It is Day 21 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain
dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
Get comfy, get somewhere warm for Day 21 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, when we revisit perhaps the most mythologized game in Cowboys history. Played in conditions so severe that it became known simply as the Ice Bowl.
Sunday, December 31, 1967
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Final Score: Green Bay Packers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17
The Cowboys arrived in Green Bay seeking revenge. The Packers had beaten them 34-27 in the previous season’s NFL Championship Game, intercepting Don Meredith in the end zone on Dallas’ final possession. Green Bay was attempting to win an unprecedented third consecutive league championship, while Tom Landry’s emerging Cowboys were trying to prove they were ready to replace the league’s established power.
The conditions became as important as the teams. The temperature at kickoff was marked with the wind chill between 33 and 37 below zero. The field gradually hardened into an icy surface, officials stopped using their metal whistles after one froze to a referee’s lips, and several players required treatment for frostbite. It remains the coldest game in NFL history.
Green Bay appeared far more comfortable early. Bart Starr found Boyd Dowler for an eight-yard touchdown on the Packers’ opening scoring drive and connected with him again for another long score early in the second quarter. Dallas had barely moved the football before falling behind 14-0.
The Cowboys remained alive because of their defense. Willie Townes stripped Starr on a sack, allowing George Andrie to recover the fumble and return it seven yards for a touchdown. Later in the half, Packers safety Willie Wood mishandled a punt and Dallas recovered at the Green Bay 17-yard line. Danny Villanueva converted a 21-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 14-10 at halftime despite the Cowboys producing only two first downs during the opening half.
Neither team scored during the third quarter, but Dallas finally broke through on the first play of the fourth. Running back Dan Reeves took a handoff moving left, stopped and threw across the field to a wide-open Lance Rentzel. The 50-yard touchdown gave the Cowboys a 17-14 lead and placed them within minutes of the first championship in franchise history.
Dallas’ defense protected that advantage until Green Bay took possession at its own 32-yard line with just over five minutes remaining. Starr completed five consecutive passes during the defining drive, using Donny Anderson and Chuck Mercein out of the backfield to move the Packers down the frozen field. Mercein’s 19-yard catch reached the Dallas 11 before an eight-yard run moved Green Bay to the three.
Anderson then advanced to the one-yard line, but two further rushing attempts failed when he lost his footing on the ice. Green Bay called its final timeout with 16 seconds remaining. An incomplete pass would have stopped the clock and allowed the Packers to attempt a tying field goal, while another unsuccessful running play could have ended the game.
Starr went to the sideline and suggested keeping the ball himself. On third down, he took the snap and followed blocks from center Ken Bowman and guard Jerry Kramer, who drove Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh backward. Starr crossed the goal line with 13 seconds left, giving Green Bay its only points since early in the second quarter and producing the decisive image of the Ice Bowl.
Dallas attempted several desperation passes after the kickoff, but none were completed. Green Bay had survived 37 consecutive minutes without scoring to win 21-17 and secure its third straight NFL championship. The Packers later defeated the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II, completing the final championship season of Lombardi’s tenure as their head coach.
This game belongs on the countdown because Cowboys history cannot be told through victories alone. Dallas had gone from an expansion franchise to standing one yard and 13 seconds away from defeating one of football’s greatest dynasties. The loss delayed the Cowboys’ first championship, but it also confirmed that Landry’s team had become one of the NFL’s elite organizations.
Interesting Facts About the Game
The official kickoff temperature was minus-13°F. Temperatures during the game ranged from approximately minus-12°F to minus-14°F.
Countdown to kickoff
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