Len Dawson, one of the American Football League's most renowned players who quarterbacked the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title, died Wednesday at the age of 87.
Dawson's family announced his death in a statement released through Kansas City television station KMBC. No cause of death was given, though the Pro Football Hall of Famer was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991 and had entered hospice care earlier this month.
"With wife Linda at his side, it is with much sadness that we inform you of the passing of our beloved Len Dawson," the statement read. "He was a wonderful husband, father, brother and friend. Len was always grateful and many times overwhelmed by the countless bonds he made during his football and broadcast careers."
Following an unsuccessful five-year stint in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, Dawson jumped to the upstart AFL with the Dallas Texans in 1962 and found immediate success when reunited with head coach Hank Stram, a former assistant during the quarterback's collegiate career at Purdue.
The Texans won the first of the franchise's three league titles in Dawson's debut season and he was named the AFL's MVP after leading the league in touchdown passes (29) and yards per pass attempt (8.9).
Dawson led the Chiefs to two more AFL titles in 1966 and 1969 following the franchise's move from Dallas to Kansas City, and that latter season would be capped by a 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV in which he was named the game’s MVP.
With the AFL merging with the NFL the following season, Dawson finished as the league's all-time leader in passing touchdowns (182) and ranked fourth in passing yards (18,899). He led the AFL in passer rating six times, topped the league in touchdown passes four times and was selected to the AFL's All-Time team.
Dawson remained with the Chiefs until his retirement in 1975 and still holds franchise records for passing yards (28,507), touchdown passes (237) and games started by a quarterback (157). The Ohio native was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1987.
"Len grew up only a few miles from where the Pro Football Hall of Fame later was built, and fans in the area have always taken a special pride in seeing one of the greats from this region enshrined in Canton," Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement. "Fans connected with Len's story of perseverance, appreciating how he gave the game one more try after five nondescript seasons when many others would have quit.
"The American Football League, and Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, gave Len a true opportunity, and he made the most of it, building the Chiefs into a Super Bowl contender, and eventually a world champion."
Dawson remained ingrained in the Kansas City community after his retirement and gained further notoriety as a broadcaster, serving as the co-host of HBO’s 'Inside the NFL' programme from 1977-2001 and working as an analyst on AFC games for NBC from 1977-82. He provided color analysis for the Chiefs' radio broadcasts from 1985-2017 and was KMBC-TV's sports director – a role he began while still a player in 1966 – until stepping down on a full-time basis in 2009.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame later inducted Dawson as a broadcaster in 2012.
"My family and I are heartbroken," Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement. "Len Dawson is synonymous with the Kansas City Chiefs. Len embraced and came to embody Kansas City and the people that call it home. You would be hard-pressed to find a player who had a bigger impact in shaping the organisation as we know it today than Len Dawson did."
Dawson was born in Alliance, Ohio on June 20, 1935 as the ninth of 11 children and starred locally in high school before embarking on a standout collegiate career at Purdue, where he led the nation in passing efficiency as a sophomore in 1954 and guided the Boilermakers to No. 1 Notre Dame that season.
The Steelers selected Dawson with the fifth overall pick of the 1957 NFL draft, though he never broke through as a starter in three seasons with Pittsburgh and had similar results with the Browns after being traded following the 1959 campaign.
Dawson is survived by his second wife, Linda, and two children from his previous marriage. He was married to his first wife, Jackie, from 1954 until her death in 1978
Browns score late touchdown to end Steelers' streak in snowy contest
Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19 on Thursday night, ending the Steelers' five-game winning streak.
Chubb's score came in his first game against the AFC North-leading Steelers (8-3) since the running back sustained a season-ending left knee injury on a carry last year at Pittsburgh.
The Browns (3-8) had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder.
With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland's Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barrelled into the end zone.
The Steelers had one last chance, but quarterback Russell Wilson's Hail Mary on the final play was knocked down by Browns safety Grant Delpit in the end zone, touching off a wild celebration at Huntington Bank Field.
NFL: Texans bounce back, extend Cowboys' woes
Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.
Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.
Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.
C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.
The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.
Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.
Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.
Mahomes to use Chiefs' first loss of 2024 as 'spark'
Patrick Mahomes said the Kansas City Chiefs will use their first loss since Christmas Day 2023 as fuel after the Buffalo Bills halted their unbeaten start to the season.
Josh Allen scrambled for a stunning 26-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play as the Bills improved to 9-2 with a 30-21 win over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The result ended the Chiefs' 15-game winning streak, a run that began after they lost to the Los Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last year and included their dramatic triumph over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII.
The Chiefs had started this season 9-0 to take control of the race for the AFC's top seed, but they could have few complaints about Sunday's result.
The Bills outgained the Chiefs by 366 yards to 259, also recording 24 first downs to Kansas City's 19 and enjoying almost nine more minutes in possession.
Mahomes, however, was relaxed about the end of his team's winning streak, saying: "The undefeated thing was cool, but that's not our ultimate goal.
"It's a good football team, so there's nothing to hang your head about. We feel like we can play better, so we will get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end."
The Chiefs rank just 16th in the NFL for yards per game (337.9) and 11th for points per game (24) in 2024, with many of their victories – including against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 – coming via last-gasp defensive or special teams plays.
Mahomes actually feels the team could benefit from a reality check, adding: "I'm hoping that [losing] is a benefit.
"I'm not going to say I or we are relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we were just coming away with these wins at the end of the games.
"I think it's going to spark us to have more urgency, especially at the start of football games, especially with the offense, and that comes from me and turning the ball over on the first drive. It's something you can't do in big games like this."
No quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Mahomes' 11 (level with Geno Smith and Jordan Love) this season, while a passer rating of 90.3 ranks him a lowly 20th among all players at the position.
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