The Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers won yesterday's conference championship games and earned the right to meet each other in the Super Bowl on January 24 in the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome.
Record-setting cold temperatures of 9 degrees below zero and swirling winds did not daunt Cincinnati quarterback Ken Anderson. who threw two touchdowns in leading the Bengals to a 27-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Riverfront Stadium.
By contrast, the explosive offense of the warm weather San Diego Chargets could put only seven points on the board. A fumble by kick returner James Brooks set up Cincinnati's first score, and Dan Fouts threw two crucial second quarter interceptions that halted San Diego drives.
This will be the first Super Bowl appearance in the 14-year history of the Cincinnati franchise.
The San Francisco 49ers, a Cinderella team like Bengals, have never been to the Super Bowl, but they will meet Cincinnati in Pontiac two weeks from now by virtue of their 28-27 squeaker over the Dallas Cowboys yesterday at Candlestick Park. The 49ers clinched victory when they recovered a Danny White fumble with 30 seconds left as the Cowboys were driving to a winning score. Seconds earlier San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana, who three three touchdown passes on the day, had completed a six-yd. TD strike to Dwight Clark to give his team the lead in what had been a see-saw game.
This will mark the first time since 1969 that two teams with no previous experience in the Super Bowl will meet for the NFL Championship.