in the first four games. The Bengals lost all four with Reaves as quarterback, and Johnson quit as coach after an 0–5 start. Anderson went 4-8 as quarterback, but he passed for 2,219 yards with ten touchdowns and 22 interceptions (a career high). In the 1979 season, Anderson proved a middling influence in a middling team. He went 4-11 as a starter while throwing for 2,340 yards with sixteen touchdowns and ten interceptions while leading the league in 46 sacks. Anderson went 5-7 as a starter in 1980 with 1,778 yards passing, which was the least he threw as a primary starter. He had just six touchdowns to go with thirteen interceptions. 1981 was the reckoning for Anderson. In the Bengals opening game against the Seattle Seahawks, Anderson was intercepted twice in the first half and the Seahawks built up a 21–0 first quarter lead. In the second half, with the Bengals trailing 21–10, Cincinnati coach Forrest Gregg benched Anderson and brought in third-string quarterback Turk Schonert (second-string quarterback Jack Thompson was injured at the time). With Schonert in command of the offense, the Bengals stormed back and won the game 27–21. Despite the benching, Anderson would start every game of the whole season. He threw for a career high 3,754 yards while having 29 touchdowns to ten interceptions while leading the league in touchdown/interception percentage along with passer rating (98.4). He also gained another 320 yards and one touchdown on the ground. This performance earned him both the Associated Press and Professional Football Writers of America NFL Most Valuable Player Awards and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. The Bengals went 12–4 and won the AFC Central and the #1 seed in the American Football Conference. Anderson first faced the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round. He went 14-of-21 for 192 yards with one touchdown as the Bengals narrowly outdueled the Bills 28–21, with Anderson's touchdown pass to Cris Collinsworth with 10:39 remaining being the winning score. Anderson and the Bengals had their first postseason win and thus were slated to host the AFC Championship Game. Facing off against future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts and the San Diego Chargers, the game was referred to later as the Freezer Bowl, owing to conditions of −9 °F in Cincinnati on gameday. Anderson lived up to the challenge on the frozen tundra, passing 14-of-22 for 161 yards for two