Editing Washington Commanders (section)

====Dallas Cowboys====
{{Main|Commanders–Cowboys rivalry}}
The Commanders' rivalry with the [[Dallas Cowboys]] features two teams that have won 31 combined division titles and 10 championships, including eight combined [[Super Bowl]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Cowboys-Redskins rivalry redefines the term 'fight song' |url=http://cadillacof.msn.com/foxsports/article.aspx?category=nfl&articleid=5962642 |access-date=April 7, 2008 |website=[[FOX Sports]]}}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The rivalry started in 1960 when the Cowboys joined the league as an [[expansion team]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=NFL History 1951–1960 |url=http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1951-1960#1960 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209180120/http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1951-1960#1960 |archive-date=February 9, 2007 |access-date=April 7, 2008 |website=[[National Football League]]}}</ref> During that year they were in separate conferences, but played once during the season. In 1961, Dallas was placed in the same division as the Redskins, and from that point on, they have played each other twice during every [[Season (sports)|regular season]].

Texas oil tycoon [[Clint Murchison Jr.]] was having a difficult time bringing an NFL team to [[Dallas]]. In 1958, Murchison heard that [[George Preston Marshall]], owner of the Washington Redskins, was eager to sell the team. Just as the sale was about to be finalized, Marshall called for a change in terms. Murchison was outraged and canceled the whole deal.<ref name="beginning">{{Cite web |last=Toomay |first=Pat |title=A rivalry for a song ... and chicken feed |url=https://www.espn.com/page2/wash/s/toomay/020314.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409160431/http://espn.go.com/page2/wash/s/toomay/020314.html |archive-date=April 9, 2008 |access-date=February 1, 2022 |website=[[ESPN.com]]}}</ref> Around this time, Marshall had a falling out with the Redskin band director, Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music for the team's [[fight song]], now known as "[[Hail to the Commanders]]", which gets played by the [[Washington Commanders Marching Band]] after every touchdown at home games.<ref name="beginning" /> He wanted revenge after the failed negotiations with Marshall. He approached Tom Webb, Murchison's lawyer, and sold the rights for $2,500 ({{inflation|US|2500|1960|r=-2|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="beginning" /> Murchison then decided to create his own team, with the support of NFL expansion committee chairman, [[George Halas]]. Halas decided to put the proposition of a Dallas franchise before the NFL owners, which needed to have unanimous approval in order to pass. The only owner against the proposal was George Preston Marshall. However, Marshall found out that Murchison owned the rights to Washington's fight song, so a deal was finally struck. If Marshall showed his approval of the Dallas franchise, Murchison would return the song. The Cowboys were then founded and began playing in 1960.<ref name="beginning" /> At the time in 2016, a matchup between the teams on Thanksgiving was the most-watched regular-season game broadcast by the ''[[NFL on Fox]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coppinger |first=Mike |date=November 25, 2016 |title=Cowboys-Redskins was most-watched regular-season game in Fox history |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/11/25/ratings-cowboys-redskins-fox/94432960/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220062234/http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/11/25/ratings-cowboys-redskins-fox/94432960/ |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=February 3, 2017 |website=USA Today}}</ref> The Cowboys lead the series {{Win-loss record|w=78|l=48|t=2}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Matchups, Washington Commanders vs. Dallas Cowboys |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/game_query.cgi?tm1=was&tm2=dal&yr=all |access-date=January 5, 2025 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>