williams—oddly enough it was also against the Broncos, back in 1987 when Williams quarterbacked the Washington Redskins.
But Williams had a more interesting path—he spent the bulk of the year as the backup and didn’t become the starter on the playoffs. It was an interesting path in an interesting year—to put mildly—in the NFL. Let’s look back on the 1987 Washington Redski
Joe Gibbs had been one of the NFL’s greatest coaches during his 1981-92 run with the Washington Redskins, highlighted by three Super Bowl victories with three different starting quarterbacks. The franchise had fallen on hard times after his retirement, earning only one playoff berth in the ensuing eleven seasons. So when Gibbs came out of retirement prior to the 2004 season, it’s not for nothing that his was a second term that won bipartisan plaudits in the D.C. Beltway.