Today in sports history, the Green Bay Packers took on the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 NFL Championship. In one of the greatest games in NFL history, temperatures at Lambeau Field dipped to -15 degrees, with windchill down to -44 degrees. The game dubbed the “Ice Bowl” immediately came with controversy, as Lambeau’s turf heating system malfunctioned.
The Packers entered the game as 6.5-point favorites. Led by Bart Starr, the Packers were looking to build upon their success in the 1960s. Dallas came into the game looking for their first championship in franchise history.
Green Bay Wins the Ice Bowl
The Packers took the immediate lead after Starr connected twice Boyd Dowler for touchdowns. The Cowboys were able to pick up a touchdown and a field goal late in the half, as the Packers fumbled twice. A scoreless third quarter set up one of the wildest finishes in NFL history.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Cowboys’ running back Dan Reeves threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver Lance Rentzel.
During the Packers’ last drive of the game, they took over at their own 32-yard line. At this point in the game, the windchill dropped to -70 degrees. The Ice Bowl culminated with a long sustained drive from Green Bay. As the game came to an end, the Packers faced a third and goal from the one-yard line with 16 seconds left. Before the play, Starr asked guard Jerry Kramer if he could get enough footing to make a block. Kramer responded yes. Starr then made one of the greatest plays in NFL history, as he dropped his head and ran in the one-yard touchdown to take the lead.
Dallas was unable to complete a pass on their subsequent drive and ended up losing the Ice Bowl.
