1968 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

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The 1968 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 32nd in Washington, D.C. In their third and final year under head coach Otto Graham, the team finished 5–9, failing to improve on their 5–6–3 record from 1967.

With two years remaining on a five-year contract (and an option for another five years), Graham was displaced by Vince Lombardi in early February 1969.^[1]^[2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

**1968 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 16 Gary Beban 9 Sonny Jurgensen 11 Jim Ninowski 17 Harry Theofiledes Running backs 20 Gerry Allen 26 Bob Brunet 24 Pete Larson 32 Ray McDonald 44 Steve Thurlow FB 25 A. D. Whitfield Wide receivers 49 Bobby Mitchell 42 Charley Taylor Tight ends 81 Ken Barefoot 88 Pat Richter 87 Jerry Smith		Offensive linemen 61 Don Bandy G 68 Willie Banks T 56 Len Hauss C 76 Walt Rock T 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T 67 John Wooten G Defensive linemen 77 Walt Barnes DT 73 Frank Bosch DT 79 Dennis Crane DT 66 Carl Kammerer DE 71 Spain Musgrove DE 72 Joe Rutgens DT		Linebackers 63 Ed Breding 60 Jim Carroll 57 Dave Crossan 55 Chris Hanburger 86 Marlin McKeever 52 Mike Morgan 54 Tom Roussel Defensive backs 37 Pat Fischer CB 21 George Harold 46 Rickie Harris CB 40 Aaron Martin S 28 Dick Smith 34 Jim Smith 23 Brig Owens S Special teams 4 Mike Bragg P 3 Charlie Gogolak K		Reserve lists Practice squad 5 Curt Knight K Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 15	at Chicago Bears	W 38–28	1–0	Wrigley Field	41,321	Recap
2	September 22	at New Orleans Saints	L 17–37	1–1	Tulane Stadium	65,941	Recap
3	September 29	at New York Giants	L 21–48	1–2	Yankee Stadium	62,797	Recap
4	October 6	Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–14	2–2	D.C. Stadium	50,816	Recap
5	October 13	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 16–13	3–2	D.C. Stadium	50,659	Recap
6	October 20	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 14–41	3–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,456	Recap
7	October 27	New York Giants	L 10–13	3–4	D.C. Stadium	50,839	Recap
8	November 3	at Minnesota Vikings	L 14–27	3–5	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644	Recap
9	November 10	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 16–10	4–5	Franklin Field	59,133	Recap
10	November 17	Dallas Cowboys	L 24–44	4–6	D.C. Stadium	50,816	Recap
11	November 24	Green Bay Packers	L 7–27	4–7	D.C. Stadium	50,621	Recap
12	November 28	at Dallas Cowboys	L 20–29	4–8	Cotton Bowl	66,076	Recap
13	December 8	Cleveland Browns	L 21–24	4–9	D.C. Stadium	50,661	Recap
14	December 15	Detroit Lions	W 14–3	5–9	D.C. Stadium	50,123	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Redskins	14	14	7	3	38
Bears	7	14	0	7	28

Date: September 15
Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago
Game attendance: 41,321
Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), wind 8 mph

Scoring summary

1	WSH	Pat Richter 16 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 7–0

1	WSH	Gerry Allen 12 yard run (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 14–0

1	CHI	Jack Concannon 7 yard run (Mac Percival kick)	Redskins 14–7

2	WSH	Gerry Allen 99 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 21–7

2	CHI	Brian Piccolo 12 yard run (Mac Percival kick)	Redskins 21–14

2	WSH	Pat Richter 6 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 28–14

2	CHI	Ronnie Bull 6 yard run (Mac Percival kick)	Redskins 28–21

3	WSH	Pat Richter 19 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 35–21

4	CHI	Ronnie Bull 8 yard run (Mac Percival kick)	Redskins 35–21

4	WSH	Charlie Gogolak 37 yard field goal	Redskins 38–21

^[3]

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	10	0	3	13
• Redskins	6	3	7	0	16

Date: October 13
Location: D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), wind 3 mph

Scoring summary

1	WSH	Jerry Smith 17 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (kick failed)	Redskins 6–0

2	WSH	Charlie Gogolak 24 yard field goal	Redskins 9–0

2	PIT	Booth Lusteg 24 yard field goal	Redskins 9–3

2	PIT	Roy Jefferson 33 yard pass from Dick Shiner (Booth Lusteg kick)	Steelers 10–9

3	WSH	Jerry Smith 49 yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Charlie Gogolak kick)	Redskins 16–10

4	PIT	Booth Lusteg 30 yard field goal	Redskins 16–13

^[4]

Standings

NFL Capitol
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	12	2	0	.857	5–1	9–1	431	186	W5
New York Giants	7	7	0	.500	5–1	7–3	294	325	L4
Washington Redskins	5	9	0	.357	2–4	3–7	249	358	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	2	12	0	.143	0–6	1–9	202	351	L1

References

^ Polk, James R. (February 6, 1969). "Lombardi officially in at Washington after gaining release from Green Bay". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 23.
^ "Graham has no comment about Lombardi". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 7, 1969. p. 15.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons Players Coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
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Ownership group	Managing partner: Josh Harris Limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer, Mark Ein, others
Key personnel	Team president: Jason Wright General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American Operation Flagship
Lore	Bears 73, Redskins 0 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Body Bag Game Raljon, Maryland Redskins Rule Ricky Williams trade
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Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
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Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
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Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1968 NFL season

NFL Capitol Division	NFL Century Division	NFL Coastal Division	NFL Central Division
Dallas	Cleveland	Atlanta	Chicago
New York	New Orleans	Baltimore	Detroit
Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	Los Angeles	Green Bay
Washington	St. Louis	San Francisco	Minnesota