Which Bengals Quarterbacks Have Had the Best NFL Starting Debuts?

Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium, Jake Browning will become the 21st quarterback in Cincinnati Bengals history to make his NFL starting debut when he takes the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The previous 20 went 6-14 in their first NFL starts, although two of them were replacement players during the 1987 strike, so the more official number is 18 quarterbacks who went 5-13.

Regardless of whether Browning wins or loses his first start in relief of the injured Joe Burrow, he will make history Sunday as the oldest quarterback in team history to make his starting debut at 27 years, 229 days.

Which Bengals QB Has Had the Best Starting Debut?

The previous mark belonged to Turk Schonert, who was 26 years, 224 days old in 1983 when he took over the week after Pittsburgh’s Keith Gary nearly decapitated Ken Anderson in a Monday Night Football game. Schonert went 20-of-33 for 290 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in a 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos, dropping the Bengals to 1-6.

Let’s take a look at some of the superlatives from past NFL starting debuts by Bengals quarterbacks.

Victories

The five non-strike quarterbacks who won their first NFL start include some names you would expect on the list, one you would not, and one who is on the current roster.

AJ McCarron: He took over in 2015 after Andy Dalton broke his thumb against the Pittsburgh Steelers and guided the Bengals to a 24-14 victory in San Francisco. McCarron re-signed with the Bengals earlier this season ahead of the Week 3 Monday night game against the Los Angeles Rams when it looked as though Burrow wouldn’t be able to play after re-aggravating his calf injury.

Andy Dalton: Dalton started the season opener in Cleveland as a rookie in 2011 and left the game injured. It was Bruce Gradkowski who threw the game-winning touchdown pass to A.J. Green in the 27-17 victory, but Dalton gets credit for the win as the starter even though he was just 10 of 15 for 81 yards in the game.

Akili Smith: Perhaps the career highlight for the No. 3 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, Smith took over for Jeff Blake after an 0-4 start and led the Bengals to an 18-17 comeback win at Cleveland by hitting Carl Pickens for the game-winning touchdown with five seconds remaining.

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Smith finished 25 of 42 for 225 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He would start only 16 games the rest of his career, winning just two of them.

Boomer Esiason: After an 0-5 start, Sam Wyche made the switch from Anderson to Esiason, and the rookie delivered a 13-3 victory at Houston with little production. Esiason was just 13 of 24 for 159 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Greg Cook: The No. 5 pick in the 1969 draft, Cook started the season opener as a rookie and led the Bengals to a 27-21 victory against the Miami Dolphins at Nippert Stadium. Cook went 11 of 21 for 155 yards with two touchdowns and one interception to beat Bob Griese.

Most Yards

Turk Schonert’s 290 yards tops the list by a decent margin.

The next closest was Carson Palmer’s 248 in a 31-24 road loss to the New York Jets in the 2004 season opener. This came after the 2003 No. 1 pick sat out his entire rookie season to watch and learn under Jon Kitna.

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Jeff Blake had 247 in a 23-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 1994, while Jeff Driskel posted 236 in a 24-10 home loss to the Broncos in 2018. Wyche had 228 in a 27-17 home loss to Houston in 1968.

The bar is low for Browning to crack the top five.

Most TD Passes

Again, not a high bar. Palmer, Blake, Smith, and Cook each threw two touchdown passes in their starting debuts.

The NFL record for most touchdown passes in a starting debut during the Super Bowl era is four, which is shared by five quarterbacks, including former Bengal John Stoffa. The most recent quarterback to do it was Tennessee Titans passer Will Levis in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons.

The others were Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota (2015), Minnesota’s Todd Bouman (2001), Detroit’s Eric Hipple (1981), and Miami’s Stoffa (1966).

Best Passer Rating

Sam Wyche’s 118.0 tops the list, followed by McCarron (115.6), Palmer (105.2), Dalton (102.4), and Anderson (97.6).

Mariota has the NFL record with a perfect 158.3 in his 2015 debut.

The Full List

Here is the chronological list of the 18 non-strike quarterbacks who have made their NFL starting debut in a Bengals uniform.

• Joe Burrow, 2020: 23-36, 193 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 66.1; Lost to Chargers 16-13
• Ryan Finley, 2019: 16-30, 167, 1, 1, 66.9; Lost to Ravens 49-13
• Jeff Driskel, 2018: 25-37, 236, 1, 1, 82.7; Lost to Broncos 24-10
• AJ McCarron, 2015: 15-21, 192, 1, 0, 115.6; Beat 49ers 24-14
• Andy Dalton, 2011: 10-15, 81, 1, 0, 102.4; Beat Browns 27-17
• Carson Palmer, 2004: 18-27, 248, 2, 1, 105.2; Lost to Jets 31-24
• Akili Smith, 1999: 25-42, 221, 2, 0, 89.5; Beat Browns 18-17
• Jeff Blake, 1994: 14-32, 247, 2, 0, 91.5; Lost to Cowboys 23-20
• David Klingler, 1992: 16-34, 140, 0, 0, 58.5; Lost to Steelers 21-9
• Donald Hollas, 1991: 17-31, 141, 1, 3, 37.9; Lost to Raiders 38-14
• Erik Wilhelm, 1991: 12-24, 106, 0, 2, 27.4; Lost to Oilers 35-3
• Boomer Esiason, 1984: 13-24, 159, 0, 2, 40.1; Beat Oilers 13-3
• Turk Schonert, 1983: 20-33, 290, 0, 1, 76.6; Lost to Broncos 24-17
• Jack Thompson, 1979: 11-21, 181, 0, 1, 61.8; Lost to Oilers 30-27 (OT)
• Ken Anderson, 1971: 11-19, 137, 1, 0, 97.9; Lost to Dolphins 23-13
• Greg Cook, 1969: 11-21, 155, 2, 1, 88.4; Beat Dolphins 27-21
• Sam Wyche, 1968: 20-25, 228, 1, 0, 118.0; Lost to Oilers 27-17
• Dewey Warren, 1968: 14-26, 125, 0, 1, 51.0; Lost to Chargers 29-13

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