Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach was a 10th round pick in the 1964 Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, who drafted him before his senior season at Navy so that they could hold on to his rights. After graduating in 1965, he served out his commitment in the Navy, spending some time in Vietnam, before finally being released in 1969 at age 27.
He played very little during his first two seasons, but took over the starting role early in 1971 and won all 10 games he started, which earned Dallas the league's best record at 11-3, but he didn't stop there. He led them right through the first two rounds of the playoffs and to the Super Bowl, where he threw for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns as they beat Miami 24-3, and Staubach was named the Super Bowl MVP in his first season as a starter.
He injured his shoulder at the beginning of the next season, missing almost the entire season, but when Craig Morton started to struggle in the first playoff game, Staubach came in and threw 2 touchdown passes in the final 90 seconds to lead them to a comeback victory over the 49ers, which earned him the starting job permanently.
In 1973 he led the league in touchdown passes with 23, but that would surprisingly be the only time in his career he led the league in any category. Their playoff run ended early that year, then they missed them completely in 1974, but he still had plenty left in the tank.
In 1975 he got the Cowboys back to the playoffs, taking the only wild card spot, but he led them to two straight upset wins, including a 37-7 win over the Rams, in which he threw 220 yards and 4 touchdowns. In his second Super Bowl appearance, he threw 3 interceptions to offset his 2 touchdowns as they lost to Pittsburgh 21-17.
Two years later, he took them to another Super Bowl, this time against the Denver Broncos, led by Craig Morton, who was Dallas' starter before Staubach, and even though he only threw one touchdown, it was more than enough to win his second title.
He reached his 4th Super Bowl in 1978, earning a rematch with the Steelers, who had beaten them 3 years earlier, but the result was the same. He played much better this time, with 228 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he was outplayed by Bradshaw again as Dallas lost in a shootout 35-31.
He turned in one of his best seasons in 1979, which would be his last. He set career highs in passing yards (3586), and touchdowns (27) and led Dallas to the NFC's top record, but was denied a shot at a third straight Super Bowl trip by a loss to the Rams. He decided to retire at age 37 due to a series of concussions that were affecting his health.
His career may have been only 11 seasons, and he was only a starter for 8 of them, but he reached four Super Bowls and won two. He also finished in the top 5 in passing yards in 6 straight seasons, and was also one of the top rushing quarterbacks in his era. The fact that he made the Super Bowl in half of his seasons as a starter is amazing, and he is definitely one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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