Cowboys Packers Rivalry Continues
A Storied Football Rivalry - Cowboys and Packers Renewed
Nov 24, 2007
The Dallas Cowboys had the misfortune of being born in 1960, the beginning of the Lombardi era for the Green Bay Packers. In their inaugural season the Cowboys met the Packers and lost. It would set the tone for the teams’ meetings in the 1960s. It would also ignite a fierce rivalry that continues to this day.
From 1960 through 1965 the two teams followed different courses that eventually led to their dramatic collisions in NFL title games. The Cowboys slowly gained confidence and began to win games, while the Packers played in, but lost the 1960 title game. Lombardi vowed he would never lose another title game and the next two seasons his Packers were champions and dominated the league. In 1965 the Packers won again to make it four trips to the championship game and three wins in six years. The Cowboys went 7-7 that year and seemed an unlikely team to challenge Packer dominance.
1966 began much as 1965 with the Packers rolling through the league. The Cowboys posted a 10-3-1 record and faced off against the Packers for the NFL championship. In a dramatic game, the Cowboys drive for victory ended on the Packer two yard line when Dallas quarterback Don Meredith’s fourth down pass was intercepted. The Cowboys came that close to being the NFL’s first representative in the Superbowl. Instead the Packers rolled over the Kansas City Chiefs (formerly the Dallas Texans) in Superbowl I.
The rivalry was sealed in the 1967 championship game famously known as the “Ice Bowl.” The temperature was -13°F with wind chills as cold as -40°F. The field was a skating rink and winning became secondary to survival. The Packers won 20-17 on a quarterback sneak with 16 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The year before the Cowboys could not score from the 2 yard line, but when the Packers had a similar opportunity they were able to grab the victory.
After a nearly thirty year hiatus the rivalry heated up again in the 1990s, an era initially dominated by the Cowboys. From 1992 – 1996 the Packers lost 7 games to the Cowboys, including two playoff games. In 1995 they lost to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game 38-27. All 7 games were played in Dallas. In 1997, in a regular season game, the two teams met at Lambeau Field in Green Bay and the Packers stomped the Cowboys 45-17.
Now these teams are the best of the NFC with identical records of 10-1. They will face off yet again for bragging rights as number one in the conference. It is sure to be a great matchup that will add to this historic rivalry.
