1940 Washington Redskins season

The 1940 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 4th in Washington, D.C. The team improved on their 6–3–2 record from 1939, finishing at 9–2. They would end the season losing the NFL Championship to the Chicago Bears, 73–0.

1940 Washington Redskins season
Owner	George Preston Marshall
General manager	Jack Espey
Head coach	Ray Flaherty
Home field	Griffith Stadium
Results
Record	9–2
Division place	1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost NFL Championship (vs. Bears) 0–73

Draft

Main article: 1940 NFL Draft

1940 Washington Redskins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Ed Boell	Back	NYU
3	23	Buddy Banker	Back	Tulane
5	38	Bill Kirchem	Tackle	Tulane
6	48	Joe Boyd	Tackle	Texas A&M
7	58	Roy Zimmerman *	Quarterback	San Jose State
8	68	Bud Orf	End	Missouri
9	78	Bob Hoffman	Back	USC
10	88	Bob Seymour *	Halfback	Oklahoma
11	98	Howard Stoecker	Tackle	USC
12	108	Allen Johnson	Guard	Duke
13	118	Sam Bartholomew	Fullback	Tennessee
14	128	Ernie Lain	Back	Rice
15	138	Sandy Sanford	End	Alabama
16	148	Bolo Perdue	End	Arkansas
17	158	Steve Andrako	Center	Ohio State
18	168	Jay Graybeal	Back	Oregon
19	178	Charley Slagle	Back	North Carolina
20	188	Buck Murphy	Back	Georgia Tech
21	193	Mel Wetzel	Tackle	Missouri
22	198	Steve Sitko	Back	Noter Dame
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	Bye
2	September 15	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 24–17	1–0	Griffith Stadium	32,763	Recap
3	September 22	New York Giants	W 21–7	2–0	Griffith Stadium	34,712	Recap
4	Bye
5	October 6	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 40–10	3–0	Forbes Field	25,213	Recap
6	October 13	Chicago Cardinals	W 28–21	4–0	Griffith Stadium	33,691	Recap
7	October 20	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–17	5–0	Shibe Park	26,083	Recap
8	October 27	at Detroit Lions	W 20–14	6–0	Briggs Stadium	28,090	Recap
9	November 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 37–10	7–0	Griffith Stadium	31,204	Recap
10	November 10	at Brooklyn Dodgers	L 14–16	7–1	Ebbets Field	33,846	Recap
11	November 17	Chicago Bears	W 7–3	8–1	Griffith Stadium	35,231	Recap
12	November 24	at New York Giants	L 7–21	8–2	Polo Grounds	46,439	Recap
13	December 1	Philadelphia Eagles	W 13–6	9–2	Griffith Stadium	25,838	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Game recap
Championship	December 8	Chicago Bears	L 0–73	Griffith Stadium	36,034	Recap

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	9	2	0	.818	6–2	245	142	W1
Brooklyn Dodgers	8	3	0	.727	6–2	186	120	W4
New York Giants	6	4	1	.600	5–2–1	131	133	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	7	2	.222	1–6–1	60	178	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	1	10	0	.091	1–7	111	211	L1

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