When the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers match up on Sunday, Cincinnati Bengals QB Jake Browning will make his first NFL start. He’ll become the first quarterback to make his first-ever NFL start against Pittsburgh since Garrett Gilbert for the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 11, 2020, in a Week Nine matchup that Pittsburgh won, 24-19. In fact, the Steelers have won their last eight matchups against quarterbacks making their first career start. If Browning was to beat the Steelers, he would become the first quarterback to do so since Brett Favre on Sept. 27, 1992, when Favre and the Packers beat Pittsburgh 17-3 in Week Four.
In total, quarterbacks making their first career start against Pittsburgh are 10-15, with three of those wins coming before the AFL-NFL merger. Some notable names who have beaten Pittsburgh in their first career start include Favre, John Elway, Ron Jaworski, and Todd Blackledge, who went on to start some games for Pittsburgh while mainly serving as Bubby Brister’s backup.
While it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, it’s a little eye-opening that four of the last five quarterbacks to have made their first career start against Pittsburgh were all members of the Cleveland Browns. Derek Anderson made his first start in Week 14 of the 2006 season, losing 27-7. He was followed by Colt McCoy, whose first start against the Steelers came in Week Six of 2010. The Steelers beat McCoy and the Browns, 28-10. Thaddeus Lewis didn’t fare much better in Week 17 of 2012, losing 24-10. DeShone Kizer came the closest to knocking off Pittsburgh, losing 21-18 in Week One of the 2017 season.
Browning will become the second Bengals quarterback to make his first-ever start against the Steelers. In Week 13 of the 1993 season, David Klingler started for the Bengals in a 21-9 loss to Pittsburgh. It was the first of 24 starts for Klingler, who had an ugly 4-20 record as a starting quarterback. Pittsburgh would much prefer Browning play like Klingler, who was 16-of-34 for 140 yards in the loss, than Favre, who was 14-of-19 for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Like Browning, Favre got significant work in the prior week, going 22-of-39 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in a win over, ironically, the Bengals. But QB Don Majkowski got the start that day. Browning replaced the injured Joe Burrow and was 8-of-14 for 68 yards and a touchdown while running for 40 yards.
Pittsburgh lost to QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Cleveland Browns in Thompson-Robinson’s second career start last Sunday. The Steelers will look to avoid losing to Browning in his first start and losing to any quarterback in his first start in 31 years.
