Washington Redskins: Top 30 players in franchise history

Sometimes it isn’t the journey that makes a legend. Mere moments, if they carry enough magnitude, can mean even more. The finality of it.

Doug Williams’ career, from a holistic standpoint, had its ups and downs. As a first-round quarterback, he didn’t last nearly as long as one might have expected. And at his peak, he was a mid-tier starter.

Despite these facts, Williams is known for his residence and his ability to convert in clutch moments. Perhaps no moment was greater for Williams than the Super Bowl of 1987, when Williams came in for a team in need of a quarterback and delivered one of the best performances in history.

How Williams got to the Super Bowl, however, is perhaps just as good a story as the Super Bowl itself. Williams served as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the decade, and when his contract expired, a dispute between him and the owner led him to join the USFL. He played there until the league ended in 1986, and he joined the Redskins for the upcoming season.

Over the 1987 season, Jay Schroeder and Williams traded off the starting job, with Williams filling in whenever Schroeder was injured. Williams played well enough that he was given the starting job for the playoffs. This confidence from Joe Gibbs was not misplaced.

Williams directed a blowout against the John Elway-led Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. His performance earned him the starting job for the next season, and while his career only lasted two more years beyond that, Williams converted in the moments that mattered. He now serves as the Redskins’ Director of Player Personnel, hoping to earn another ring. In a different way.