The Chargers Double Weather Whammy
I’m not sure a single team has faced a more absurd polarity of experience than the 1981 San Diego Chargers faced in a two-week span in the playoffs.
“Lore Games” are rare in NFL history. Games that etch themselves into the story of football forever. If we are lucky, we get one per year at most. 2025, for example, has maybe one possible entry into lore: the TNF 2pt conversion game between the Rams and Seahawks. 1981 featured not only 2 lore games, they occurred back to back, both featuring the San Diego Chargers.
First up: The Epic in Miami.
The Divisional matchup between the Dolphins and the Chargers is considered one of the greatest football games ever played. The Chargers surged out to a huge first-quarter lead, going up 24-0. Miami fought back and closed the game to 24-17 by halftime. Miami would grab a few turnovers to go up 38-31 by the late fourth, but their own turnover would allow San Diego to tie it up. A last-second field goal block by the Chargers would also force overtime. Overtime would last just under 14 minutes with two missed field goals before the Chargers eventually got a kick through. Kellen Winslow became the hero of the day, fighting through roughly 67 injuries to catch a touchdown and a record 13 receptions, and he’s also the one who blocked the field goal to send it to overtime. You probably recognized the famous picture I used for the two panels. Winslow being carried off like a fallen hero is one of the NFL’s enduring images.
In just a week’s time, the heat and humidity of Florida would be replaced with the frigid wind of Cincinnati. In the only game to ever truly rival the Ice Bowl in terms of cold temperatures, the Freezer Bowl would sap the Chargers of their good fortune and end with a miserable 27-7 score in favor of the Bengals. The game was less impressive than the Epic, as the Bengals elected to kick off both halves to ensure the wind was at their back the whole time. It worked. San Diego couldn’t pass the ball. Oh well. Adios to the Chargers.
The funny part is that on the same day as the Freezer Bowl, “The Catch” happened in San Francisco. The 1981 playoffs had 3 lore games. It might be the greatest playoffs in NFL history. It started with the Giants and Bills achieving their first playoff victories in roughly 20 years for each team. It was the final playoff game for the Jets in Shea Stadium. The Cowboys obliterated the Buccaneers 38-0 before losing in The Catch game. The Giants/49ers matchup was the first usage of the Telestrator for NFL games, okay the machine that allowed John Madden to draw dicks over replays. The two championship games are both legendary (a rare occurrence, usually just one gets the honor if at all), and the Super Bowl was Joe Montana’s big win over the Bengals in a classic game between two Super Bowl first-timer
You had to have watched the entire Chargers-Dolphins game in real time to have truly understood what an epic game that was. It’s on YT and worth your time. The minute it was over, I had no doubt the Chargers would lose against the Bengals simply because they had nothing left – both teams gave it all and left it on the field.
What I’ve wondered since the Ice Bowl was about loads of the idiotic bare-chested Bengals fans in the stands and if they lost their nipples to frostbite. They were the living embodiment of the difference between fans and fanatics.