The Freezer Bowl: One of the Coldest Game in NFL History

On January tenth, nineteen eight, the San Diego Chargers traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, where the winner would go to the Super Bowl. But the Bengals would not be the biggest challenge that day nor the Chargers, as the biggest challenge was the weather. With temperatures of negative nine degrees and wind chill coming close to negative fitty. The elements took over in this game and changed what could have happened and really decided the outcome. As whoever adapted better we could the chance for the Super Bowl. This game wouldn't go on to be known as the Freezer Bowl as one of the coldest games in NFL history. Bundle up as we dive into this very cold and frigid NFL game known as the Freezer Bowl today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History, I mean than Reese, your guy as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge as we dive into the Freezer Bowl. In today's trivia question to listen out for is what was the last NFL game played in negative temperatures where the temperature was below zero degrees? Listen throughout the episode to find the answer and if you miss it, I will give it to you at the very end. Now, cold games in the NFL is nothing new, as most of the first NFL teams started in the Northeast or north Midwest, with teams in New York, Wisconsin, Chicago, very cold cities, and the coldest game on record is known as the Ice Bowl, which was the nineteen sixty seven NFL Championship where the winner would go on to play in the Super Bowl, where the Dallas Cowboys traveled to lambeau Field in Wisconsin to play the Green Bay Packers where it was a negative thirteen degrees in negative forty eight windshill. But the second coldest game happened in nineteen eight at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. But how did we get here? See? The Cincinnati Bengals had a great season, going twelve and four and winning the AFC Central that year, being coached by Sam Wilch and quarterback Kenny Anderson was in the talks to win the MVP that year, although he felt just short, but he led a well balanced offensive tech with receivers like Chris Collinsworth and tight end Dan Ross and big running back Pete Johnson who could barrel through anybody. Their first game, they played against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, where they came from behind to win twenty eight to twenty one, advancing to the first AFC Championship game since nineteen sending the high powered the San Diego Chargers. Now, the Chargers were known at the time for the air Coriel offense, where their head coach Don Coriel designed an offense that was predicated on the deep pass, where their future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts would lead one of the most prolific conferences out there, featuring explosive playmaker, Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, and receivers Charlie Joyner and John Jefferson. In the playoffs, they'd face off against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Round where they won forty one to thirty eight, where they came back in the second half to secure the victory on the backs of their offense to go on to go on to play in Cincinnati for the chance to get to the Super Bowl. Now, at kickoff, the temperature was negative nine degrees fahrenheit, which win chills plummeting anywhere from negative thirty seven to fifty degrees throughout the game, which ended up being the second coldest game in NFL history and the closest we come to this low temperature since happened in two thousand in the NFC Wildcard game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Seattle Seahawks. Now, knowing the game was cold, the team tried to offer options to help. Now understand, this is the nineteen eighties. They didn't have all the technologies we have today, where like today we had these tubes that go into the shoulder pads that blow warm air and keep the players warm, and we also have just different ways of having the ground heated and having different ways to keep the players warm. Back then, it was just coats, but in the nineteen eighties they didn't have all this technology. What they did do was they had a plastic bench and they put big industrial heaters under it to make it warm to sit on. Although it didn't really work well and it actually caught a player on fire for a little bit because it had no safety standards. It was really something just put together last minute to try to combat the cold any way they could. I when you watch the clips of the game, you'll notice that offensive linemen for the Cincinnati Bengals are wearing no sleeves. They have no extra protection from the elements. And this was for two reasons. One of the options that a defensive end or a pass rusher has to get past an offensive lineman is to grab and pull, and if you have stuff on your arms, a shirt or any type of cloth on your arms and something else for them to grab and pull on. And so that's why they didn't do it. And it also psychologically mess with this team from southern California that's not used to this cold. Frankly, no one is used to this cold. Coming out, they're all bundled up as much as possible and they go against this lineman who you see their bare arms. You see that they don't have this extra layer protection. It was cold, and it's funny. Back then, in the nineteen eighties, they didn't have the catching gloves that we have today that receivers all have that's very sticky. Back then, they just had gloves. Literally. You'll see clips if you watch closely of the receivers in this of the highlights this game for Cincinnati Bengals. They have on thick leather gloves that have no sticky things on them, and they actually put tape around the bottom of them so they wouldn't fall off, and surprisingly enough, this didn't hinder them from catching. You can catch with these gloves. It's harder, but your hands are warmer, so at least your hands are mobile, and the ball stings when it's this cold, so it helped a lot. In the wind being as cold as it was. You watch the game and the ball just dies for each team. Whenever they threw the ball, the ball did not travel like it normally does. It died. It would go about five feet less than it would normally travel. The wind would push it. The ball itself was cold and heavier, and so it was a harder thing to do. But Kenny Anderson came out and was throwing the ball like it was normal. And so the game starts and it's a struggle. Each team's trying to pass the ball and they're not having a lot of success, but running the ball there is some success and the Bengals were able to get close to kick a thirty one yard field goal with Jim Breech, who was a five to six kicker who had a size five foot barely anything was able to kick in this weather and gave them the lead. And they came back that same quarter where Kenny Anderson threw a past mL Harris, who's wearing those leather gloves, an eight yard pass and gave them the lead ten to zero. Though the offensive the Chargers was struggling, they still as the game went on some sort of rhythm and were able to get a good drive going in this second quarter where Dan Fouts connected on a thirty three yard pass to Kellen Winslough to give them a touchdown to bring the game seven to ten. That would be the last time they would score. The Bengals really focused on rushing the ball with Pete Johnson throughout the rest of the game, and he bowled his way in the second quarter for another touchdown to give them an even bigger lead going into half seventeen seven. And it was a struggle throughout the game. Dan Fouts would end up throwing two interceptions as he couldn't get the ball where he wanted to go, but they were able to rush for over one hundred yards with Chuck Munsey and James Brooks, but it just wasn't enough. Ken Anderson ended up passing for one hundred and sixty one yards in two touchdowns, as well as rushing for only thirty nine and Pete Johnson rushed for another eighty yards throughout the game. The San Diego Chargers struggled mainly in this game because of the weather with turnovers. They had four turnovers, two interceptions, and they had four fumbles, losing two of them. It was a struggle throughout the game for the Chargers. They just weren't able to because of the weather. Always equalized his offenses and their great offense struggled against the weather. The defense of the Bengals was a good defense, but it wasn't so good that they would just stop one of the best offenses at the time, but the weather did in the second half. In the third quarter, the Bengals would again kick another field goal with Jim Breach, and in the fourth they would score a three yard touchdown to Don Bass, giving them a twenty seven to seven lead, which would be the final score of the game. The Bengals defense really stepped up with the help of the weather, producing turnovers and just a lot, allowing the Chargers offense to get any consistency and make sure that the pass was not going to affect them and it wasn't just an effect on the offense. The Chargers kicker Rolf Pernitski missed field goals throughout. He struggled as when he kicked the ball it just died. It was not effective compared to Jim Breach, who was a small guy, but he knew how to kick in this struggling weather. In winning this game, they punched their ticket to Super Bowl sixteen versus the San Francisco forty nine Ers, where despite a valiant effort to make a comeback at the end, they lost twenty six to twenty one. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals have not won a Super Bowl, but it just goes to show you they had chances despite the weather in Cincinnati at the time. They went up against one of the best teams, one of the best teams in NFL history in San Franisco forty nine Ers only lost by five points. Often that's what happens as teams come close, and though we don't have as many cold games as this, we did have one recently last year that was negative four degrees where the Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins in the ANFC wild Card Game. And it's it's cold, but we have a better ways to deal with it. We have better technology in athletic wear to keep the players warm and safe because at these temperatures, you can get frostbite, you can get hypothermia. And what's amazing is the fans still come out for all of these games. I want to thank you for listening to Today's Daily Sports History. And if you want more Cincinnati Bengals content, check out the Who Day Din, where your host Taylor takes you through all the ups and downs that the Bengals are going through, covering the latest happenings of the Cincinnati Bengals. Would put a link in the description below for you to check out that podcast. And if you enjoyed Today's Daily Sports History, please share an episode on your social media with all your friends that way they can join in on the Daily Sports History fun. And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question? When was the last time an NFL game was played when the weather was below zero degrees? Last year that was negative four degrees where the Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins in the ANFC Wildcard Game, and Pink pink