When the Steelers face the Bengals on Thursday night, it will be a matchup of the NFL’s two oldest quarterbacks, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers and 40-year-old Joe Flacco. Both players said this week that they’re looking forward to it.
“I think it’s great for all the old guys,” Rodgers said. “When I watch other spots, maybe it’s because I’m the older guy, I tend to pull for the older guys to win championships.”
Rodgers said he has a lot of respect for Flacco and is glad to see him still starting.
“I’ve known Joe for a long time,” Rodgers said. “He’s been a great ambassador for the league, he’s had a great career, and it’s fun that we’re still playing.”
When Flacco was asked by reporters about two over-40 quarterbacks playing each other, he asked, “Has it happened before?”
The answer to that trivia question is it has happened with just one other pair of quarterbacks: Tom Brady and Drew Brees, who started against each other twice in the 2020 regular season and once in the playoffs after they had both turned 40. Flacco and Rodgers will be just the second pair of starting quarterbacks over 40 to face off against each other.