Feb. 8, 2026, 4:56 a.m. ET

With Super Bowl LX, Sunday, we remember the Washington Redskins first Super Bowl appearance.

It was Super Bowl VII, played on January 14, 1973. It was said to be the most hyped Super Bowl to date. Looking back, some of that was because the Super Bowl seemed to be increasingly hyped each season.

But in particular, two aspects intrigued Super Bowl VII. First, the Miami Dolphins had lost the previous Super Bowl badly to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3. But the 1972 Dolphins became the first NFL team to enter a Super Bowl undefeated (in 60 Super Bowls, only twice has that happened). They had gone through the regular season 14-0, followed by close playoff wins over the Browns 20-14 and Steelers 21-17. On the one hand, the media wrote and talked about how awesome the Dolphins were, being the first undefeated team in the NFL merger era, and on the other hand, they wondered just how good the Dolphins were, given their close wins.

Then there was the Dolphins’ opponent, the Redskins. They had faced the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game and pounded them 26-3. It was such a lopsided victory, and the Redskins had gone 11-1, clinched the NFC East, and rested some players for the playoffs. In their first playoff game, the Redskins shut down the Packers 16-3. Thus, the Redskins defense allowed only six points against them in the playoffs. Consequently, the Dolphins were only a slim 1-point favorite according to the Vegas line.

The story of the game turned out to be the Dolphins’ defense, however. They crowded the line of scrimmage, determined to stop the Redskins’ RB Larry Brown. Brown, for good reason, had been voted the AP MVP of that 1972 season, rushing for 1,216 yards, leading the league, and averaging 101.3 rushing yards per game in his 12 games played. Manny Fernandez was constantly in the Redskins backfield as Brown was held to only 72 rushing yards on his 22 rushing attempts.

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QB Sonny Jurgensen, still on crutches after tearing his Achilles tendon against the New York Giants, might have been able to make the Dolphins’ defense pay for such a strategy. Unfortunately, Billy Kilmer was ineffective against the Dolphins that day. In fact, Kilmer struggled mightily, throwing three interceptions. Dolphins safety Jake Scott intercepted Kilmer twice and was voted the game’s MVP.

The Washington offense was unable to score a touchdown all day. One drive that stalled, resulted in K Curt Knight missing an easy short field goal from 32 yards. Earlier, Kilmer had thrown a bad pass directly to Miami linebacker Nick Buoniconti that was returned deep into Redskins territory, resulting in a Miami touchdown. Later from the Miami 10-yard line, Kilmer’s pass to an open TE Jerry Smith in the end zone, unbelievably hit the goal post. Remember, in those days the goal posts were in the end zone. Scott then intercepted Kilmer in the end zone ending that scoring threat.

The only Washington score came as a result of DT Bill Brundige blocking a Garo Yepremian field goal attempt, which Yepremian then picked up, but lost again, and Redskins cornerback Mike Bass returned 49 yards for a touchdown and a final score of 14-7 and a perfect season and Super Bowl championship for the Dolphins.

The Redskins were NFC Champs in 1972, but in Super Bowl VII, it was a story of not being able to pass against the Dolphins’ pressing defense and missed opportunities. It would be the only Super Bowl George Allen brought to Washington during his seven seasons as head coach (1971-77). Allen never had a losing season in Washington, but he was able to win only two playoff games…both in the 1972 season.