Teams
- Cincinnati Bengals (1971-1986)
Accolades
- NFL Most Valuable Player (1981)
- 4x Pro Bowl (1975-1976, 1981-1982)
- First-Team All-Pro (1981)
- 2x Second-Team All-Pro (1974-1975)
- NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1981)
- NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1981)
- Bert Bell Award (1981)
- Walter Payton Man of the Year (1975)
“No-brainer [that Anderson is a Hall of Famer]…he was like Joe Montana before Joe Montana. Smooth. Very calculating. A very precise quarterback just like Joe was. In my eyes when I was there he was a refined professional.”
—Boomer Esiason, former Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals (source)
Google any list of the most underrated quarterbacks of all time, or even the most underrated NFL players of all time at any position, and Ken Anderson shows up on just about every list. A two-time finalist himself, he’s basically become the barometer as to whether or not a quarterback is worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: if you were better than Ken Anderson then you’re in, if you weren’t better than him then you’re not in. And while this article may not convince you one way or another, Ken Anderson put up some extraordinary numbers in a 16-year career in which he had to face the Steel Curtain defense twice a year.
A relatively unheralded high schooler out of Batavia, Illinois, Ken Anderson went to Augustana College, a small liberal arts institution in the Quad Cities. The Cincinnati Bengals saw something in him though, taking him 67th overall in the 1971 draft, the sixth QB taken. He would patiently learn his trade his rookie year under legendary Head Coach Paul Brown, and a young Quarterbacks Coach named Bill Walsh. Playing primarily behind Virgil Carter, Anderson would start four games in ’71, all losses, as part of an otherwise forgettable 4-10 year for the Bengals.
In the preseason of 1972, Anderson would wrestle the starting job from Carter, and end up starting 13 of 14 games that year. He would guide Cincy to a 7-6 record in his starts, towards an 8-6 finish. In his first full year as a starter, Anderson would show remarkable discipline that would serve him well throughout his career, having the NFL’s best interception rate (2.3%) and fourth-best completion rate (56.8%). The 1973 season would be an even bigger progression for the Bengals as they would go 10-4 and make the playoffs. Anderson would finish fifth in passing yards, touchdown passes, and interception rate in playing all 14 games. While Cincinnati would hang tight with the defending NFL champ Dolphins 21-16 at the half, Miami would pull away after in the final two periods en route to a 34-16 win (and eventually a second-straight Super Bowl). Anderson’s first postseason effort was a mostly unmemorable one, with 139 total yards, no scores, and an interception.
High expectations in ’74 were dashed as starts of 4-1 and 7-4 ended up being a 7-7 year. Still, it was no fault of Ken Anderson’s. He would finish first in the league in completion percentage (64.9%), passer rating (95.7), and passing yards (2,667), the last one most perhaps the most impressive as he missed one start. He would also run for 314 yards, trailing only Roger Staubach’s 320 yards for most among QBs. But the Bengals bounced back exceptionally well in ’75, going 11-3 and winning a Wild Card berth. Unsurprisingly, Anderson was magnificent. His passer rating at 93.9 and passing yardage with 3,169 (also in 13 starts) were again both the NFL’s best. He would also lead the league in yards per pass attempt (8.4), completion percentage (60.5), and interception rate (2.9%). Down 31-14 late in the fourth quarter to Ken Stabler and the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Ken Anderson would lead a comeback push that unfortunately ran out of time. In the 31-28 season-ending loss, Anderson would redeem himself from the playoff disappointment of two years prior by going 17-for-27 for 201 yards with two TDs and no turnovers in what would be Paul Brown’s final game as an NFL Head Coach.
Setting a high bar can be a problem, and in doing so the previous few seasons, Ken Anderson would somewhat disappoint in 1976. While managing to finish third in the league with 19 TD passes, his other passing stats would drop. But the biggest disappointment wasn’t Anderson, but an overly competitive AFC. Despite going 10-4, Cincinnati lost out on the Wild Card to 11-3 New England, ending an otherwise outstanding season. The next two seasons would see shocking regression from Anderson. In 1977, the Bengals would barely miss out on the Wild Card with an 8-6 year. Their QB would only pass for 2,145 yards, and throw as many INTs as TDs (11). Then Anderson would start the 1978 campaign on the bench with a broken bone in his throwing hand. Cincy would go 0-4 before Anderson returned. He was unable to help much though in a 1-12 start to the year before closing out with three wins and a 4-12 season. His 22 interceptions would be, by far, the most in his career.
Anderson would bounce back somewhat in 1979. His 2.9% interception ratio trailed only Roger Staubach’s 2.4% for the best in the NFL, while Anderson’s 80.7 passer rating was good enough for fifth. Unfortunately, the team didn’t follow suit in another miserable year, going 4-12. In 1980, the team would hire Packers legend Forrest Gregg as their new head coach. The results were marginally better (a 6-10 record), but an injury-stricken Ken Anderson was miserable. Despite completing 60.4% of his passes, he would throw only six touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. The Bengals would go 5-7 in his starts. Fortunately for the veteran, Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson, who started the other four games under Center, was no better. Still, with a promising young arm in Thompson, it looked like Anderson’s days in the Queen City were numbered. If only he could have one more chance…
I don’t think even the most observant of analysts could have predicted the 1981 Cincinnati Bengals. Coming off essentially three years of ineptitude, they would go 12-4 and finish with the AFC’s best record. The engine that powered the vehicle was Ken Anderson, who would have a year for the ages. In being named league MVP, he would lead the NFL with a 98.4 passer rating, a 2.1% interception rate, and a 6.1% touchdown rate, while finishing second in completion percentage at 62.6%. He would also run for 320 yards (the only QB to exceed 275), and throw for over 3,700 more. Most importantly, it was a return to the postseason for Anderson and the Bengals.
In the Divisional Round, Anderson would guide Cincy to the franchise’s first-ever playoff win, by connecting with rookie wideout Cris Collinsworth on a late 16-yard touchdown to defeat Joe Ferguson and the Buffalo Bills 28-21. Anderson would go 14-for-21 for 192 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. The following week, Cincinnati would host one of the most frigid games in NFL history. With the wind chill raging at MINUS 32, Ken Anderson and the Bengals would dominate Dan Fouts and the San Diego Chargers 27-7. Unfazed by the brutal weather, Anderson would account for 200 yards of offense, two TDs, and no turnovers. The Bengals were Super Bowl bound.
Considering where the two teams were just one year prior, Super Bowl XVI may have been one of the most surprising Super Bowls ever played. Both the Bengals, and their opponents, the San Francisco 49ers, had gone 6-10 the previous year. It was the first Super Bowl appearance for both franchises. The Niners featured a familiar face at Head Coach, Bill Walsh, formerly Ken Anderson’s QB Coach. They also featured a fresh face at quarterback, Joe Montana, who had just started his first full season. The game would start miserably for the Bengals, as turnovers, and efficient play from S.F., saw the 49ers take a 20-0 halftime lead. Early in the second half though, the Bengals would cut it to 20-7 on a four-yard TD pass from Anderson. But a late third quarter drive would stall on three unsuccessful plays from the Niners’ 1-yard line, resulting in no points for Cincy. While Anderson labored to bring Cincinnati back into the game, time was running out. Anderson would hit Tight End Dan Ross on a 3-yarder with 20 seconds left to cut San Francisco’s lead to 26-21. But after a failed onside kick, Montana would take a knee and seal Super Bowl XVI for the 49ers.
It would have been hard to replicate the magic of the previous season, and the NFL players’ strike of 1982 that began after Week 2 certainly wouldn’t help things. But when play resumed in November, the Bengals relit their fire and turned a 1-1 pre-strike start into a 7-2 abbreviated season. Again, the man driving the vehicle was Ken Anderson who would again be absolutely incredible. He led the NFL for the fourth time in his career with a 95.3 passer rating and a league-best 2.9% interception rate. But most notably, he would lead the NFL with a record 70.6% completion percentage, an insane number for the time. It’s a record that would stand until Drew Brees tied it 27 years later in 2009, and finally broke it in 2011 with 71.2%. Primed to make another deep run in the playoffs, the Bengals would blow a 14-3 lead in the first round of the playoffs, and have a meltdown against the New York Jets 44-17. Anderson would have a mostly excellent game, throwing for 354 yards and two early touchdowns. But he would also end up with three interceptions, hindering any hopes for a comeback.
Coming off two impossibly great comeback seasons, time finally began to catch up with Ken Anderson. He would throw 13 INTs to only 12 TDs in 1983 as the Bengals would go 7-9. Before the 1984 season, the Bengals would draft quarterback Norman Julius “Boomer” Esiason in the second round. And while Anderson would see action over the next three years, he would gradually concede playing time to the young southpaw. He would retire after the 1986 season, backing up Esiason for the 10-6 Bengals who fell just short of the postseason. Two years later they would return to the Super Bowl, under Esiason, and again fall victim to Joe Montana’s greatness.
Ken Anderson’s tale is almost Hollywood-worthy. Unknown small school kid brought in to help struggling franchise with legendary coach. He surprises everyone with an incredible start, then faces a huge lull in the middle and battles injuries. With his career seemingly over, he has a triumphant last act. But in this story, he doesn’t win the big game. Instead he falls just short (although, small consolation, he was Ben Roethlisberger’s QB Coach in winning Super Bowl XLIII). In fact, that one loss, Super Bowl XVI, could be the very thing keeping Anderson out of the Hall of Fame. But even if Anderson is the barometer by which Hall of Famers are judged, it’s only because he was that damn good. He was accurate, he didn’t make mistakes, and had an incredible mustache. Ironically, playing under Bill Walsh in his early days, it was Anderson, and not Joe Montana, who was the true innovator of what’s now called the “West Coast Offense”. I wish I had gotten to see him play, he likely would’ve been a favorite of mine. At the end of the day, whether he makes the Hall of Fame or not, those who saw him play knew that when Ken Anderson was on, he was brilliant.
Chart
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 0.023 | -0.008 | -0.036 | 0.376 | 0.013 | 0.102 | 0.052 | 0.256 |
| Playoffs | -0.133 | 0.175 | 0.292 | 0.479 | 0.010 | 0.241 | 0.246 | 0.317 |
Longevity Bonus = 1.7 Title Bonus = 0.0
Index Score = 6.716 (average QB = 0.0)
Deviation Rank (out of 150)
| Season | W-L% | Tot Y/G | Tot TD/G | Tot TO/G | Y/C/Y/A | Cmp % | TD% | Int% |
| Reg Season | 72nd | 70th | 87th | 7th | 70th | 13th | 67th | 18th |
| Playoffs | T-108th | 14th | 21st | 12th | 58th | 1st | 24th | 25th |
Why is he on the Top 50 list?
Ken Anderson is pretty much middle of the pack, of the 150 QBs, in five of the eight regular season categories. But he really shines in the other three, most notably in regards to turnovers. He’s 18th overall in interception rate deviation, and 7th in terms of overall turnovers. The latter is extremely impressive for a guy who ran the ball nearly 400 times in his career (for 2,220 yards) and was sacked nearly 400 more, and yet only fumbled 52 times in the regular season. He was also one of the most accurate passers of all-time, finishing 13th in terms of completion percentage deviation. For being Cincinnati’s primary starter for 13 straight seasons, he also gets a 1.7-point bonus to his index score. He was also statistically outstanding in the postseason. Other than being outside the Top 100 in win-loss percentage (two wins in six games), he’s Top 25 in an astonishing six of eight postseason categories, notably the best ever in terms of deviation for completion percentage compared to his era (completing two-thirds of his career postseason pass attempts).
Why isn’t he higher on the list?
The only category in which he’s actually below average in the regular season (i.e. below 75th) is in terms of total touchdowns per game, in which he’s 87th. Really the only other kicker keeping him from being up the ladder further is a lack of a Super Bowl ring. Minus a few seasons in the late ‘70s, it was a mostly outstanding career, year after year, for Ken Anderson.
The Quarterback Project 