Thursday, December 31, 2020

Happy Ice Bowl Day!

Today is the 53rd anniversary of the “Ice Bowl” — the 1967 NFL Championship game. Considered one of the top moments in NFL history, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 with a Bart Starr QB sneak touchdown with only 13 seconds left to play. 

The conditions were less than idea, according to the National Weather Service: “The game was played in brutal cold and windy conditions. The kickoff temperature in Green Bay was -13°F, with a wind chill of 36 below zero. Temperatures were so cold, in fact, that referees had to shout signals so that the metal whistles wouldn't stick to their lips. Even so, nearly 51,000 fans watched the coldest game in league annals.”

We’ve read extensively about the Ice Bowl, and there are varying accounts as to what the wind chill was at its lowest point. From the Packers’ perspective, the cafe under Ariens Hill is named “46 Below,” with this description: “This bistro is named in homage to the Ice Bowl, the legendary 1967 NFL Championship game at Lambeau Field during which the wind chill temperature famously plummeted to 46 below zero.”

Regardless, the game will live forever in NFL lore, but will one day be no longer remembered by the generation which attended it, watched it, listened to it, and read about it at the time. Hopefully, future generations of Packers fans will marvel at what happened that day, and at the ability of fans to watch the game in those conditions without any of the cold weather gear that came about decades later.

For any weather history geeks out there (from the National Weather Service):

— The coldest and longest cold stretch (nine days) during the 1967-1968 winter season began the day of the Ice Bowl. Seven of nine days during that stretch did not exceed 0°F.

— The winter in which the Ice Bowl was played (1967-1968) ranked 2nd all-time for the least snowiest (20.6 inches). The record is 19.2 inches during the winter of 1960-1961.

— The Ice Bowl ranked 1st all-time for the lowest average temperature for any December 31 in Green Bay: -6.5°F for the day.

— The Ice Bowl ranked 1st all-time for the lowest minimum temperature for any December 31 in Green Bay: -19°F reached just before midnight that evening.

— The Ice Bowl ranked 5th all-time for the lowest maximum temperature for any December 31 in Green Bay: +6°F reached at midnight early that morning.

Below are a few video screen captures of crowd scenes just before the game-winning play, from CBS live coverage, of which only a few minutes are know to exist. Networks routinely taped over broadcasts to save money, even if what they taped over was irreplaceable history. The “bottom line” is always the most important thing.

View our 50th Anniversary tribute to the Ice Bowl HERE.

See the 1967 NFL Championship game program HERE

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Week 17 NFL TV Maps

The final regular season weekend for the NFL kicks off on Sunday (no Saturday or Monday night games). Please note that the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field has been moved from Noon (CT) to 3:25 p.m. (CT). The league wants the games with playoff implications to be played concurrently. As has been the case several times this season, the late time slot for the Packers means more viewers, but not everyone (see map #4 below)

The goal is this for Green Bay: beat the Bears to lock up the No. 1 NFC seed in the playoffs, meaning a first-round playoff bye, and the NFC road to the Super Bowl would go through Lambeau Field.


Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Titans at Packers Preview


Titans seek to secure playoff berth as they visit Packers

By The Associated Press

December 24, 2020

TENNESSEE (10-4) at GREEN BAY (11-3)

GAME TIME — Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC

OPENING LINE — Packers by 4 ½

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Titans 7-7, Packers 8-6

SERIES RECORD — Titans lead 7-5

LAST MEETING — Titans beat Packers 47-25 in Nashville, Nov. 13, 2016

LAST WEEK — Titans beat Lions 46-25; Packers beat Panthers 24-16

AP PRO32 RANKING — Titans No. 5, Packers No. 3

TITANS OFFENSE — OVERALL (2), RUSH (2), PASS (19).

TITANS DEFENSE — OVERALL (27), RUSH (15), PASS (29).

PACKERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (4), RUSH (8), PASS (8).

PACKERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (8), RUSH (11), PASS (9).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Green Bay has won four straight games. Tennessee has won four of its last five… This game pits two of the NFL’s highest-scoring teams. The Titans lead the NFL with 436 total points. The Packers are third with 434 pointsv The Titans need a win to clinch a playoff berth for a second straight year and third in four seasons. Tennessee also can clinch with a loss by either Baltimore or Miami. The Titans can clinch their first AFC South title since 2008 with a win and a loss by the Colts… The Titans are 3-0 against the NFC North this season… The Titans average 399.4 yards per game to rank second in the league. Tennessee is the fifth team in NFL history with five straight games with at least 420 yards offense and at least 30 points… Titans QB Ryan Tannehill had a career-high five TDs combined last week… NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry ran for 147 yards and a TD and now has a career-high 1,679 yards rushing. He became the fourth player in NFL history to run for 1,500 yards and 15 TDs in back-to-back seasons. His 15 TD runs are tied for the league lead… Titans WR A.J. Brown has 18 TD catches since entering the NFL in 2019, the fifth-highest total in that span… The Packers already have clinched the NFC North title. They can clinch the top seed in the NFC playoffs this week if they beat Tennessee while the Los Angeles Rams beat or tie Seattle… Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown an NFL-leading 40 TD passes with only four INTs… Packers WR Davante Adams has 14 TD catches to rank second in the NFL, behind Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill (15)… Packers RB Aaron Jones has rushed for at least 130 yards in two of his last three games, including a 145-yard outburst last week against Carolina… Packers OLB Za’Darius Smith has 11 ½ sacks to rank fourth in the league… Green Bay K Mason Crosby has made 18 straight field-goal attempts and is 16 of 16 this season, including a 57-yarder and a 51-yarder in his last two games. He has missed three extra-point attempts, however… The Packers will look to bounce back on offense after struggling through the final two quarters against Carolina. Green Bay scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of that game but gained just 49 yards after halftime… This game is the first between Titans coach Mike Vrabel and his first offensive coordinator, now Packers coach Matt LaFleur… The Packers had seven players selected to the Pro Bowl this week: Adams, CB Jaire Alexander, OT David Bakhtiari, G Elgton Jenkins, Jones, Rodgers and Za’Darius Smith. The Titans’ only Pro Bowl selections were Henry and Brown… The Titans and Packers each have nine turnovers this season, tied for the fewest in the NFL… Fantasy tip: Tennessee’s Corey Davis has 326 yards receiving and two touchdown catches over his last three games. Assuming Alexander’s presence in the secondary makes it tough for Brown to get open, the Titans could end up targeting Davis instead, making him worth a start.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Week 16 NFL TV Maps

The Green Bay Packers (11-3) play another nationally televised game this Sunday evening at 7:20 p.m. against the 10-4 Tennessee Titans. Here are the other games you can watch on Sunday.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

Aaron Jones — FedEx Ground Player of the Week

For the second time this season, Packers RB Aaron Jones has been named the FedEx Ground Player of the Week.

Jones rushed for 130 yards on 15 carries, highlighted by a career-long 77-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, to propel the Packers to a 30-16 victory over Philadelphia at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

By winning the award, as determined by a fan vote, FedEx will honor Jones by working with Direct Relief to deliver an emergency medical backpack to a local community health center in the Green Bay market. The backpack will help take care of 500 people in this community.

The fourth-year running back also was honored with the award after rushing for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 2.

The other Week 13 nominees for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week were the New York Giants' Wayne Gallman and Denver's Melvin Gordon.

Packers.com

Aaron Rodgers — NFC Offensive Player of the Week

 

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. In Green Bay's 30-16 victory over the Eagles, Rodgers finished 25-of-34 for 295 yards with three TDs and a 128.9 passer rating. Rodgers became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to throw 400 TD passes, the fastest to reach that mark in league history by doing so on his 6,462nd attempt (Peyton Manning, 7,226). Rodgers also became the fastest to reach 400 TDs in terms of games, doing so in his 193rd career game (Drew Brees, 205). Rodgers also set the mark for the fewest INTs at the time of his 400th career TD pass at 88, besting the previous mark held by Tom Brady (143).

More milestones Rodgers reached:

• First QB in NFL history with 50,000-plus passing yards, 400-plus passing TDs and 3,000-plus rushing yards.

• First QB in NFL history to have five seasons with 35-plus TD passes (2011-12, 2014, 2016, 2020).

Rodgers' 36 TD passes are the second most in team history through 12 games behind only his 37 TD passes in 2011.

• It was Rodgers' ninth game on the season with three-plus TD passes, the second most in a season in franchise annals behind his 10 in 2011.

• Rodgers (36/4) has posted 35-plus TD passes and five or fewer INTs in the first 12 games for the second time in his career (37/5 in 2011). Brady is the only other QB to ever accomplish that feat (41/5 in 2007).

• Completed 13 of 14 passes in the first half, a career-high (min. 10 att.) completion percentage (92.9 percent) for a first half. It marked the second time this season he has posted a completion percentage of 90-plus in a first half (11 of 12, 91.7 percent vs. Minnesota in Week 8) after never doing so in a first half prior to this season.

This marks the 18th time in Rodgers' career he's been honored as the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, a franchise record.

Packers.com

NFL Week 14 TV Maps

Here are the NFL Week 14 TV Maps, courtesy of 506 Sports. Even though the Packers-Lions game was moved to 3:25 p.m., less than half of the U.S. will see it.
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Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Eagles at Packers — Award Section

RB Aaron Jones (#33) wins the Offensive Player of the Game award, which he solidified with his 77-yard that took Green Bay out of danger late in the fourth quarter.

DL Dean Lowry (#94) receives his first Defensive Player of the Game award of 2020 with a strong performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13.