Editor’s note: As part of NFL’s Greatest Quarterback, fans will decide the best quarterback in team, division, conference and league history.
Len Dawson: Despite starting his career 50 years ago, Dawson still ranks at the top of most Chiefs passing records. He led the team to three AFL championships and one Super Bowl championship in 1969. The Chiefs made the playoffs five times during Dawson’s impressive Hall of Fame career.
Dawson led the AFL in passing efficiency six times, including five seasons in a row. He also led the AFL in touchdowns four times. During his career, he led the Chiefs to a 93-56-8 record. Dawson was the No. 5 overall pick in 1957 but didn’t kick-start his career until 1962 with the Chiefs. He started his career with two of the NFL’s premier organizations, the Steelers and Browns.
Mike Livingston: Livingston was Dawson’s backup for years in Kansas City, and he did an admirable job filling in for him. He led the Chiefs to a 20-11-1 record as a backup.
Livingston had less success as the Chiefs’ starter, going 11-32 from 1976 to 1979. Livingston’s best season came in his first as a full-time starter, when the team went 5-9 and Livingston threw for 2,682 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Bill Kenney: Kenney came a long way from being Mr. Irrelevant in 1978. In 1980, he was named the Chiefs’ starter and didn’t relinquish the role until the team traded for Steve DeBerg in 1988. Kenney’s best season came in 1983, when he led the league in passing attempts and completions.
He was named to the Pro Bowl that season after throwing for 4,348 yards, 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He couldn’t continue the production he had in his first full season as a starter for the rest of his career, and his worst season by far came in 1988, when he failed to throw a touchdown pass in five games.
Trent Green: Who knows how history would have shaken out if Green had never been injured, and Kurt Warner was never forced to start for the 1999 Rams. Regardless, Green’s misfortune turned out great for the Chiefs, since they got the Indiana product for the six best seasons of his career, from 2001 to 2006.
Green led the Chiefs to an AFC West title in 2003 and a wild card berth in the playoffs in 2006. Green made the Pro Bowl twice during his run with the Chiefs, in 2003 and 2005.
