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The 30 best quarterbacks in NFL history

By Randy Gurzi

Joe Montana #16, Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers prepares to throw a pass during the National Football Conference Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on 14 January 1990 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 30 - 3. (Photo by Otto Gruele Jr/Allsport/Getty Images)
Joe Montana #16, Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers prepares to throw a pass during the National Football Conference Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on 14 January 1990 at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, United States. The 49ers won the game 30 - 3. (Photo by Otto Gruele Jr/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Kansas City Chiefs, Len Dawson
Kansas City Chiefs, Len Dawson (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

20. Best NFL quarterbacks of all time: Len Dawson

A first-round pick out of Purdue, Len Dawson’s career got off to a rough start. Originally a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was unable to become their starter and ended up being traded to the Cleveland Browns once they landed Bobby Layne. He didn’t catch on there either as Cleveland released him after two seasons.

After that, Dawson found his way to the Dallas Texans of the AFL and he quickly found success. He was 11-3 as a starter in 1962 and had an impressive 29 touchdown passes. Dawson was named the AFL MVP that season and guided the Texans to their first title.

The team moved to Kansas City the following year and while they struggled, they eventually rediscovered their dominance as Dawson led them to two more titles — one in 1966 and one in 1969. The final AFL title was followed with a win in Super IV, which also saw Dawson named as the MVP of the game.

In all, he played 19 seasons of pro football as his career spanned from 1957-75. 14 of those seasons came with the Chiefs/Texans franchise. In that span, he won 93 games and was named to seven Pro Bowls. He even remained atop the Chiefs’ leaderboard for most touchdown passes in a season from 1964 through 2018 with 30.

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