1966 Washington Redskins season

1966 Washington Redskins season
OwnerGeorge Preston Marshall
General managerOtto Graham
PresidentEdward Bennett Williams
Head coachOtto Graham
Home fieldD.C. Stadium
Local radioWTOP
Results
Record7–7
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersLB Chris Hanburger, C Len Hauss, QB Sonny Jurgensen, HB Charley Taylor

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 (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams


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

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




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)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Redskins 3 7 0010
Giants 0 3 01013

at Yankee Stadium, New York

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

Week 10 vs Dallas Cowboys

Week Ten: Dallas Cowboys (5–2–1) at Washington Redskins (5–4)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 7 71031
Redskins 6 0 17730

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)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 14 141341
Redskins 13 21 142472

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

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

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
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

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