Cincinnati Bengals: 4 toughest quarterbacks on 2021 schedule

The Cincinnati Bengals have a tough schedule ahead of them in 2021 and will face four very difficult quarterbacks this season. This isn’t anything new for the Bengals who are used to facing tough teams with good quarterbacks year in and year out.

On the Bengals’ schedule this year are two dates with each of their AFC North foes along with hosting the Chiefs and the Packers. That’s going to bring some tough competition, as those teams are home to the best quarterbacks in the league, including the last three MVP recipients.

Let’s take a look at the four toughest signal-callers the Bengals will face in 2021.

Toughest Quarterbacks on Bengals 2021 Schedule – No. 4: Justin Herbert

The Bengals host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13 and that means we’ll finally (well, hopefully) get to see Joe Burrow square off against Justin Herbert. These two both were drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft with Burrow obviously landing with Cincinnati at No. 1 overall and Herbert hearing his name called No. 6 overall by the Chargers.

While the Bengals and Chargers did play each other last year, Cincinnati was the only NFL team that played the Chargers last year that didn’t face Herbert. He wasn’t the starter in Week 1 and got the nod to start in Week 2, then never relinquishing his job. There’s a reason for that too, as Herbert tossed for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while rushing for 234 yards and five touchdowns.

Herbert’s efforts through 15 starts were enough to earn him the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, which was well deserved. Sometimes rookie quarterbacks hit a sophomore slump in year two and while that certainly could happen to Herbert, the Chargers got better this offseason and made it a point to add talent on the o-line.

It won’t be easy to slow down Herbert and the Bolts and that’s why he made the list of toughest quarterbacks the Bengals will face this year.