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Freezer Bowl
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Freezer Bowl
In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised by NBC, with announcers Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. The game, won by the Bengals, 27–7, was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill. Air temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C), but the wind chill, factoring in a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour (43 km/h), was reported as −59 °F (−51 °C) under the calculation method then in use.
Despite the Bengals’ dominating 40–17 win over the Chargers during the season, their meeting in the championship was expected to be a thrilling, hard-fought game. The Chargers' offense featured three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: quarterback Dan Fouts, receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow. San Diego also had two superb running backs, Chuck Muncie, who led the NFL with 19 touchdowns, and multi-talented rookie (and future Bengals star) James Brooks, who finished the season with 2,093 all-purpose yards. Cincinnati also had several stars on offense. Quarterback Ken Anderson, a two-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist, was the top rated passer in the NFL, and had won both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Tight end Dan Ross, running back Pete Johnson, and rookie receiver Cris Collinsworth were widely considered to be among the best players in the NFL at their positions. The Bengals offensive line featured future Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Muñoz, who was selected by NFL coaches as the NFL Lineman of the Year Award winner during the season.
Both teams were coming off extremely narrow wins in the divisional playoffs. A week earlier, the Bengals won their first ever playoff game by defeating the Buffalo Bills 28–21 after forcing Buffalo to turn the ball over on downs during their final drive. Meanwhile, the Chargers narrowly defeated the Miami Dolphins in overtime 41–38, in a game that set playoff records for most points scored in a playoff game with 79, the most total yards by both teams with 1,036, and most passing yards by both teams with 809. That game, which became known as “The Epic In Miami”, was played in the heat and humidity of Miami, and the Chargers found themselves dealing with the exact opposite conditions in the AFC title game.
The Chargers went from playing an overtime game in Miami in 88 °F or 31.1 °C, high humidity weather to playing in the −59 °F or −50.6 °C wind chill in Cincinnati, an effective difference of 147 °F or 81.7 °C.
The game was one of the few in NFL history in which the same team kicked off to begin both halves. Cincinnati won the toss and instead of receiving, elected to have the brutally cold wind at their backs to start the game, believing it would neutralize San Diego's passing game and help the Bengals to build an early lead. The strategy paid off as Cincinnati built a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. San Diego would score their only touchdown in the second, but gave up another score to the Bengals and trailed 17–7 at halftime. Accordingly, San Diego used its option at the beginning of the second half to receive the kickoff, resulting in Cincinnati kicking off to begin both halves—and in the same direction both times, using their second half option to again begin the half with the wind at their backs.
Aided by an 18-yard completion from Anderson to tight end Dan Ross, Cincinnati scored first with a 31-yard field goal from kicker Jim Breech. Then linebacker Rick Razzano forced a fumble from Chargers’ rookie kick returner James Brooks, and Don Bass recovered for the Bengals on the San Diego 12-yard line. Following a 4-yard run by Charles Alexander, the Bengals scored a touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Anderson to tight end M. L. Harris, increasing their lead to 10–0. Brooks returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 43-yard line. Then on 3rd down and 9, Fouts’ 21-yard completion to Wes Chandler moved the ball to the Bengals’ 33. However, Cincinnati's defense halted the drive at the 18-yard line and it ended with no points when Rolf Benirschke, kicking into the fierce wind, missed a 37-yard field goal attempt.
After a Bengals punt, Chandler gave the Chargers good field position with a 7-yard return to the 45-yard line. San Diego then drove 55 yards and cut their deficit to 10–7 when Fouts, desperately trying to avoid a hit from lineman Eddie Edwards, managed to fire a pass to Kellen Winslow, who subsequently raced from the line of scrimmage 33 yards down the right sideline for a score. Nevertheless, the Bengals stormed right back on a drive set up by David Verser’s 40-yard kickoff return to the 46-yard line. Faced with 3rd down and 7 inside the red zone later in the drive, Anderson kept the drive going with a 16-yard completion to Isaac Curtis on the Chargers’ 1-yard line, and fullback Pete Johnson scored a touchdown run on the next play, giving them a 17–7 lead.
The Bengals completely took over the game from that point on. The Chargers would move the ball inside the Bengals 40-yard line five times during the rest of the game, but failed to score on each possession. San Diego responded with a drive to the Bengals 33-yard line, but came up empty when defensive back Louis Breeden intercepted a deep pass intended for Charlie Joiner at the 5-yard line. The Chargers defense quickly gave the offense another scoring opportunity, forcing a punt from Pat McInally that went just 32 yards to the Bengals 45. However, once again this amounted to nothing as Fouts was intercepted in the end zone by rookie safety Bobby Kemp.
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Freezer Bowl
In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised by NBC, with announcers Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. The game, won by the Bengals, 27–7, was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill. Air temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C), but the wind chill, factoring in a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour (43 km/h), was reported as −59 °F (−51 °C) under the calculation method then in use.
Despite the Bengals’ dominating 40–17 win over the Chargers during the season, their meeting in the championship was expected to be a thrilling, hard-fought game. The Chargers' offense featured three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: quarterback Dan Fouts, receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow. San Diego also had two superb running backs, Chuck Muncie, who led the NFL with 19 touchdowns, and multi-talented rookie (and future Bengals star) James Brooks, who finished the season with 2,093 all-purpose yards. Cincinnati also had several stars on offense. Quarterback Ken Anderson, a two-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist, was the top rated passer in the NFL, and had won both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Tight end Dan Ross, running back Pete Johnson, and rookie receiver Cris Collinsworth were widely considered to be among the best players in the NFL at their positions. The Bengals offensive line featured future Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Muñoz, who was selected by NFL coaches as the NFL Lineman of the Year Award winner during the season.
Both teams were coming off extremely narrow wins in the divisional playoffs. A week earlier, the Bengals won their first ever playoff game by defeating the Buffalo Bills 28–21 after forcing Buffalo to turn the ball over on downs during their final drive. Meanwhile, the Chargers narrowly defeated the Miami Dolphins in overtime 41–38, in a game that set playoff records for most points scored in a playoff game with 79, the most total yards by both teams with 1,036, and most passing yards by both teams with 809. That game, which became known as “The Epic In Miami”, was played in the heat and humidity of Miami, and the Chargers found themselves dealing with the exact opposite conditions in the AFC title game.
The Chargers went from playing an overtime game in Miami in 88 °F or 31.1 °C, high humidity weather to playing in the −59 °F or −50.6 °C wind chill in Cincinnati, an effective difference of 147 °F or 81.7 °C.
The game was one of the few in NFL history in which the same team kicked off to begin both halves. Cincinnati won the toss and instead of receiving, elected to have the brutally cold wind at their backs to start the game, believing it would neutralize San Diego's passing game and help the Bengals to build an early lead. The strategy paid off as Cincinnati built a 10–0 lead in the first quarter. San Diego would score their only touchdown in the second, but gave up another score to the Bengals and trailed 17–7 at halftime. Accordingly, San Diego used its option at the beginning of the second half to receive the kickoff, resulting in Cincinnati kicking off to begin both halves—and in the same direction both times, using their second half option to again begin the half with the wind at their backs.
Aided by an 18-yard completion from Anderson to tight end Dan Ross, Cincinnati scored first with a 31-yard field goal from kicker Jim Breech. Then linebacker Rick Razzano forced a fumble from Chargers’ rookie kick returner James Brooks, and Don Bass recovered for the Bengals on the San Diego 12-yard line. Following a 4-yard run by Charles Alexander, the Bengals scored a touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Anderson to tight end M. L. Harris, increasing their lead to 10–0. Brooks returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 43-yard line. Then on 3rd down and 9, Fouts’ 21-yard completion to Wes Chandler moved the ball to the Bengals’ 33. However, Cincinnati's defense halted the drive at the 18-yard line and it ended with no points when Rolf Benirschke, kicking into the fierce wind, missed a 37-yard field goal attempt.
After a Bengals punt, Chandler gave the Chargers good field position with a 7-yard return to the 45-yard line. San Diego then drove 55 yards and cut their deficit to 10–7 when Fouts, desperately trying to avoid a hit from lineman Eddie Edwards, managed to fire a pass to Kellen Winslow, who subsequently raced from the line of scrimmage 33 yards down the right sideline for a score. Nevertheless, the Bengals stormed right back on a drive set up by David Verser’s 40-yard kickoff return to the 46-yard line. Faced with 3rd down and 7 inside the red zone later in the drive, Anderson kept the drive going with a 16-yard completion to Isaac Curtis on the Chargers’ 1-yard line, and fullback Pete Johnson scored a touchdown run on the next play, giving them a 17–7 lead.
The Bengals completely took over the game from that point on. The Chargers would move the ball inside the Bengals 40-yard line five times during the rest of the game, but failed to score on each possession. San Diego responded with a drive to the Bengals 33-yard line, but came up empty when defensive back Louis Breeden intercepted a deep pass intended for Charlie Joiner at the 5-yard line. The Chargers defense quickly gave the offense another scoring opportunity, forcing a punt from Pat McInally that went just 32 yards to the Bengals 45. However, once again this amounted to nothing as Fouts was intercepted in the end zone by rookie safety Bobby Kemp.
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