Andrew Whitworth, the Bengals' great left tackle who anchored three AFC North championships and six playoff berths, pulls double duty Thursday night (8:15-Prime Video) when another division drama unfolds at Paycor Stadium with the first-place Steelers.

Whitworth, 43, a Prime analyst, has been tapped as the Ruler of the Jungle to celebrate his 11 seasons, three Pro Bowls and 168 games in stripes. A total of 22 pad-popping games of ecstasy and agony came against the Steelers in matchups like Thursday, where the only thing on the line is everything.

He spent some time this week talking to Bengals.com senior writer Geoff Hobson about the rivalry and the impact it had on turning the Bengals into consistent winners, as well as the emotions of taking the throne and his thoughts on being in the Ring of Honor one day.

The Conversation

GH: Two 40-year-old quarterbacks going at it Thursday night. When you retired at 40 four years ago, you were the oldest left tackle ever.

AW: I feel like I should be out there with them this week.

GH: Will you want to jump in there and take a run at T.J. Watt, or are you glad you're going up there as The Ruler and in the broadcast booth?

AW: Every week, those last three minutes of the telecast, I think I want to go out on the field and play because I just get fired up. The energy of the stadium, the lights, everything. I always think I could go out there and play. So I would imagine being back in Cincy, I will definitely think that I can go out there and play and want to. But luckily, I know better at this point.

GH: How does it feel to be The Ruler?

AW: It's really cool. I think you know me well enough to know I'm not much of the rah-rah guy. But, you know what? I'm excited to get back to Cincy, man. I'm excited to get back to the stadium. Always feels good to be in there. Makes me nostalgic for all the good old days. Especially against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Had some big moments in that series.

GH: I just referred to you in this week's Who-Dey Conversation we do with me, Dave Lapham and Dan Hoard. This week we named our favorite win over Pittsburgh, and I said my favorite win anywhere was the 2009 War of 18-12 in Pittsburgh when James Harrison hit you in the face on the last drive for a 15-yard penalty that was the biggest play of the drive and cemented a win that virtually gave you guys a division sweep and the AFC North title.

And you had the great quote after in the locker room at Heniz. "They were mad. We were running it down their throat. That's what they're supposed to do, and they didn't like it." The overture of the War of 18-12. What was your favorite win over the Steelers as a Bengal?

AW: It's definitely that one. That one's probably my favorite. I always say that you want to play games that mean something. And we always seem like we ended up in some Pittsburgh game in the middle of the season, and you got to end up on both ends of it. The heartbreak of some of the losses and the heart pounding of how fun it was to have some of those wins. Some of those things I remember the most. That and probably against Baltimore from my time in Cincinnati, just some of those huge moments.

That game in '09 was really … I think back to '08. Some of those things where in '08 you think about some of the guys that came in and the turn of the culture. Fitz (former Bengals quarterback and fellow Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick) and I always tell the funny story about (Jaguars defensive tackle) John Henderson and the fight (with Whitworth) and Fitz being the only offensive player that didn't get fined from the fight. We always tell that to joke, but that was the turning of the culture. We were 0-8, I had this huge moment, and then in '09 I become the captain based off a lot of that.

GH: And '09 was your first year at left tackle.

AW: The first four games of '07, I played left tackle just because Levi (Jones) wasn't back yet. It was my first full year as the guy.

GH: My favorite Bengals team of all time, the '09 team. So many last-second wins. All ten of them seemed like they were at the gun.

AW: Yeah, it was really like the turning of the tide, I would say, in Cincinnati.

GH: From '09-'15, the Bengals went to the playoffs six out of seven years with three AFC North titles.

AW: I do remember a home game (Bengals running back) Cedric Benson knocking out (Steelers Hall of Fame) safety Troy Polamalu. I'll always remember that.

GH: Yeah, that was '08, too. Your fight with Henderson and Ced popping Troy were the cultural touchstones setting the table for '09. Why Pittsburgh? All the history?

AW: Obviously, the history, and you think of it, all those games just seemed to be relevant. I even think of some of the bloodbath games we had. The year (2014) that we made the playoffs but didn't have anybody left to play in the game against the Colts after that Pittsburgh game, and neither one of us could even compete in the playoffs because we beat the snot out of each other.

Those moments are what stick out to me. It's just how physical, probably the most physical football games I've ever played in were against Pittsburgh and Baltimore in that division. Think about how good those two defenses were during the time we were there. Really rare.

GH: I guess being asked to come back as The Ruler gives you an idea of how much you mean around these parts.

AW: Yeah, really cool. As I always say, when people ask me about being a Ram and a Bengal fan or whatever, who do you root for, that kind of stuff, I always say, Listen. I bled for both, so I will forever be both. For me, I will always be a Bengal at heart. It's where all our kids were born and raised. And when I think of all my kids as those little babies and toddlers and running around, I think of living in Fort Thomas, Ky., and Cincinnati being home, and we will always consider that.

GH: You and Miss Louisiana had four children here. What are those little kids doing now?

AW: Man, everywhere. Sarah is a freshman in high school on the dance team dancing on Friday nights. Drew, her twin, plays football at his school. He just started playing football. He's a basketball player, like his dad, and he plays tight end and linebacker, and he just started playing. This is his first year playing every game. He actually plays every down. So he plays on both sides of the ball and loves it. He's always just played baseball and basketball.

Michael, his little brother, is in seventh grade, and I actually coach his team. He plays on a youth football team. He's the edge rusher and tight end, which is what I was. And Katherine is in fifth grade, and she's our artsy kid. Super smart and kills it in school. Always jokes she's going to end up going to some school in London or something when she's in high school. She's wired that way.

GH: You're friends with Joe Burrow, your fellow LSU Tiger. What did you think about the trade for Joe Flacco as Burrow rehabs his turf toe?

AW: It brings some steadiness. I look at it like, it's not that you couldn't have got there with Jake Browning. Obviously, he had some success the last time he had to be in there for Joe Burrow. But bringing in a guy who's experienced it all, seen it all, been a part of it all, probably just brings some calmness to the huddle.

And even though people are saying he's trying to learn on the fly, listen. Joe's played in everything under the sun. There's not a concept he hasn't heard or ever not done. In that sense, he may be somebody who in his head, there may be some chaos trying to figure out everything. But he portrays calm and steady and just who he is.

I think that's really what's going to help them a little bit. Have somebody in there who's pretty confident in what he's doing, how he's doing it. (Sunday in Green Bay) was an awesome effort. Didn't quite get it done. But, shoot, they've got to be proud of the effort of going in there and really in a game where everyone would have considered they had no chance making it a game and really having an opportunity.

GH: To me, Sunday proved again Ja’Marr Chase, another fellow LSU Tiger, is the best player in the league. I mean, that guy almost had a 100-yard game with the new guy a week after getting a 110 with the backup. He's special.

AW: He's definitely that. He's one of the rarest athletes on the planet. It's unfortunate, you know, for Joe to get hurt. You're devastated, heart wrenching. But at the same time, there's a lot of really good football players there, and they've got to keep trying to figure out a way they can be successful this season. And one of the best ways they can do that is Thursday night, shocking everybody and finding a way to win that game.

GH: A win in this series wouldn't be that much of a shock. The way they go after each other.

AW: We've seen it. Listen, on Thursday night that's been the cool part of us having tons of division games. I mean, Rams-Niners supposed to be a Rams blowout. Niners have nobody, and the Niners found a way to win it. The week before that. Seahawks-Cardinals overtime. Seahawks are supposed to win that game. They figure out a way to do it, but by no means was it easy. And then the week before that, Buffalo is supposed to be on top of the world. Miami takes them down to the wire, right? And so that's the thing about division football. There's no script that says you're winning in division games. You have to go out and earn it.

I think Cincinnati gets a chance, not just for what people think, but for themselves that you want to make something out of this season. You do whatever it takes to go out and have the best night possible and build some confidence off of if. If you can go in there and say, "All right, we go beat this Steelers team in our place. we walk out of that game, we have 10 days to get ourselves together with Joe Flacco now as our quarterback, and let's build off this confidence and see if we can go do something special and make a run to get ourselves back in the playoff picture."

And you're not talking about a team that's been clean. Pittsburgh has had some battles themselves. Defensively, they've had some question mark moments. And offensively, they've really kind of simplified a lot of things to try to take care of the football, get the ball out quick. Use some of the guys they have to be kind of more careful with the football. And then, Aaron (Rodgers) makes some of those quick throws and things that he does.

It's not like you're talking about some juggernaut that you have no chance against. This is a much better matchup for the Bengals than last week in Green Bay was, and they'll have an opportunity if they can go out and play well on offense to have some success.

GH: How's it a better matchup for them?

AW: You look at Pittsburgh here lately. Kind of their philosophy has been to bring in six O-linemen, play with three tight ends a lot, and kind of use that to solidify their run game. You're really talking about offensively, Aaron is somebody who can still make the throws, but you're not as worried about him as a scrambler and everything else, and extending plays a lot, as much as he used to. And the run game has been better the last few weeks, but it hasn't been great all year.

It's not Green Bay when you look at the talent they have. They can beat you a million different ways. And then on top of that, defensively, how good they've been.

And so I think that, really, with this Pittsburgh group, teams have gone in and physically played up to the task with them. This game ought to match up better for Cincinnati, and if they want to get some confidence going, this is the week that you've got to go out and play well, eliminate mistakes and take advantage of opportunity at your place against the team that kind of thinks they're going to run away with the division.

GH: How is it going to work mechanically for you Thursday with your broadcasting duties while being The Ruler?

AW: It's going to be interesting. They have to figure out how I get up there and all that good mess, so we'll see. It'll be an interesting week on how we get up there, but it will be fun.

It just means pregame is going to be a little different. I've done it before. I think even my first year, when I was there doing Thursday Night Football (2022). I wasn't actually a full-time member of the desk yet. So I remember I actually got to do something in the stands during that game. It's pretty cool to come back now. I think that was either week three or four of our season that year, and I wasn't quite fully on the desk. I was just a contributor. And then kind of right after that, they named me as a full-time desk analyst.

GH: So you should be on the desk when you're getting the game underway this Thursday upstairs? Takes you a little bit out of your game, but you sound excited about it.

AW: Always excited. Can't wait to see the people in Cincinnati. Being in that element, anytime you've done it for 11 years in a place, pregame is pregame. You're always jacked up and excited. And I'll probably think I could jump off of that thing on to the field and play.

GH: They've done a great job with their game day presentation in the last few years, haven't they?

AW: I think the girls (Bengals officials Elizabeth and Caroline Blackburn) have done an amazing job of creating an atmosphere there, and continuing to push the envelope and expand how they do things, and continue to look for new ways and better ways to create a game day experience, to create a vibe and an energy there and some pride in what is playing in Cincinnati. They keep pushing themselves. I think that's one of the neatest developments to me is the ways that they've expanded in marketing the brand that is the Cincinnati Bengals.

GH: Does this get you thinking about the Ring of Honor at all?

AW: Oh, yeah. I mean, shoot, any stadium we walk in, it's always funny. We always joke. Me and Ryan and Sherm (Richard Sherman), those three-and-a half hours before the game are probably the best part of our actual job. And just to be in every stadium and to look around to see a Ring of Honor and think about who's in it, and think of their careers and those kinds of things.

I mean, those are really, really, really special moments. To sit in that stadium and see different people that you see and the names up there in every stadium we go in. That's why I think it's really cool Cincinnati has one. It's even that way for me when I go back and read some of those names. I think about either some of them who, obviously, I played with and then some of them I think of all the stories that I heard about them and who they were and my experiences with them. So it's a really neat thing, and I'm really glad they did it.

GH: The next game after Thursday night, they put Lap in with Lemar Parrish. Lap holding the banner for the O-line. We like our O-linemen. A quarter of the Ring. Lap. Anthony Munoz and your teammate Willie Anderson.

AW: Happy for Lap. Got some really good ones. It's been cool to see Lapham and Willie in there. Thinking about Anthony and his contribution to me as a young player. Having some coffee with him. I'll never forget meeting him for breakfast, and him talking to me as a young player, and then Willie's contribution to me, and then even Lap, just over the years, getting a chance to be around him and his positive energy and how much he was covering us then, too. It's just neat to see their impact on the franchise, and what they've meant to the place, and to be recognized for it.

GH: I'm sure at some point, some year, 77 will be going up there.

AW: It'd be cool. That'd be really neat. We had a really good run when I was there, and that's one of the things I've always taken a lot of pride in. Your ability to impact your team, to have success as an offensive lineman is one of your biggest contributions, and the consistency it takes to play that position at a high level. If it ever happens, obviously it's very special because of what a special place it was to me and my family.