Rewind The Most Memorable Packers vs. Cowboys Playoff Game in Green Bay…..

The most memorable playoff match between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys took place on New Year’s Eve of 1967, much to the surprise of zero fans who have even the slightest passing interest in the NFL and its history.

The game is so well-known that it has its own moniker that says it all. For instance, Dwight Clark will always be remembered for his sensational touchdown reception in the 1981 NFC Championship Game—a.k.a. “The Catch.” It is also known as “The Drive,” as John Elway led the Broncos 98 yards for a tying touchdown in the 1986 AFC Championship Game.

The simple name “1967 NFL Championship” came from the hazardous circumstances surrounding the game, which also happened to be the coldest one ever played.

MEMORABLE MOMENT  December 31, 1967–The Ice Bowl

Despite the -15 degrees Fahrenheit temperature and -48 degrees wind chill at the kickoff, the game itself offered enough drama to be remembered as a classic. After taking a quick 14-0 in the first quarter, the Packers’ offense bogged down and was rendered useless for most of the rest of the game.

The Cowboys battled back to take a 17-14 lead on a 50-yard pass from halfback Dan Reeves to Lance Retzel with the first play of the fourth quarter. The two teams then traded punts, and the Packers owned possession of the ball on their own 32 with just under five minutes to play.

The drive started with Starr completing a swing pass to Anderson which gained six yards. On the next play, Mercein ran the ball for seven more yards off tackle to the 45-yard line and near the sideline of the Packers.

After a Bowd Dowler first-down reception, the Cowboys’ defense foiled the Packers’ famed sweep play for a nine-yard loss. Three swing passes, two to Donny Anderson and one to Chuck Mercein, netted 41 yards to reach the Dallas 11.

An eight-yard trap run by Mercein drove Green Bay to the three-yard line, and Anderson drove for two yards, setting up a first-and-goal from the one. However, after two unsuccessful tries for paydirt, mainly due to the icy footing of the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field, the Packers faced third-and-goal with 16 seconds remaining. To make matters more tense, the Packers had no timeouts left, which meant that another fruitless try for a touchdown would most likely leave them not enough time to try a game-tying field goal.

Starr conferred with head coach Vince Lombardi before the third-down play during their last timeout. When Starr told Lombardi about his idea for a play, the legendary coach famously said between shivers, “Run it, and let’s get the hell out of here

PACKERS EARN THEIR THIRD STRAIGHT NFL CHAMPIONSHIP

It was a different wedge play, one that quarterback Bart Starr detailed to Lombardi on the sideline, than the one he had called out in the huddle for Mercein. Rather than passing the ball, Starr received the snap, ducked behind guard Jerry Kramer, and crashed into the end zone for the touchdown that sealed the victory.

The Packers played in quite different circumstances at the Miami Orange Bowl two weeks later. The Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders 33–14 in Super Bowl 71 in 71 degree weather.

LAMBEAU FIELD WAS PARTLY TO BLAME

Even though Lombardi could not control the air temperature, he was partly responsible for the miserable game-field predicament.

During the summer of 1967, Lombardi installed an underground heating system for Lambeau Field. It was the first of its kind in the National Football League and was designed to keep the turf from freezing even in the most extreme conditions.

However, the electrical system beneath the turf failed when it was needed most. The temperature on December 30 was in the mid-30s, and when the tarp that covered the field was unfurled 24 hours before kickoff to see how the heating mechanism was working, things looked normal. After the Cowboys’ walkthrough on Saturday, Bob Hayes, the team’s world-class sprinter, ran a couple of deep patterns, broke a sweat, and said, “It feels good.”

The next morning was game day, and the temperatures dipped to Arctic depths.

What happened next, according to Bud Lea of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, resulted in sheer horror for the Packers and Cowboys:

At Lambeau Field, Packers assistant coaches Ray Wietecha and Bob Schnelker were heading back to the locker room after inspecting the field two hours before the game. As soon as the tarp was removed, it began freezing fast. They didn’t have the nerve to tell Lombardi that his heating system was breaking down, so they passed along the news to Chuck Lane.

“I entered and informed him that his pitch was frozen due to a malfunctioning heating system,” Lane recalled. He became really angry and pretended that I had broken his heating system. I moved past him and approached the press box as he went out to survey the pitch. At that moment, I didn’t want to be the guy he was looking for to kill.

“This was the first year they had the heated field. They never had the expertise or experience to regulate it properly. They put a tarp over the top of it, and the tarp didn’t breathe, so the heat would come up underneath and form condensation and the moisture would drop back onto the field. Once they took the tarp off, it froze quickly.”