It was a bone-chilling cold in Cincinnati for the AFC
Championship game on January 10, 1982 – so much so that NFL Commissioner Pete
Rozelle considered postponing it. However, after consulting a medical
specialist in cold weather conditions, he allowed the contest to be played. The
scheduled halftime show by the Zanesville High School marching band was a
casualty of the frigid conditions, however. The temperature was nine degrees
below zero at game time with a wind chill of minus 59 (give or take a few
degrees). Winds which gusted up to 30 mph played havoc on the passing game.
The host team, the Cincinnati Bengals, was coming off
three straight losing records before making a stunning run through the 1981
schedule and topping the AFC Central at 12-4. Newly garbed in tiger-striped
uniforms, Head Coach Forrest Gregg’s club packed plenty of scoring punch. QB
Ken Anderson had a MVP season and benefited from the presence of rookie WR Cris
Collinsworth, who teamed up well with veteran WR Isaac Curtis and TE Dan Ross.
Big (6’0”, 249) FB Pete Johnson rushed for 1077 yards, caught 46 passes for 320
more, and scored 16 touchdowns. The defense lacked big names but was
solid. The Bengals defeated the Buffalo
Bills in the Divisional round to advance to the conference title game.
The visiting San Diego Chargers, under Head Coach Don
Coryell, won their third straight AFC West title with a 10-6 record. Despite
losing key players in WR John Jefferson and DE Fred Dean in trades forced by
salary disputes, the Chargers were still a formidable team. To be sure, the
defense missed Dean’s pass rushing skill, but the offense still maintained an
outstanding aerial attack directed by QB Dan Fouts. Jefferson was ably replaced
by WR Wes Chandler, who was obtained from the Saints and joined WR Charlie
Joiner and TE Kellen Winslow. RB Chuck Muncie rushed for 1144 yards and rookie
all-purpose RB James Brooks was productive as well. San Diego won a thrilling
overtime game in Miami in the Divisional round which featured plenty of
offense.
There were 46,302 hardy fans in attendance at frigid
Riverfront Stadium. The Bengals stuck to their short, precision passing game to
good effect. Cincinnati started off the scoring with a 10-play, 51-yard drive
that followed a punt by the Chargers. Ken Anderson threw to Dan Ross for a
first down at the San Diego 33 along the way and Pete Johnson then ran for 11
yards. The series stalled at the 13 yard line and Jim Breech kicked a 31-yard
field goal.
A fumble by James Brooks on the ensuing kickoff was
recovered by TE Don Bass to set up Cincinnati’s next score. It took just two
plays as Anderson (pictured at right) connected with TE M.L. Harris for an eight-yard touchdown. The
Chargers put together a scoring drive in the second quarter, advancing 55 yards
in six plays. Fouts threw to Kellen Winslow for a 33-yard TD and the Cincinnati
margin was narrowed to 10-7.
The Bengals came right back, however. WR David Verser
returned the kickoff 40 yards and Cincinnati proceeded to go 55 yards in seven
plays. Anderson passed to Isaac Curtis for a 15-yard gain that gave Cincinnati
a first down at the San Diego one yard line and Johnson ran from there for a
touchdown.
Two drives by the Chargers into scoring territory in the
second quarter were blunted by the Bengals defense. First, a Fouts pass was
intercepted by CB Louis Breeden at the Cincinnati six yard line, and later a
throw into the end zone was picked off by safety Bobby Kemp.
In the third quarter, another turnover by the Chargers
was turned into points by the Bengals. DE Ross Browner recovered a fumble by
Chuck Muncie and Cincinnati took nine plays to drive 39 yards. Anderson
completed a pass to Ross for 19 yards and also had a 13-yard run for a first down.
Breech kicked a 38-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-7.
Following a missed field goal attempt by the Chargers in
the fourth quarter, the Bengals finished them off with a 14-play, 68-yard
series that featured the ground game. Along the way, they converted a fourth
down in San Diego territory with an eight-yard run by Johnson. Don Bass completed
the drive by catching a pass from Anderson for a three-yard touchdown. The
Bengals ended up winning handily by a score of 27-7.
Statistically, Cincinnati’s domination was less apparent
as they edged the Chargers both in total yards (318 to 301) and first downs (19
to 18). However, San Diego turned the ball over four times, to one by the
Bengals, and was very much off its typical level of performance. In a rarity
for the Chargers, they ran the ball more often than they passed and their 301
total yards were the fewest generated in any game during the season. The
Bengals also benefited from Jim Breech’s two field goals in as many attempts
while San Diego’s Rolf Benirschke missed both of his tries.
Ken Anderson completed 14 of 22 passes for 161 yards with
two touchdowns and none intercepted. Pete Johnson rushed for 80 yards and a TD
on 21 carries. Dan Ross led the receivers with 5 catches for 69 yards.
For the Chargers, Dan Fouts (pictured below) was successful on just 15 of
28 throws for 185 yards and a touchdown with two costly interceptions. Chuck
Muncie gained 94 yards on 23 rushing attempts. Wes Chandler had 6 pass
receptions for 79 yards.
“This was the finest game I’ve ever seen a team play
under such unbelievable conditions,” said Forrest Gregg, who as a player for
Green Bay was part of some very big games in extreme winter conditions.
“The weather was no excuse,” said Don Coryell. “Football
is played in all conditions, always has been and always will be. We were
soundly beaten by a very fine team. We just didn’t do our job.”
The Bengals lost to another upstart team, the San
Francisco 49ers, in the Super Bowl. They went 7-2 during the strike-shortened
1982 season to again make the playoffs but lost in the first round. San Diego
was 6-3 and made it to the second round of the revamped postseason before
falling.
