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Friday, January 8, 2010Bengals history: 1982 First-round AFC Playoff vs. Jets
Tomorrow, the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals will face off at Paul Brown Stadium in the first game of the 2009 postseason. It's a playoff matchup that has happened once before, in memorable fashion, though Bengals fans are hoping for a different result this time. The 1982 season was unusual, because almost half of the games were canceled by a player strike. There weren't enough games played for division records to be meaningful, so the NFL used a 16-team tournament format for the playoffs, with eight teams from each conference. The 7-2 Bengals earned the AFC's #3 seed and hosted the sixth-seeded, 6-3 Jets in the opening round. Coach Forrest Gregg's Bengals entered the game favored to win as the defending conference champions. The big question before the game was the status of Jets starting RB Freeman McNeil. McNeil led the league in rushing yards during the abbreviated 1982 season, but it was feared that a lingering hamstring injury would keep him from contributing much in the playoffs. McNeil was confident in the week leading up to the game, though: "I'm not going to Cincinnati to lose. If I have to be Superman Sunday, that's what I'm going to be. We've come too far this season to lose. This team has a lot of pride and it's going to show Sunday." The first quarter was full of long passing plays. The Bengals scored first in front of a supportive Riverfront Stadium crowd. They moved the ball from the Cincinnati 19 to the Jets' 32, and then QB Ken Anderson capitalized with a strike to WR Isaac Curtis for the opening touchdown. The Jets responded with a 49-yard pass from QB Richard Todd to WR Wesley Walker that set up a New York field goal. Faced with a 3rd and 30 on the following drive, WR Cris Collinsworth burned the Jets with a 53-yard reception that set the Bengals up for another touchdown, and the home team led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter. But "Superman" was about to make an appearance. Needing a score to stay in the game, the Jets pulled out a trick play. Todd handed the ball off to Freeman McNeil, who had so far been contained by the Bengals defense. But instead of running, McNeil lofted a pass to wide-open WR Derrick Gaffney in the near corner of the end zone.
The Bengals kept their composure with a methodical drive down the field in which Ken Anderson completed passes for first downs on four consecutive plays to set Cincinnati up with a first and goal. But then New York DB Johnny Lynn stepped in front of a pass intended for Cris Collinsworth at the 1 yardline and ended the Bengals' scoring opportunity with an interception. Newly confident, the Jets drove the length of the field for the go-ahead touchdown, making the score 17-14 late in the second quarter and adding a field goal just before the half. Freeman McNeil started racking up yards, and even though the Cincinnati defense did a good job of keeping the Jets out of the end zone, the field goals started to mount. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Jets held a 23-17 lead. The Bengals couldn't afford to let the Jets add any more to their lead, but McNeil dealt the Bengals a severe blow with a 20-yard run to the end zone. Trailing by 13, Cincinnati drove into scoring range, but DB Darrol Ray intercepted Anderson's pass at the 2 yardline and returned it 98 yards (at the time, a playoff record) to put the game away. The Jets added another touchdown to turn the game into a 44-17 rout, even though it was close until midway through the fourth quarter. It was a terribly disappointing loss for the Bengals, who had gotten their first taste of playoff victory the year before and were anxious to return to the Super Bowl. McNeil's performance had been beyond anyone's expectations: 202 yards, a rushing TD, and a passing TD. (Initially, his rushing total was reported as a record 211 yards, but it appears that one of his runs was later ruled a pass reception.) It was the first playoff victory for the New York Jets since Joe Namath's defeat of the Colts in Super Bowl III. The 1982 Jets went on to upset the Los Angeles Raiders before falling to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. The Bengals would make it back to the Super Bowl in 1988 with QB Boomer Esiason and head coach Sam Wyche. Trackbacks
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