As a football player (limited to only my college football), I have experienced playing football on a foot stuttering cold conditions. It takes balls to last the entire game when the climate is so harsh. This is the reason I have included this game as one of all-time classic NFL games and also salute the players as well as the officials who were a part of this game.
The Ice Bowl is considered as NFL history’s one of the greatest game ever played as the game was played in a very harsh climatic condition with the temperature dipping down to as low as -15°F, the setting – NFL Championship Game of 1957, the intense enmity between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, battle between the two head coaches who were considered as the future Hall of Famers and the dramatic end.
The game was played on December 31, 1967 at the Lambeau Field with over 50,000 people witnessing the clash. After the opening kick-off, the match referees found it difficult to use their whistles due to extreme cold. Referee Norm Schachter indicated the start of the game and blew the whistle which froze to his lips and so, for the remaining part of the match only voice commands were used.
The Packers raced to a 14-0 lead early on in the game thanks to two touchdown passes from Bar Starr to Boyd Dowler. In the second quarter, the Packers conceded two turnovers that allowed Dallas to recover granting them 10 points. First it was Starr who fumbled with Dallas’ George Andrie returned it 7 yards for a touchdown and then it was Willie Wood granting Phil Clark of Dallas to recover and by the end of halftime the scoreboard read 14-10. The third quarter ended on the same score with neither team scoring.
The initial play of final quarter saw Cowboys taking 17-14 lead through Dan Reeves’ 50-yard touchdown pass to Lance Rentzel. With 4:50 remaining, Starr took the initiative with 3 spectacular plays – 13-yard pass to Dowler, a 12-yard pass to Anderson and a 19-yard throw to Chuck Mercein. Starr decided to take the final timeout for Packers on third-and-goal with 16 seconds to go. He then executed a quarterback sneak and scored the touchdown and thus, the Packers won the game 21-17 and a record third consecutive NFL championship.
Such was the chill and thrill of this 1967 Championship Game which went down to the wire and is also known as “The Chilling Championship”.