The Bengals reach the Super Bowl by winning probably the coldest game played in the NFL since the discovery of the wind-chill factor.

Ken Anderson Al Messerschmidt/WireImage.com

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By Ron Fimrite

This story was orignally published in the Jan. 18, 1982 issue of Sports Illustrated.

OK Johnny, how cold was it? It was so-o-o-o cold that. . . . Well, let's put it this way: It was the coldest Jan. 10 in Cincinnati history and probably the coldest game played in the NFL since the discovery of the wind-chill factor. It was nine below zero at the start of Sunday's American Football Conference championship game in Riverfront Stadium, with northwest winds gusting up to 35 mph, and by the third quarter the old w-c factor had dipped to an estimated 59 degrees below zero. Now that's cold. "I can't ever remember a colder day than this one," said Cincinnati Coach Forrest Gregg after his team had iced the AFC title with a 27-7 win over San Diego. Gregg is an expert on the subject because he played for the Packers in the fabled 1967 Ice Bowl in Green Bay against the Cowboys. On Sunday in Cincinnati the Amundsen polar expedition wouldn't have made it to the 50-yard line.

The curious thing is that it was obviously cold on only one side of the line of scrimmage. The Cincinnati offensive linemen even played in short-sleeved jerseys, attire more suitable to the Hula Bowl. Bengal Quarterback Ken Anderson whistled his passes hard and accurately into the teeth of the arctic winds while his San Diego counterpart, Dan Fouts, seemed to be sailing kites. "You can't throw a ball you can't grip," said his tight end, Kellen Winslow. "The ball wasn't hard to handle," said Anderson. Anderson threw no interceptions; Fouts had two costly ones. And of the Chargers' four fumbles, two fell from their frostbitten fingers into the hot hands of the enemy, both leading to Bengal scores. "There should be no doubt from now on about the value of the home-field advantage," said Gregg in apparent praise of the Queen City's brutal climate. Could that be it? The Midwesterners were better acclimated to the frigid conditions than the Californians. But how could that be? Nearly half of the Bengals played their college football in Sunbelt states. Two of those bare-armed linemen, Anthony Munoz and Max Montoya, are out of USC and UCLA, respectively. And the two wide receivers, Isaac Curtis and Cris Collinsworth, reside in Santa Ana, Calif. and Titusville, Fla., respectively.

No, the fact is the Bengals were just tougher, smarter and better. Cincinnati's defense frustrated the Chargers every bit as often as the wind and the chill, and the Bengal offense would have pursued its relentless game plan if the two teams had played on an ice floe, which was virtually the case.

The Bengals outsmarted the Chargers from the very outset when, after winning the toss, they elected to kick off and defend with the wind at their backs, hoping that the nor'wester would blow down the vaunted San Diego passing attack and force the Chargers to kick into it from a disadvantageous field position. San Diego nearly upset this scheme by running Chuck Muncie for a first down on two straight sweeps. Then Fouts decided to test the air. His first pass was blown away from Winslow, his second was in the flat to Wes Chandler for a minuscule one-yard gain and his third danced in the air like a balloon before it dropped short of Charlie Joiner. Success! Now Punter George Roberts would be obliged to kick a leaden ball with a frozen foot into an icy gale. His wobbler was good for only 27 yards, and the Bengals started a drive from their own 36 that would end with a 31-yard Jim Breech field goal. Breech, a cheerful little (5' 6") Californian, was the only kicker who had any success at all in this game. He would boot another field goal in the third quarter, convert three extra points and even make a tackle on a kick return, something he likes to do from time to time to "show my teammates I'm more than than just another flaky kicker."

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