Joe Burrow looks to snap ugly history of No. 1 picks in first starts

Joe Burrow can end the long streak of No. 1 quarterbacks who failed to win their first start.

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Joe Burrow to take the beleaguered franchise to the next level. On Sunday,  he’ll get his first opportunity to prove he’s capable of doing just that by breaking the curse of the No. 1 quarterback.

If he manages to lead the Bengals past the Los Angeles Chargers, he will be the first quarterback taken No. 1 overall to win his first start since David Carr in 2002, as pointed out by Grant Gordon of NFL.com.

No. 1 quarterbacks have simply had a rough time of it in their debuts over the last two decades. They are 0-11-1 since Carr.

To be fair, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Any passer chosen first overall ends up with a team that was bad enough to finish last in the standings.

Joe Burrow is fighting against history on Sunday.

Last year, Kyler Murray managed to avoid adding to the losses column with a tie for the Arizona Cardinals, which was impressive enough. Even so, he didn’t get the victory.

One of the quarterbacks in that unfortunate run wore a Cincinnati uniform. Back in 2004, Carson Palmer lost his first start at the New York Jets.

It’s up to Burrow,

a newly-minted captain

, to flip the script.

it’s up to the Chargers to keep the narrative going.

The matchup between the two isn’t unbalanced at least.

While the Bengals will have to manage a rookie quarterback through the game, the Chargers will have Tyrod Taylor at the helm. He last started for Cleveland in 2018 and didn’t exactly light up the show. He completed just 49.41 percent of his passes in four appearances that year, scoring two touchdowns with two interceptions.

Los Angeles is favored by a field goal but Burrow will have the advantage of playing at home. Then again, there will be no home crowd to spur him on.