NFL franchise story

Washington Commanders

Washington's lineage includes Sammy Baugh's passing revolution, Joe Gibbs's three championships with three quarterbacks and a modern rebirth built around new ownership and Jayden Daniels.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Washington Commanders.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Washington Commanders official NFL team page ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1932—1945

Sammy Baugh

Cliff Battles

Wayne Millner

A two-way star leads two championships

Baugh changes the passing game

The franchise moved from Boston to Washington, and Baugh's arm, punting and defensive play made it one of the league's early powers.

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Chapter 01

1932—1945

Franchise era

1946—1968

Sonny Jurgensen

Bobby Mitchell

Charley Taylor

Individual stars cannot stop two decades of losing

The long decline

Washington fielded gifted passers and receivers but went twenty-four seasons without a postseason appearance.

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Chapter 02

1946—1968

Franchise era

1969—1980

Sonny Jurgensen

Larry Brown

Chris Hanburger

The Over-the-Hill Gang reaches the Super Bowl

Allen restores belief

Vince Lombardi's brief season and George Allen's veteran teams immediately restored winning and delivered a Super Bowl trip after the 1972 season.

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Chapter 03

1969—1980

Franchise era

1981—1992

John Riggins

Art Monk

Darrell Green

Three quarterbacks, three championship teams

The Gibbs dynasty

Gibbs adapted his offense around different quarterbacks and dominant lines, winning Super Bowls after the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons.

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Chapter 04

1981—1992

Franchise era

1993—2011

Champ Bailey

Stephen Davis

Chris Samuels

Frequent resets obscure isolated playoff teams

Instability after Gibbs

Ownership and coaching turnover prevented a stable successor, even as several veteran teams produced brief postseason runs.

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Chapter 05

1993—2011

Franchise era

2012—2022

Robert Griffin III

Ryan Kerrigan

Terry McLaurin

A spectacular rookie season gives way to a decade of change

RGIII's spark and the identity crisis

Griffin's 2012 offense electrified the league before injury, while the franchise later changed its name and continued cycling through quarterbacks.

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Chapter 06

2012—2022

Franchise era

2023—present

Jayden Daniels

Terry McLaurin

Bobby Wagner

Daniels accelerates the rebuild

A new ownership era

New ownership hired a modern front office, drafted Daniels and watched his poised rookie season return Washington to the NFC Championship Game.

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Chapter 07

2023—present

Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Washington Commanders games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Conference Championship

Conference Championship

1937

WASHINGTON

CHICAGOBEARS

1937-12-12

Washington vs Chicago Bears

1937-12-12

#02 · Super Bowl

WASHINGTON

Miami Dolphins vs Washington

1973-01-14

#03 · Super Bowl

WASHINGTON

Miami Dolphins vs Washington

1983-01-30

#04 · Wild Card