For three significant members of the 1960s Cowboys– Don Meredith, Don Perkins, and Frank Clarke– the 1967 Ice Bowl was the closest the team would get to an NFL title during their playing careers.
Like the 1966 title game, Green Bay jumped out to a 14-0 first half lead thanks to two touchdowns from Bart Starr to Boyd Dowler. But a touchdown off a fumble recovery by George Andrie in the second quarter, along with a Danny Villanueva field goal, brought the Cowboys back.
In the third quarter, Dan Reeves threw a 50-yard touchdown pass on a halfback pass to Lance Rentzel, giving Dallas a 17-14 lead. As the teams struggled to move the ball in the awful conditions, the Dallas lead held until the final drive of the game.
With about five minutes left to play, Villanueva punted to Willie Wood, who returned the ball to the Green Bay 32. The final 4:54 belonged to the Packers:
1-10-32 GB (4:54): Bart Start passes to Donny Anderson in the right flat for six yards.
2-4-38 GB (4:27): Chuck Mercein runs off the right end for 7.
1-10-45 GB (3:57): Starr hits Dowler down the middle for 13.
1-10-42 Dal (3:30): Anderson loses 9 trying to run right. Willie Townes broke through the line to make a great tackle in the backfield (see photo below)
2-19-49 GB (2:52): Starr passes right to Anderson for 12.
3-7-39 Dal (2:00): Starr passes right to Anderson for 9.
1-10-30 Dal (1:35): Starr passes to Mercein on the left for 19.
1-10-11 Dal (1:11): Mercein rushes up the middle for 8.
2-2-3 Dal (0:54): Anderson runs right for 2.
1-Goal-1 Dal (0:30): Anderson runs up the middle for no gain.
2-Goal-1 Dal (0:20): Anderson runs up the middle for no gain.
3-Goal-1 Dal (0:16): Starr runs a quarterback sneak for 1. Touchdown.
The Packers were already the dynasty of the 1960s, but the image of Starr falling behind Jerry Kramer remains one of the great images in NFL history. There are a bunch of highlight clips of this game, including the one below:
(Thanks to Fred Goodwin for pointing this out some time ago on this blog): In his book, When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow, Dallas receiver Lance Rentzel notes that he may have caught a touchdown pass in the final seconds if he hadn’t slowed up on a streak route. Dallas started on its own 20 with 13 second left to play.
We got the ball again after the kickoff. There were still a few seconds left. Don called for Hayes and me to run a streak pattern, even though they would definitely be expecting it, but we had to try it. I lined up thinking that he would be looking for Bob first, and as I approached Herb Adderley, I hesitated for an instant, cutting my stride ever so slightly. I wasn’t loafing, but I didn’t really drive by him the way I could have, because I already had him beaten. Then I looked back and saw that Don had thrown it to me, not Hayes. The ball was a yard beyond my reach. I had cost myself at least a couple of feet all because I’d broken stride, all because I hadn’t fully concentrated. I might have caught the ball, and if I had, I probably would have gone the whole way. I’ll never know if anyone else was close enough to catch me, there were still fifty yards to the goal, but I had Adderley beat. I could have won that game on the last play.
Maybe, maybe not. Below is a shot of the play, just as the ball landed out of Rentzel’s reach.
Rentzel was near the Green Bay 40, not the 50. Green Bay’s #40 in this shot is strong safety Tom Brown, who appears to have the angle on Rentzel, though it is tough to say whether Brown would have been in a good position had Rentzel been a step or two further downfield. Number 24 is Willie Wood, who was fast as anything, so he may also have caught Rentzel.
Some other stories of the game:
Paradise Lost Once Again for Cowboys In Final Seconds (Dallas Morning News, Jan. 1, 1968)
40 years ago: The Ice Bowl (NFL.com)
Box Score (Pro Football Reference)
Wow — are you sure that came from me? My memory isn’t THAT good!
Good night
Sorry can not come to this game.
Searching the Internet and never found.
It was a play.
hug
Douglas Bete
Sorocaba , São Paulo
Brasil