Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher has reason to respect Jon Kitna. He said Kitna should have been the Bengals' starting quarterback all along.

        “I think they picked the best one,” Cowher said Tuesday of the Bengals' three-headed quarterback race. “I think Jon Kitna is a guy - maybe we brought out the best in him - (who) has success in this league.”

        Kitna will make his fourth career career start against Cowher's Steelers on Sunday.

        He has a 2-1 record, and the 411 passing yards he had in the Bengals' 26-23 overtime victory Dec.30 are the most ever against a Cowher defense.

        Kitna was 1-1 in two starts last season against the Steelers, losing 16-7 in Pittsburgh on Oct.7. He threw for 164 yards, one TD and one interception that day.

        His first start against a Cowher team was Sept.26, 1999, at Pittsburgh. In a 29-10 Seattle victory, Kitna was 18-for-29 passing for 265 yards. He threw neither a touchdown nor an interception but had a long completion of 51 yards.

        “He had (success) in Seattle,” Cowher said. “He runs (the Bengals') offense very well. You could see it last week. He did a good job in Indianapolis.”

        Kitna threw for 244 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions - all of which were the fault of his receivers.

        Though Kitna defended them, Chad Johnson didn't run a route well enough once and let a good throw bounce through his hands a second time. A third-quarter pass was a little behind Michael Westbrook but hit the receiver in the hands before bouncing to a Colts defensive back.

        “He threw the ball well,” Cowher said. “I was impressed by him.”

        The start was Kitna's first this season. The Bengals opened the season with Gus Frerotte.

Bengals' next 3 games best chances for wins Cowher lauds Kitna as right choice Steelers trace slump to Bengals Bengals E-Mail: Jauron report probably false NFL Notebook: Browns' Holcomb has broken leg

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