Forty years ago, when former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to clinch a playoff berth, Anderson said he wasn’t thinking about the quarterback storyline.
In a 17-10 win in 1981, Anderson got the Bengals past the team and the quarterback who had frustrated the Bengals throughout the 1970s. For 10 years, the Bengals always had to go through the other great quarterback in the division, former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, to make it to the postseason.
Anderson said he didn’t focus on his matchup against the opposing Hall of Fame quarterback, but it was obvious what was at stake.