AJ McCarron earned his first NFL start Sunday when the Cincinnati Bengals faced the San Francisco 49ers on the road.

McCarron led Cincinnati to its 11th win of the season with a 24-14 victory over San Francisco in Santa Clara, Calif., and he was also able to break a 28-year winless drought for former Alabama quarterbacks starting in the NFL. He became the first Crimson Tide quarterback to win an NFL start since Jeff Rutledge did it in 1987 with the New York Giants.

The national championship-winning quarterback threw for 192 yards and one touchdowns on 15-of-21 passing Sunday against the 49ers in the first start of his two-year professional career. McCarron earned the starting nod after he played majority of last week's game against Pittsburgh when Cincinnati's starter Andy Dalton exited the game with a thumb injury.

In college, the Mobile, Ala., native compiled a 34-2 (.943) record as a starter at Alabama and was the runner-up for the 2013 Heisman Trophy. And after Sunday evening's game, he now possesses a 1-0 record as a starter in the NFL.

McCarron will lead the Bengals under center in their final two games, against Denver (Dec. 28) and Baltimore (Jan. 3).

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