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The Browns have had 26 starting quarterbacks since returning to Cleveland in 1999, including first-round picks Tim Couch, Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden and Johnny Manziel. But in 2004, the team could've ended the run of futility and saved themselves and their embittered fan base 13 more years of misery. All the Browns had to do was draft Ohio native Ben Roethlisberger with the sixth-overall pick.

They took 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. Roethlisberger, meanwhile, has two Super Bowl rings and is as good as ever in his 13th season with the Steelers.

And on Sunday, he'll face a Browns outfit that is currently 0-10 in 2016 and just 2-19 against Roethlisberger in his career. And that fact, leads to an even sadder one:

So that's embarrassing, even by Browns' standards. And it sounds like Big Ben's motivation, in part, comes from the fact that the Browns passed on him.

Roethlisberger also couldn't believe the Browns passed on another franchise quarterback, one who drew comparisons to Big Ben in the weeks and months leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft.

Also, when asked this week if he could name all the Browns QBs he's faced over the years, Roethlisberger offered up "no chance" before laughing.

"Wow, well, you know a buddy of mine who was here, Bruce Gradkowski was over there. Goodness gracious, Josh McCown and RG3 recently and [former Browns QB and Redskins QB] Colt McCoy. There have been a whole bunch of them that I have faced. 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."

The Steelers are 9-point favorites against the Browns on Sunday. And in case you think that's a lot of points, here's what Roethlisberger said last offseason about getting passed over in '04.

"Two quarterbacks had already been picked, so as a competitor, I felt underestimated," he told ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "When Cleveland passed on me, technically my hometown team, that was it. I couldn't wait to have a team and play the Browns at some point. Funny how it works out I'd go to Pittsburgh and play them twice a year."