Ranking every Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback since 1990
By Matt Conner
3. Joe Montana (1993-94)
During the early ‘90s, the Chiefs were basically the Indianapolis Colts of the last few seasons, a talented team content to wring out whatever a veteran quarterback had left to work with in his career. Just like the Colts have gone through the likes of Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, and Philip Rivers to lead the offense in recent years, the Chiefs spent the first few seasons of the nineties rolling with the likes of Dave Krieg, Steve Bono, and Steve DeBerg.
If you look at the results, it’s hard to argue with the results for Marty Schottenheimer and his staff during that stretch, especially when the Chiefs were able to trade for Joe Montana in 1993.
The masterstroke move for Montana made the Chiefs a true national presence for the first time in decades—and maybe the only time before Patrick Mahomes arrived. Montana’s presence was the reason they would play in primetime, carry Super Bowl aspirations, and woo fellow players like Marcus Allen to middle America.
The "Montana Years" were only two in number, but they were great in stature. He went 17-8 as a starter and carried the Chiefs as far as the conference championship in ‘93. He won massive primetime matchups and made Kansas City realize what cheering for a real contender could feel like.