NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older

NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older: 13. Steve Young, 1992

When talking about which quarterbacks had the most dominant stretches in the history of the NFL, it’s really hard to leave Steve Young off this list. Unfortunately, Young drew the short straw and he didn’t take over as a full-time starter for Joe Montana until the ripe old age of 30 in 1991. Before this, Young had just 29 starts through his first 5 NFL seasons – 14 of which came as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers way back in 1986.

Fortunately, Young’s patience paid off, and when Montana went down with an injury in 1991, Young took over the reins for the 49ers and never looked back. In 1992 at the age of 31, Young had the first true breakout campaign of his career. In 16 games, Young led his team to a 14-2 record while leading the league in completion percentage (66.7) and touchdown passes (25). In addition, Young threw just 7 interceptions on 402 attempts while managing to lead all passers in yards per attempt (8.6) and passer rating (107.0).

Eventually, he would lead his team to the NFC Championship game before falling short to the Dallas Cowboys (who would go on to win the Super Bowl). However, Young’s spectacular play would eventually lead the 49ers to yet another Super Bowl win. Considering the fact that Steve Young threw just 34 touchdowns and 27 interceptions by the age of 29, it was pretty incredible what he was able to accomplish in his 30s. The best was still yet to come.