Back in week 3, Jimmy Clausen was the Bears starting quarterback when Chicago traveled to Seattle. The Bears offense was abysmal that day, with Chicago punting on all ten drives. Clausen has since been released, pick up by the Ravens, and now will start his second game of the season for Baltimore against… Seattle.
Clausen becomes the fifth quarterback to start against the same opponent twice in the same season, but with different teams. The first four?
- In the first month of the 2011 season, Kyle Orton started for the Broncos against the Raiders in week 1 and the Packers in week 4 (both losses). Orton was later benched for Tim Tebow, and when Kansas City started Matt Cassel was lost for the season, the Chiefs picked up Orton off waivers. In addition to getting a chance to beat the Broncos in week 17, Orton also had revenge games against the Raiders and Packers. And while Orton lost against Oakland as a member of the Chiefs, he led Kansas City to an upset win over Green Bay in week 15, handing the Packers their only loss of the regular season.
- In 1998, Kerry Collins was the Carolina Panthers franchise quarterback. The Panthers faced the Falcons twice in the first five weeks, and lost both games with Collins under center. Off-the-field issues led to Collins’ release in the middle of the season, but he resurfaced in New Orleans. In December, he started against the Falcons for the third time that year, but that didn’t seem to help: He went 6/14 for 87 yards with 3 interceptions. Of course, the Falcons were great that year, going 14-2, although only 11-2 when not facing Kerry Collins.
- In 1991, Chris Chandler began the season as the Tampa Bay starting quarterback, but he was released after an 0-3 start to the year and a 1.76 ANY/A average. One of those losses was to New Orleans, and Chandler was eventually cut. He was then picked up by the Phoenix Cardinals, who gave him a late December start… against the Saints. Like Collins, things didn’t go so well (7/12 for 67 yards with 2 interceptions) against the same opponent but with a different team.
- In the early 1960s, Jack Kemp played for the Chargers. In week 2, Kemp completed 5 of 18 passes but for 184 yards and a touchdown in a win over the New York Titans. Kemp broke his finger, however, and was put on waivers to make room for another player. The Chargers thought this might go unnoticed, but Buffalo claimed him. Once healed, Kemp started three games for the Bills, including a late December game at the Polo Grounds against the Titans. Kemp wasn’t very good — he went 12/25 for 151 yards with 4 interceptions — but a strong ground game powered Buffalo to a win.