Ben Roethlisberger grew up in Ohio, and in the weeks leading up to the 2004 NFL Draft, there were reasons to believe that he'd be taken by the home-state Browns. Instead, the organization went with tight end Kellen Winslow, who two games into his rookie season broke his leg in a motorcycle accident, and three years later was out of Cleveland altogether.
Meanwhile, Roethlisberger is 19-2 against the Browns, and he'll have a chance to get to an even 20 wins this Sunday when the Steelers face Cleveland.
For an idea of just how terrible the Browns' quarterback situation has been, consider this: 21 different names have started for the team since '04, and Big Ben has faced 12 of them. Asked if he could name those 12, Roethlisberger needed just two words.
"No chance," he said, via ESPN.com's Pat McManamon.
He was able to rattle off a few names -- Bruce Gradkowski, Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III and Colt McCoy -- adding that "it felt like it was almost a different one every time." (Roethlisberger never faced RG3, who was injured in Week 1 and has been sidelined ever since.)
"I would love to look at the numbers of which quarterback I actually played the most because I feel like it was almost a different one every time," he said.
That would be Derek Anderson, who played in Cleveland from 2005-09. According to McManamon, his 10 wins are the most by a Browns quarterback since 1999. If the Steelers win Sunday, Roethlisberger will also have 10 wins in Cleveland, giving you some idea just how futile the quarterback situation has been for the Browns.
Not surprisingly, the farther you go back, the worse it gets; here's a visual representation of all the Browns' starting quarterbacks from 1999-2015:
White tape supply running dangerously low. How about some help @theduckbrandpic.twitter.com/xs8thOGH0X
— Brokaw (@BrokawInc) December 2, 2015
There's more sadness: In 2016, the Browns became the first team to start three different quarterbacks in the first three games: RG3, Josh McCown and rookie Cody Kessler.
And for the morbidly curious, here are all 26 names to have started under center in Cleveland over the last 18 seasons: Tim Couch, Ty Detmer, Doug Pederson, Spergon Wynn, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Jake Delhomme, Jason Campbell, Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace, Thad Lewis, Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer, Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel, Connor Shaw, Austin Davis, Robert Griffin III and Cody Kessler.
Silver lining: Jeopardy! name check!