NFL Week 3 will feature this rare QB matchup that the league hasn’t seen in 27 years

When the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings meet in Week 3, the game is going to feature a quarterback matchup that the NFL hasn’t seen in 27 years. 

On Cincinnati’s side, Jake Browning is going to be starting for a 2-0 Bengals team that lost Joe Burrow to injury last week. During the team’s 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bengals’ star suffered a toe injury that’s expected to sideline him for at least three months. 

In Minnesota, the Vikings (1-1) are set to start Carson Wentz, who will be filling in for J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings’ second-year quarterback injured his ankle in Week 2, and according to several reports, he could be out for up to a month. 

That means the game on Sunday will be giving us Browning vs. Wentz, which will mark the first time in 27 years that two quarterbacks will be facing each other in Week 3 after not starting in either Week 1 or Week 2. 

In a bizarre coincidence, the last time this happened also involved the Vikings and it happened all they way back in 1998. Twenty-seven years ago, the Vikings started Randall Cunningham in Week 3 against a Lions team that sent out Charlie Batch at quarterback. The Vikings went 15-1 in 1998 and Brad Johnson actually started the first two games before suffering a broken leg in Week 2, which set the stage for Cunningham to take over. As for Detroit, Scott Mitchell was the starter for the first two weeks, but he was benched after a Week 2 loss that dropped the Lions to 0-2. 

The Vikings ended up beating the Lions 29-6 during a season where Cunningham went 13-1 as the starter. The Vikings would likely love to see Wentz replicate Cunningham’s 1998 season, but that seems unlikely. 

Although Wentz once played at an MVP level, he’s turned into a journeyman quarterback who is playing for his sixth team over the past six seasons. As a matter of fact, when Wentz takes the field on Sunday, he’ll become the first QB since 1950 to start for six different teams in six straight seasons. 

Since 2020, Wentz has played for the Philadelphia Eagles (2020), Indianapolis Colts (2021), Washington Commanders (2022), Los Angeles Rams (2023) and Kansas City Chiefs (2024). 

When you face a quarterback who’s been around the block, there’s a lot of film to watch and that’s exactly what Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden has been doing this week. 

“I’ve been studying the last two days all of his reps,” Golden said of Wentz. 

Although Wentz has only started two games over the past two seasons, Golden still sees him as a dangerous quarterback. 

“He moves really well, he’s still throwing the deep ball,” Golden said Wednesday. “He has enough elusiveness to create in the pocket. He’s there for a reason, right? He’s there because he can run that offense. He’s always been an intelligent guy. I don’t really see them varying much from what they do. They’re really good at what they do, and I feel like they’ve been bringing him along for the last three, four weeks to get him ready for this opportunity.”

Wentz just signed with the Vikings on Aug. 24, which means he’s had less than a month to learn Minnesota’s offense. The upside for Wentz is that if he gets confused, he can just throw it up to Justin Jefferson. 

Earlier this week, CBS Sports NFL writer Cody Benjamin explained why this could be a big game for Wentz. McCarthy didn’t exactly look impressive during his first two starts, so it’s not too crazy to think the Wentz could hold on to the starting job for longer than expected if the Vikings can string a few wins together, starting on Sunday against Cincinnati.  

Bengals coach Zac Taylor has a long history with Wentz. In 2017, the former No. 2 overall pick led the Eagles to a 13-2 record before suffering a season-ending injury in a 43-35 Week 14 win over the Rams. Taylor was an assistant coach on that Rams team, so he was there when the injury happened. In 2020, Taylor faced Wentz again, but this time as the head coach of the Bengals. In that game, Wentz and the Eagles tied the Bengals, 23-23. 

Based on his history with Wentz, Taylor will not be underestimating the 32-year-old. 

“He’s got a lot of experience, I’ve seen him play at an extremely high level, an MVP level,” Taylor said Wednesday. “Played against him multiple times. I feel like this is a guy that Ive’ seen play hundreds of times.”

The Bengals coach then explained why Wentz can be so difficult to face. 

“Very strong, very difficult to bring down in the pocket, really good athleticism,” Taylor said “The play is never over with him. He’s got the ability to extend, he’s got a strong arm. He’s a difficult quarterback to play against. He’s got a lot of strengths. I know he’s only been there about [four] weeks now, but he’s got a lot of experience, he’s picked up playbooks fast in his past for teams he’s had to go play with, so I expect to face a difficult quarterback on Sunday.”

Although Wentz will be running an offense that he’s still learning, that won’t be the case for the Bengals. Not only has Browning been in Cincinnati since 2023, but he’s already got seven starts under his belt, going 4-3 two years ago after taking over for when Burrow, who suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Oh, and unlike Wentz, Browning has actually thrown a pass THIS year. 

During the Bengals’ Week 2 game against Jacksonville, Browning threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, he also threw three interceptions, but he made up for that by engineering a 92-yard game-winning drive that was capped off when he scored on a short QB sneak. 

While the Browning-Wentz matchup is unexpected, it doesn’t diminish the importance.

Both quarterbacks will likely feel some pressure this week, because this game could certainly be a turning point for one of the teams. If Wentz can get the win, the Vikings will improve to 2-1 and they’ll be feeling good about themselves as they get ready to play two straight international games: They face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ireland in Week 4 before heading to London to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. 

As for Cincinnati, if Browning leads the Bengals to the win, that would put them in a solid spot by giving them a slight margin for error. At 3-0, the Bengals could then afford to go 5-6 over the next three months, a record that would keep them in the playoff race as they await the possible return of Burrow in December. 

The Vikings and Bengals will be kicking off at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.