Bengals vs Steelers: Joe Flacco, 40; Aaron Rodgers, 41, to make history in Week 7

The Cincinnati Bengals ar all go under to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a high-octane game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Thursday, October 16. While the classic AFC North matchup is gaining significant attention among the NFL fans, the encounter will also mark an extremely rare occurrence in the league.

As per Sports Illustrated, Thursday night's game will only be the third time in the history of the NFL when the starting quarterbacks on both ends will be at least 40 years old or older. For the Bengals, Joe Flacco will be the starting quarterback. He is 40 years and 274 days old. On the other hand, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is 41 years and 319 days old, will start for the Steelers.

The last two times when this happened was during the same season and involved the same quarterbacks, Sports Illustrated reported. New Orleans Saints's star quarterback Drew Brees played against Tampa Bay Buccaneers's Tom Brady twice in 2020.

At that time, Brees clocked in at 41 years and 298 days old, while Brady was 43 years and 97 days. The two games were played in the Week 1 and Week 9 of the same season. Brees and the New Orleans Saints emerged victorious in both the games.

So, what enables them to continue playing in the NFL even after turning 40? Bengals head coach Zac Taylor believes it is more related to being young at heart and physically gifted.

“I think just the intangible part of it, the leadership part... You always talk about quarterbacks have to be able to elevate all those around them. And I think these are two examples. Joe and Aaron are two examples of guys that elevate everybody around them," Sports Illustrated quoted Taylor as saying. The Bengals head coach is only a year older than Rodgers.

Also Read: NFL Week 7 full schedule: Who plays who on Thursday, Sunday and Monday?

The two NFL star quarterbacks will be facing each other for the fourth time in their respective careers. In the last three games, Rodgers has secured a victory over Flacco in all of them.

They first played against each other in December 2009, when the Packers defeated the Ravens 27-13. The second time they came face-to-face was in 2013. At that time, the Packers again won the game, this time by a close margin of 19-17. The third game—Packers 27, Broncos 16—was in September 2019.

Since 1970, a total of 17 quarterbacks have started for their respective teams at the age of 40 or older. Among these include Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde, Brett Favre, Warren Moon, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Hasselbeck, Doug Flutie, Joe Flacco, Len Dawson, Johnny Unitas, Sonny Jurgensen, Brad Johnson, Vince Evans, Earl Morrall and Steve DeBerg.

Also Read: Why did David Bell, Cleveland Browns WR, retire at 24?

Bengals vs Steelers match will kick off at 8:15 PM ET on Thursday, October 16.

Fans can livestream the game on Amazon Prime.

The Week 7 game will be played at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.

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