1966 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

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The 1966 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 30th in Washington, D.C.The Washington Redskins attempted to make Vince Lombardi their new head coach, but Lombardi refused their offer and the Redskins had to settle for Otto Graham^[1] instead. They finished with a 7–7 record, fifth place in the eight-team Eastern Conference.

In Week Twelve, the Redskins set an NFL record for most points by one team in a regular season game, scoring 72 points against the Giants. Coincidentally, this was one point less than the all-time record, the 73 scored against Washington by Chicago in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. They were the last team to score at least 70 points in a regular season game until the Miami Dolphins did so in Week 3 of the 2023 season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1966 Washington Redskins Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	6	Charlie Gogolak	K	Princeton

Roster

**1966 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 9 Sonny Jurgensen 14 Dick Shiner Running backs 32 Tom Barrington 25 A. D. Whitfield 35 Joe Don Looney 44 Steve Thurlow Wide receivers 80 Pat Hodgson 49 Bobby Mitchell 42 Charley Taylor Tight ends 88 Pat Richter P 87 Jerry Smith		Offensive linemen 45 Don Croftcheck LG 56 Len Hauss C 65 Jake Kupp G 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T 64 Mitch Johnson T Defensive linemen 77 Walt Barnes DT 66 Carl Kammerer DE		Linebackers 55 Chris Hanburger 70 Sam Huff Defensive backs 46 Rickie Harris CB 26 Paul Krause S 23 Brig Owens S 47 Jim Shorter CB Special teams 3 Charlie Gogolak K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

**1966 Washington Redskins staff**
	Front office Director of Player Personnel -- Tim Temerario Player Personnel -- Bob White Player Personnel -- Mike Allman Opponent's Scout -- Wayne Millner Team Physician -- George A. Resta, MD Trainer: Joe Kuczo Equipment Manager -- Kelly Miller Head coaches Head Coach – Otto Graham Offensive coaches Don Doll Mike McCormack Ray Renfro			Defensive coaches Ed Hughes Mike Scarry

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 11	Cleveland Browns	L 14–38	0–1	D.C. Stadium	48,643	Recap
2	September 18	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 7–23	0–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	40,198	Recap
3	September 25	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 33–27	1–2	Pitt Stadium	37,505	Recap
4	October 2	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–10	2–2	D.C. Stadium	47,360	Recap
5	October 9	Atlanta Falcons	W 33–20	3–2	D.C. Stadium	50,116	Recap
6	October 16	at New York Giants	L 10–13	3–3	Yankee Stadium	62,865	Recap
7	October 23	St. Louis Cardinals	W 26–20	4–3	D.C. Stadium	50,154	Recap
8	October 30	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–13	5–3	Franklin Field	60,658	Recap
9	November 6	at Baltimore Colts	L 10–37	5–4	Memorial Stadium	60,238	Recap
10	November 13	Dallas Cowboys	L 30–31	5–5	D.C. Stadium	50,927	Recap
11	November 20	at Cleveland Browns	L 3–14	5–6	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,466	Recap
12	November 27	New York Giants	W 72–41	6–6	D.C. Stadium	50,439	Recap
13	Bye
14	December 11	at Dallas Cowboys	W 34–31	7–6	Cotton Bowl	64,198	Recap
15	December 18	Philadelphia Eagles	L 28–37	7–7	D.C. Stadium	50,405	Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 6 at New York Giants

Week Six: Washington Redskins (3-2) at New York Giants (0-4-1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	3	7	0	0	10
Giants	0	3	0	10	13

at Yankee Stadium, New York

Date: October 16
Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C)
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

Washington – Charlie Gogolak 37-yard field goal, Redskins 3–0.

Second Quarter

Washington – Bobby Mitchell 7-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Gogolak kick), Redskins 10–0.
New York – Pete Gogolak 15-yard field goal, Redskins 10–3.

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

New York – Pete Gogolak 18-yard field goal, Redskins 10–6.
New York – Aaron Thomas 29-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Gogolak kick), Giants 13–10.

Top Passers

Redskins – Sonny Jurgensen: 9/20, 125 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Giants – Earl Morrall: 5/14, 139 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Top rushers

Redskins – Steve Thurlow: 11 car, 44 yds.
Giants – Chuck Mercein: 14 car, 37 yds,

Top receivers

Redskins – Bobby Mitchell: 2 rec, 58 yds. 1 TD
Giants – Homer Jones: 4 rec, 146 yds.

Week 10 vs Dallas Cowboys

Week Ten: Dallas Cowboys (5–2–1) at Washington Redskins (5–4)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	7	7	10	31
Redskins	6	0	17	7	30

at District of Columbia Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Date: November 13, 1966
Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C)
Game attendance: 50,927
Box Score

Week 12 vs New York Giants

Week Twelve: Washington Redskins (5-6) vs New York Giants (1-8-1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	14	14	13	41
Redskins	13	21	14	24	72

at D.C. Stadium, Washington D.C.

Date: November 27
Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C)
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

Washington – A.D. Whitfield 5-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen, Redskins 6–0.
Washington – A.D. Whitfield 63-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Redskins 13–0.

Second Quarter

Washington – Brig Owens 62-yard fumble return (Gogolak kick), Redskins 20–0.
New York – Allen Jacobs 6-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Redskins 20 – 7.
Washington – A.D. Whitfield 1-yard rush (Gogolak kick) , Redskins 27–7.
Washington – Joe Don Looney 9-yard rush (Gogolak kick) , Redskins 34–7.
New York – Gary Wood 1-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Redskins 34 – 14.

Third Quarter

New York – Jim Morrison 41-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Redskins 34 – 21.
Washington – Charley Taylor 32-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Gogolak kick), Redskins 41–21.
New York – Homer Jones 50-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Redskins 41-28.
Washington – Charley Taylor 74-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Gogolak kick), Redskins 48–28.

Fourth Quarter

Washington – Rickie Harris 52-yard punt return (Gogolak kick) , Redskins 55–28.
Washington – Brig Owens 60-yard interception return (Gogolak kick), Redskins 62–28.
New York – Aaron Thomas 18-yard pass from Tom Kennedy, Redskins 62–34.
New York – Dan Lewis 1-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Redskins 62–41.
Washington – Bobby Mitchell 45-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Redskins 69–41.
Washington – Charlie Gogolak 29-yard field goal, Redskins 72–41.

Top Passers

Giants – Tom Kennedy: 13/21, 165 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Redskins – Sonny Jurgensen: 10/16, 145 yds, 3 TD

Top rushers

Giants – Joe Morrison: 16 car, 59 yds,
Redskins – A.D. Whitfield: 6 car, 74 yds. 2 TD

Top receivers

Giants – Homer Jones: 6 rec, 85 yds.1 TD
Redskins – Charley Taylor: 6 rec, 124 yds. 2 TD

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	3	1	.769	9–3–1	445	239	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	9	5	0	.643	8–5	326	340	W4
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	9–4	403	259	W1
St. Louis Cardinals	8	5	1	.615	7–5–1	264	265	L3
Washington Redskins	7	7	0	.500	7–6	351	355	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	8	1	.385	4–8–1	316	347	W2
Atlanta Falcons	3	11	0	.214	2–5	204	437	L1
New York Giants	1	12	1	.077	1–11–1	263	501	L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Awards, records, and honors

Most points in a single game in regular season NFL history.

References

^ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 453, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

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
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Commanders Field
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
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
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)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1966 NFL season

Eastern Conference	Atlanta	Philadelphia	Baltimore	Los Angeles	Western Conference
	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Chicago	Minnesota
	Dallas	St. Louis	Detroit	San Francisco
	New York	Washington	Green Bay