The forecast for the Packers' home game Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys is for rain and a high temperature of 57 degrees -- meaning Lambeau Field is more likely to feel like a rainforest than a Frozen Tundra.
The last time the Cowboys traveled to Green Bay for a December game the recorded game-time temperature was minus 13 degrees (minus 48 with the wind chill). That 1967 Packers victory is now known as the Ice Bowl, and it holds the record for the coldest outdoor game in NFL history.
As Packers ticket holders break out their rain jackets and hang up their winter parkas, let's revisit the Packers' five coldest ever games.
With the temperature forecast to be around 3 degrees below zero (which will feel like the negative 20s) at kickoff time Sunday at Soldier Field, the divisional face-off between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears could wind up being one of the coldest games in NFL history.
It's familiar territory for the Packers, who have played in half of the 10 coldest games ever, according to the NFL. In fact, Green Bay hosted four of those games at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Blair Kiel walks from the field after his final pass was intercepted by the Detroit Lions on Dec. 22, 1990. The Lions won 24-17.
Tenth coldest game in NFL history, fifth coldest in Packers history.
Date: Dec. 22, 1990
Temperature: 2 degrees
Stadium: Lambeau Field
Attendance: 46,700
Coach: Lindy Infante
Starting QB: Blair Kiel
Regular season record: 6-10-0, .375, 4th in NFC Central
Game notes: It was the only game started by Blair Kiel in a pretty miserable season. The rest of the season either Don Majkowski (4-4) or Anthony Dilweg (2-5) started at QB.
Kiel completed 20 of 36 pass attempts for 239 yards, a 1-yard rushing touchdown and an interception which cost them the game. Green Bay lost three fumbles; Detroit had two.
In his second season in the NFL, Barry Sanders rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown. The Packers only managed 80 yards rushing from six different players.
Reggie White (92) sacks Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Jeff Hostetler (15) on Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993, in Green Bay. White was credited with 2.5 sacks in the game and Hostetler left in the third quarter with a concussion.
Eighth coldest game in NFL history, fourth coldest in Packers history.
Date: Dec. 26, 1993
Temperature: 0 degrees
Stadium: Lambeau Field
Attendance: 54,482
Coach: Mike Holmgren
Starting QB: Brett Favre
Regular season record: 9-7-0, .563, 3rd in NFC Central
Game notes: This game was the scene of the first Lambeau Leap. Defensive back LeRoy Butler forced a fumble from quarterback Vince Evans, which was recovered by Reggie White at the 35 yard line. White returned the ball 10 yards before lateralling it to Butler, who ran the remaining 20 yards. He then jumped into the south bleachers to celebrate with fans. The unique celebration is continued to this day.
With the win over the Raiders, the Packers clinched a playoff spot for the first time in a non-strike season since 1972. The Raiders franchise was located in Los Angeles in 1982-94.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren holds his hand up to the crowd as he walks off the field following the Packers' 28-0 victory over the Los Angeles Raiders in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993.
The Packers' John Brockington (42) confronts Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus (51) in Chicago on Nov. 12, 1972. Photos were not available from the Packers' Dec. 10, 1972, game at the Minnesota Vikings.
Seventh coldest game in NFL history, third coldest in Packers history.
Date: Dec. 10, 1972
Temperature: 0 degrees (wind chill: -18 degrees)
Stadium: Metropolitan Stadium
Attendance: 49,784
Coach: Dan Devine
Starting QB: Scott Hunter
Regular season record: 10-4-0, .714, 1st in NFC Central
Brett Favre after his pass was intercepted by New York Giants' Corey Webster and returned to the Green Bay 43-yard line to set up an overtime win for the Giants on Jan. 20, 2008, at Lambeau Field. It was Favre's last game as a Green Bay Packer.
Brett Favre rushes off the field after losing to the Giants 23-20 in frigid conditions at Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers hosted the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game Sunday Jan. 20, 2008.
Fifth coldest game in NFL history, second coldest in Packers history.
Date: Jan. 20, 2008
Temperature: -1 degree (wind chill: -24 degrees)
Stadium: Lambeau Field
Attendance: 72,740
Coach: Mike McCarthy
Starting QB: Brett Favre
Regular season record: 13-3-0, .813, 1st in NFC North
Game notes: Brett Favre threw an interception in overtime to set up the Giants' game-winning field goal. The game was Favre's last in a Packers uniform.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr calls signals in bitter cold as he led the Packers to a 21-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys to capture a third consecutive National Football League title, Dec. 31, 1967, in Green Bay.
Coldest ever game in NFL history.
Date: Dec. 31, 1967
Temperature: -13 degrees (wind chill: -48 degrees)
Stadium: Lambeau Field
Attendance: 50,861
Coach: Vince Lombardi
Starting QB: Bart Starr
Regular season record: 9-4-1, .692, 1st in NFC Central
Game notes: The legendary "Ice Bowl" is the coldest ever outdoor game in NFL history. The stadium's turf heating system failed due to the cold (although some say Lombardi turned it off). Performances by a marching band were canceled after the team noticed blood on a few of the musicians' faces. Game officials could not use whistles, because they froze. Packers fans in the front row repeatedly unplugged the Cowboys' heated benches. Several fans passed out from delayed reactions to alcohol upon warming up. One elderly man died of exposure.
Quarterback Bart Starr tossed two touchdown passes and scored the winning touchdown himself in a surprise play with seconds left in the game.
After that game, Lombardi's team went on to play in the AFL-NFL World Championship (Super Bowl II) on Jan. 14 in Miami. The Packers beat the Oakland Raiders 33-14. The temperature at the stadium was 68 degrees.
Nick Heynen was the online editor for the Wisconsin State Journal and managed the newspaper's social media accounts until 2018. A Maryland native transplanted to Wisconsin, he joined the paper in 2007 as data reporter.
The very thought of Dallas at Green Bay on Sunday in an NFL playoff game stirs memories in Wisconsin sports fans like nothing else.
His cold-weather acumen and large mitts should increase the Packers’ chances of winning Sunday.
Imagine what Green Bay can do with the franchise quarterback and speedy receiver practicing without limitations for a full week, joining Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Eddie Lacy on the list of playmakers.
Firms and TV affiliates that would have had to black out the telecast if the game wasn't a sellout stepped up to buy some of the remaining tickets.
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The first should be made of a wicking material, followed by a warm layer like a fleece jacket or sweatshirt. The last layer should be a windproof jacket and snow pants.
Linemen are renowned for toughing out inclement weather without sleeves under jerseys, but that apparently won't be the case in Sunday's historic cold in Green Bay.
The Packers have already interviewed two former NFL head coaches: Ex-Colts and Lions coach Jim Caldwell, and ex-Colts coach Chuck Pagano. The team also wants to interview Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.
With a host of coaches being fired around the NFL in the 24 hours after Sunday’s game, the Packers were busy setting up interviews for their own opening on New Year’s Eve.
It’s looking less and less like Green Bay will be luring Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald or Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley from the college ranks.
Bart Starr, the gentlemanly quarterback and catalyst of Vince Lombardi's powerhouse Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s whose sneak won the famed "Ice Bowl" in 1967, has died. He was 85.
The organization announced Friday that it also will honor Starr during halftime of the team's home opener Sept. 15 against the Vikings.
An event celebrating Starr's legacy as a star of professional and college football was held Sunday afternoon at Samford University in suburban Birmingham.
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