AFC Championship at Riverfront Stadium on Sun January 10, 1982. The San Diego Chargers (11-6) travel to face the Cincinnati Bengals (13-4) in the conference's title game.
Dan Fouts at quarterback for San Diego. Kellen Winslow and Charlie Joiner at the receiving corps. Ken Anderson at quarterback for Cincinnati. Cris Collinsworth and Dan Ross at the receiving corps.[1][2]
Ken Anderson, the league MVP, vs Dan Fouts, the league's leading passing yards man. The Bengals are the AFC #1 seed; the Chargers come off the Saturday Epic in Miami overtime road win. The conference championship game is the kind of marquee matchup the new playoff format promotes.
The weather is the year's defining playoff condition. Pregame temperature is minus 9 Fahrenheit with the wind chill at minus 59. The Air Coryell offense in the elements.
Conference Championship Sunday is the league's final weekend before Super Bowl XVI. The Bengals (AFC #1) host the Chargers (AFC #3). The 49ers (NFC #1) host the Cowboys (NFC #2). The conference championships set the Super Bowl XVI matchup at the Pontiac Silverdome on Jan 24 The Sunday game is the kind of cross-divisional matchup the schedule produces.
Through the regular season the Bengals finished 12-4 and the Chargers finished 10-6. Anderson 29 TDs and 10 INTs (MVP). Pete Johnson 1,077 rushing. Cris Collinsworth 1,009 receiving (rookie of year). Dan Ross 71 catches for 910 (TE record). Dan Fouts 33 TDs and 17 INTs (4,802 yards). Kellen Winslow 88 catches for 1,075. Charlie Joiner 70 catches for 1,188. Fouts threw for 433 in the divisional Epic.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 12-4 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-8 | L3 |
| Houston Oilers | 7-9 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 11-4-1 | W4 |
| New York Jets | 10-5-1 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2-14 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 2-14 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 10-6 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 10-6 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 9-7 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 7-9 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-10 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 13-3 | W5 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L3 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6-10 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-12 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-7 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8-8 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8-8 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-9 | L5 |
| Chicago Bears | 6-10 | W3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 12-4 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W1 |
| New York Giants | 9-7 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-8 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7-9 | L2 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bengals | Jim Breech 31 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Bengals | M.L. Harris 8 yard pass from Ken Anderson (Jim Breech kick) | 0-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | Kellen Winslow 33 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 7-10 |
| Bengals | Pete Johnson 1 yard rush (Jim Breech kick) | 7-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bengals | Jim Breech 38 yard field goal | 7-20 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bengals | Don Bass 3 yard pass from Ken Anderson (Jim Breech kick) | 7-27 |
Ken Anderson threw a touchdown to M.L. Harris and Pete Johnson ran in a 1-yard score and Don Bass caught a 3-yard touchdown, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Diego Chargers 27-7 at Riverfront Stadium in the Freezer Bowl AFC Championship game. The Bengals improved to 14-4 and advanced to Super Bowl XVI against the 49ers.[1][2]
Ken Anderson threw two touchdowns and Pete Johnson ran in a 1-yard score, and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Diego Chargers 27-7 in the Freezer Bowl AFC Championship game at Riverfront Stadium. The home win in minus-9 Fahrenheit air temperature advanced the Bengals to Super Bowl XVI against the 49ers.
Anderson finished 14 of 22 for 161 with the two touchdowns to M.L. Harris (8) and Don Bass (3). Pete Johnson ran for 80 yards and a touchdown. Charles Alexander added 32 rushing. Cris Collinsworth caught five for 81. Dan Ross caught four for 65.
Dan Fouts threw for 185 yards on 28 attempts with one touchdown to Kellen Winslow (33) and two interceptions. The Chargers' Air Coryell offense, in the kind of cold-weather conditions the league had not produced in years, managed seven points. Winslow caught three for 47 with the touchdown. Charlie Joiner caught two for 49.
Bengals 27, Chargers 7. Margin: plus 20. AFC Championship.
A 27-7 AFC Championship home win over the San Diego Chargers at Riverfront Stadium in the Freezer Bowl (minus-9 Fahrenheit air temperature). The Bengals improve to 14-4 and advance to Super Bowl XVI.
How it unfolded
Jim Breech kicked a 31-yard field goal. M.L. Harris caught an 8-yard touchdown from Anderson to make it 10-0. Kellen Winslow caught a 33-yard touchdown from Fouts to cut it to 10-7. Pete Johnson ran in a 1-yard touchdown to push it to 17-7 by halftime. Breech made a 38-yard field goal. Don Bass caught a 3-yard touchdown reception to make the final 27-7.
The turning point
The minus-9 air temperature and the minus-59 wind chill. The Chargers' Air Coryell offense, designed around deep passing and intermediate routes that require warmth in the fingers and the football, could not execute the kind of explosive plays that defined Fouts' record-setting regular season. The Bengals' run-first identity and the controlled Anderson passing day produced the kind of weather-adapted performance the AFC #1 seed needed.
By the numbers
Anderson 14 of 22 for 161, 7.3 yards per attempt, two touchdowns. Pete Johnson 80 rushing on 21 carries. Collinsworth five catches for 81. Dan Ross four for 65. Fouts 15 of 28 for 185 with one touchdown and two interceptions. Winslow three catches for 47 with the touchdown. The Bengals' defense produced two interceptions and one sack.
| Chargers | Bengals | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 18 | 19 |
| Total Yards | 301 | 318 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 15/28 | 15/23 |
| Pass yards | 185 | 175 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 12 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 173 | 175 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 31 | 36 |
| Rush yards | 128 | 143 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 4 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties | 2 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 25 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | |||||
| Dan Fouts | 15/28 | 185 | 1 | 2 | 56.4 |
| CIN | |||||
| Ken Anderson | 14/22 | 161 | 2 | 0 | 115.9 |
| Jack Thompson | 1/1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 118.7 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | ||||
| Chuck Muncie | 23 | 94 | 0 | 11 |
| James Brooks | 6 | 23 | 0 | 9 |
| Dan Fouts | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| John Cappelletti | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| CIN | ||||
| Pete Johnson | 21 | 80 | 1 | 11 |
| Ken Anderson | 5 | 39 | 0 | 13 |
| Charles Alexander | 9 | 22 | 0 | 4 |
| Cris Collinsworth | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | ||||
| Wes Chandler | 6 | 79 | 0 | 25 |
| Kellen Winslow | 3 | 47 | 1 | 33 |
| Charlie Joiner | 3 | 41 | 0 | 21 |
| Eric Sievers | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| James Brooks | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| CIN | ||||
| Dan Ross | 5 | 69 | 0 | 19 |
| Cris Collinsworth | 2 | 28 | 0 | 16 |
| Isaac Curtis | 2 | 28 | 0 | 15 |
| Charles Alexander | 3 | 25 | 0 | 16 |
| Pete Johnson | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| M.L. Harris | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Don Bass | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1981 Conference Championships - San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals - Game Thread