There’s nothing more fun than a football game in the snow. The fluffy white stuff has been a big part of the lore of the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field. Hearing NFL Films’ John Facenda discuss “The Frozen Tundra” is something so many football fans associate with late-season football in Green Bay. The city of Green Bay averages 48 inches of snowfall per year according to the Packers media guide so snow is no stranger to Titletown.
Here is a look back at some of the Packers more memorable snow games since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970:
December 6, 1970: Packers at Steelers
The Packers traveled to Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh for a late-season meeting with the Steelers. Snowfall complicated everything in this game as both clubs struggled to hold on to the ball in the slippery conditions. The teams combined for 10 turnovers with the Packers intercepting Steelers starter Terry Hanratty once and Terry Bradshaw four times.
The Packers got off to a quick start when Wisconsin native Larry Krause returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Dale Livingston missed the extra point and the Packers led 6-0. The Steelers closed the gap to 6-3 at the half.
Bradshaw connected with wide receiver Dave Smith on an 87-yard scoring play to give Pittsburgh a 9-6 lead in the third quarter but Starr managed to overcome the tough weather conditions to throw a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rich McGeorge in the third quarter and a 65-yard bomb to wideout John Hilton in the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 20-12 victory.
Starr finished the game 14-of-32 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Dave Hampton led the Packers with 53 yards on the ground. The Packers frustrated Bradshaw who went just 3-of-20 throwing the ball for 110 yards and four interceptions. That gave him a quarterback rating of just 27.1.
It would be the last coaching win in Green Bay for Phil Bengtson who succeeded Vince Lombardi as coach of the Packers in 1968. Bengtson finished his three years at the helm with a 20-21-1 record.
November 30, 1975: Bears at Packers
The weather conditions at Lambeau Field were difficult to say the least. It was cold, snow was falling and the players had to fight a swirling wind that made it tough to see.
That didn’t stop running back John Brockington who ran the ball 26 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers beat the Bears 28-7 to escape the NFC Central Division cellar.
The Packers other touchdown came on a 14-yard halfback option pass from Willard Harrell to Steve Odom in the second quarter.
The Green Bay defense forced six turnovers including a Mike P. McCoy strip of Walter Payton that Dave Pureifory scooped up and ran back to the Chicago 11 to set up one of Brockington’s scores.
Ken Ellis, Johnnie Gray and Perry Smith each had interceptions of Bears starter Bob Avellini who was just 9-of-25 passing in the snow. The swirling winds limited the passing games of both teams as Packers starter John Hadl was just 11-of-20 for 127 yards and two interceptions.
The Packers gained 193 yards on the ground while holding Payton to just 40 yards in 12 carries.
December 4, 2016: Houston at Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers fought through a hamstring injury that limited him in practice the week before the game and a steady snow at Lambeau Field to lead the Packers to a 21-13 win over the visiting Houston Texans.Greg
Rodgers completed 20-of-30 passes for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jordy Nelson caught eight passes for 112 yards and a score. Randall Cobb caught one touchdown pass while fullback Aaron Ripkowski ran for the other Green Bay score.
The Texans made it a one-score game with 1:51 left in the game when Brock Osweiler threw a 44-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins to make the score 21-13, but the Packers held on for the win.
Morgan Burnett had a big game for the Packers making nine tackles and returning a fumble recovery 35 yards. Julius Peppers and Dean Lowry had sacks for the Packers.
The win improved the Packers record to 6-6-0. This was the second of six season-ending wins for the Packers who finished 10-6-0 and captured the NFC North crown.
December 6, 1992: Detroit at Green Bay (at Milwaukee)
The Packers overcame the bad weather and won their fourth straight game in Brett Favre’s first year as they defeated the Lions 38-10 in Milwaukee County Stadium.
Favre was able to be efficient despite the snow, completing 15-of-19 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns. Sterling Sharpe caught two of those touchdown passes including a 65-yard score in the first quarter that gave the Packers an early 14-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Matt Brock sacked Lions quarterback Andre Ware and linebacker Tony Bennett scooped up the ensuing fumble and ran it back 18 yards for a touchdown that put the Packers ahead 28-0. The Pack led 35-10 at the half.
The fast falling snow led to an embarrassing moment for Sharpe who thought he had scored because he couldn’t see where the end zone started. He was actually at the five-yard line and the defense punched the ball out. Sharpe recovered his own fumble and scored on the play. He finished with six catches for 107 yards and two scores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eCV0MpOKaI
Darrell Thompson ran for 84 yards on 18 carries while running for a touchdown. The Packers gained 166 yards on the ground on this snowy day.
The victory increased the Packers record to 7-6-0 in Mike Holmgren’s first year as head coach. They ultimately finished the season 9-7-0 and narrowly missed making the playoffs.
December 8, 2013: Atlanta at Green Bay
The Packers were watching a once promising season slip away in 2013. Green Bay was 5-2-0 and seemed to be cruising to another NFC North title when Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone in a loss to the Bears. Neither Seneca Wallace nor Scott Tolzien were able to get the offense in gear so the Packers turned once again to Matt Flynn to reverse an 0-4-1 slump.
Flynn was shaky early and when he was picked off by Atlanta’s Sean Weatherspoon who ran the ball back 71 yards for a touchdown, the Packers trailed 21-10.
But Flynn kept his cool and engineered a big comeback. After two third quarter field goals by Mason Crosby pulled the Packers to within 21-16, Flynn led the Pack downfield again early in the fourth quarter. He found tight end Andrew Quarless on a two-yard touchdown pass early in the quarter to put the Packers ahead 22-21.
The defense and the snow suffocated the Atlanta offense and the Pack held on for a much-needed victory. Jarrett Bush intercepted Matt Ryan with 11 seconds left to seal the win for the Packers.
Flynn finished the game 24-of-32 for 258 yards and a touchdown. Eddie Lacy led the Packers ground game with 65 yards and 20 carries and a score.
Rodgers eventually returned to the lineup and the Packers finished 8-7-1 and won the NFC North to earn their fifth straight playoff berth.
November 27, 1977: Minnesota at Green Bay
The snow was falling hard when the defending NFC Central champion Vikings came to Lambeau Field to take on Bart Starr’s struggling Packers. Neither team had their starting quarterback in this game. Lynn Dickey was lost for the season a few weeks earlier when he broke his leg on the last play of the game against the Rams. Rookie David Whitehurst took over at quarterback for Green Bay. Meanwhile, Fran Tarkenton was out of the Vikings lineup and veteran backup Bob Lee got the nod.
The snow made it impossible for either team to move the football consistently. The Packers finished the game with just 169 total yards of offense, the Vikings with just 218.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVbVKsq7TYA
Turnovers figured in almost all the scoring. The Packers drew first blood after recovering a fumble by Vikings running back Brent McClanahan at the Vikings 21. Whitehurst ran around left end from three yards out and the Packers led 6-0. Chester Marcol missed the extra point in the snow.
The Vikings got the only big offensive play of the game when Lee found Sammy White deep for a 40-yard score. Fred Cox kicked the extra point and the Packers trailed 7-6. A pair of Cox field goals in the second quarter gave the Vikings a 13-6 halftime edge.
The snow got heavier as the game progressed and the offenses stalled. Lee completed his first five passes of the game but didn’t complete another. Whitehurst finished the game 6-of-23 for 75 yards. Eric Torkelson led the Packers with 53 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The Packers had a chance to tie the game in the third quarter after Whitehurst found backup tight end Bert Askson for a 34-yard gain to the Minnesota five, but a few plays later, Bobby Bryant picked off Whitehurst in the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, the Packers had another opportunity in the final five minutes when they drove the ball to the Minnesota 11, but fullback Barty Smith fumbled and the Vikings recovered.
The loss was the fifth straight for the Packers who fell to 2-9 on the season.
October 15, 1984: Green Bay at Denver
An October snowstorm Denver and a national TV audience tuned in on Monday Night Football to watch the Packers and Broncos try to play through it.
The Packers had trouble adjusting and fumbled on their first two offensive plays of the game. First, Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson forced Gerry Ellis to fumble and Steve Foley scooped up the ball and ran it back 22 yards for a touchdown. The Pack trailed 7-0. After the kickoff, Jesse Clark fumbled the ball and Louis Wright recovered for Denver and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. The game was less than a minute old and the Packers trailed 14-0.
After the Broncos added a second quarter field goal, the Packers dominated the rest of the game. Quarterback Lynn Dickey played well, constantly connecting with James Lofton for key gains. The future Hall of Famer finished the game with 11 catches for 206 yards which included a 54-yard touchdown pass from Dickey. Dickey ended the game completing 27-of-37 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown.
Unfortunately, the snow caused the Packers to turn the ball over five times while the Broncos had only one when safety Mark Murphy picked off John Elway.
The Packers pulled to within 17-14 on a five-yard run by Ellis and the bomb from Dickey to Lofton, but they couldn’t get the equalizer and fell to the Broncos 17-14 despite outgaining Denver 423 yards to 193.
It was the sixth straight loss for Forrest Gregg’s team who saw their record drop to 1-6-0. Green Bay turned things around in the second half of the year, winning seven of their last eight and finishing the season 8-8-0.
NFC Division Playoff, January 8, 2008, Seattle at Green Bay
The snow was falling so hard during this contest that Lambeau Field resembled a snow globe by the time it was over.
Running back Ryan Grant stumbled early, fumbling twice to end the Packers first two possessions that led directly to Seattle touchdowns. The Pack trailed 14-0 before the game was even four minutes old.
But Grant and the Packers got back on track. By the time the game was finished, Grant gained a Packers playoff record 201 yards on 27 carries and ran for three touchdowns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrj-XafZZB8
Brett Favre also thrived in the snow, completing 18-of-23 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns. Greg Jennings caught two of those touchdowns and ended the game with six catches for 71 yards.
The Packers scored on six straight possessions to take complete control of the game. They outgained Seattle 408 yards to 200 and advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1997.
This was Favre’s last win as a Packer.
December 1, 1985: Tampa Bay at Green Bay
A total of 16 inches of snow fell on Green Bay on game day and wind gusts were as high as 40 miles an hour. Only 19,856 brave fans were able to get to the game during this blizzard that saw the Packers dominate the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-0.
Lynn Dickey had a great game in what would be his last start as a Packer. He completed 22-of-36 passes for 299 yards in the swirling winds and snow. James Lofton caught six passes for 106 yards in the game. Meanwhile, two Packers runners went over 100 yards for the game with Eddie Lee Ivery gaining 109 yards in 13 carries and Gerry Ellis adding 101 yards in nine attempts.
Buccaneers quarterback Steve Young struggled in the snow, completing 8-of-17 passes for 53 yards and one interception. Green Bay sacked Young five times and held the Bucs to 11 net passing yards for the game.
The Packers defense shut down the Tampa Bay attack. Green Bay outgained the visiting Bucs 512-65.
The win improved the Packers record to 6-7-0 on the season
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