NFL game summary for 01/03/1982:
It took four tries, but the AFC Central Division Champion Bengals finally won a playoff game -- their first ever at home -- when they held off a rallying Bills wild card team, taking the first step toward Super Bowl XVI. Cincinnati, which failed to produce a postseason win in its first three playoff appearances -- in 1970, '73 and '75 -- lost leads of 14-0 and 21-14 before eventually winning with what was a solid performance by the entire team. The offense didn?t yield a turnover while the defense intercepted two Buffalo passes, and the special teams played soundly the entire game.
Ken Anderson, who was the NFL?s top-rated quarterback and its consensus MVP in the regular season, connected on a 16-yard TD pass to rookie WR Cris Collinsworth with 10:39 remaining in the fourth quarter to break a tie and take a 28-21 lead. The Bills were again poised to tie the game and set up an overtime period after driving 50 yards to the Bengals' 20 with just over three minutes left. But a costly delay-of-game penalty on fourth down led to giving the ball back to Cincinnati, and Buffalo was unable to mount another serious threat.
Anderson completed 14 of 21 passes for 192 yards and directed a 305-yard attack, and TE Dan Ross recorded a game-high six receptions for 71 yards. The Bills held Bengals fullback Pete Johnson, who had a career-high 1077 rushing yards in the regular season, to just 45 yards on 17 carries. But halfback Charles Alexander -- Johnson?s blocker for the majority of the regular season -- responded for Cincinnati with a season-high 72 yards, with two TD runs.
Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):
| Team | Rush Yds/Gm | Pass Yds/Gm | Tot Yds/Gm | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | OFFENSE | 132.8 (13) | 219.7 (9) | 352.5 (8) | 38 |
| DEFENSE | 129.7 (16) | 179.4 (4) | 309.1 (7) | 36 | |
 | OFFENSE | 123.3 (17) | 249.7 (3) | 373.0 (2) | 24 |
| DEFENSE | 117.6 (9) | 213.0 (22) | 330.6 (12) | 37 |
Line: Bengals by 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills (11-7-0) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Cincinnati Bengals (13-4-0) | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
BUF CIN
First Downs: 21 22
Rushes-yards: 28-134 33-136
Yards/rush: 4.8 4.1
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 15-31-202-2 14-21-192-0
Sacked-yards: 0-0 4-23
Net pass yards: 202 169
Net yards/pass: 6.5 6.8
Total net yards: 336 305
Total plays: 59 (47% run) 58 (56% run)
Yards/play: 5.7 5.3
Fumbles-lost: 0-0 0-0
Turnovers: 2 0
Penalties-yards: 6-56 5-44
Attendance: 55,420
BUF: Joe Ferguson, 15 of 31 for 202 yards and 1 TD (2 int) CIN: Ken Anderson, 14 of 21 for 192 yards and 1 TD
Rushing:
BUF: Joe Cribbs, 15 for 90 yards and 2 TDs; Roland Hooks, 9 for 30 yards; Roosevelt Leaks, 3 for 12 yards; Curtis Brown, 1 for 2 yards CIN: Pete Johnson, 17 for 45 yards and 1 TD; Charles Alexander, 13 for 72 yards and 2 TDs; Ken Anderson, 2 for 15 yards; Archie Griffin, 1 for 4 yards
Receiving:
BUF: Jerry Butler, 4 for 98 yards and 1 TD; Frank Lewis, 3 for 38 yards; Mark Brammer, 3 for 23 yards; Roosevelt Leaks, 2 for 16 yards; Roland Hooks, 2 for 15 yards; Ron Jessie, 1 for 12 yards CIN: Dan Ross, 6 for 71 yards; Pete Johnson, 3 for 23 yards; Cris Collinsworth, 2 for 24 yards and 1 TD; Steve Kreider, 1 for 42 yards; Isaac Curtis, 1 for 22 yards; Charles Alexander, 1 for 10 yards
Kick returns:
BUF: Robb Riddick, 4 for 68 yards; Curtis Brown, 1 for 14 yards CIN: David Verser, 4 for 94 yards
Punt returns:
BUF: Robb Riddick, 2 for 8 yards CIN: Mike Fuller, 1 for 27 yards
Interceptions:
CIN: Bo Harris, 1 for 16 yards; Ken Riley, 1 for 0 yards
Punting:
BUF: Greg Cater, 3 for 126 yards CIN: Pat McInally, 4 for 178 yards
Field Goals:
CIN: Jim Breech, 0/1