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| Chester Marcol carries the ball and makes his run toward destiny in the Green Bay Packers' 1980 season opener against the Chicago Bears. |
But perhaps the strangest moment included in their season-opening meeting in 1980 when Packers kicker Chester Marcol turned a blocked field goal from a disaster to a moment of glory for Green Bay.
The Packers entered the 1980 season with their head coach, former Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, on the hot seat, who had complied a 26-47-1 record in his five seasons as the head coach of the Packers.
A winless preseason which saw the Packers score only three points in its final three games did not help matters as many Packers fans were calling for Starr to be fired as the season began.
Even though the Packers offense featured quarterback Lynn Dickey, all-pro wide receiver James Lofton, and running back Eddie Lee Ivery, it seemed that Marcol was going to have kick a lot of field goals as the kicker entered his ninth season in Green Bay as the Packers' kicker.
While the Packers were just trying to be competitive, the Bears had aspirations to return to the playoffs as Chicago was coming off a 10-6 season and a second trip to the playoffs in three years.
Chicago was coached by Neill Armstrong(not that Neil Armstrong)who was entering his third season as the Bears' head coach and were led on the field by running back Walter Payton, who was entering his sixth season in the league, who had rushed for at least 1,300 yards and scored at least 10 touchdowns in his previous four seasons.
While the Bears were hoping for Mike Phipps to rev up the passing game, Chicago had a stout defense under defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, whose defense gave up the third least amount of points during the 1979 season.
With the Bears' strong defense and the Packers' incompetence on offense, a defensive struggle was expected as the two teams met in Lambeau Field in Green Bay to start the 1980 season.
The Bears scored first as a 13-play, 53-yard drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Bob Thomas that put Chicago ahead 3-0 with 4:41 left in the first quarter.
The Packers would tie the game with 41-yard field goal by Marcol early in the second quarter to end a nine-play, 56-yard drive which included a 21-yard pass from Dickey to Lofton and two runs by Ivery that gained 23 yards.
After Marcol's field goal, the Packers defense would spend the rest of the second quarter trying to bend but not break as the Bears drove three times into Green Bay territory.
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| Walter Payton carried the ball 31 times, but only gained 65 yards during the Bears' 1980 season opener with the Packers. |
On the first occasion, it appeared that the Bears had a 1st down at the Packers 16-yard-line on a reception to wide receiver James Scott, only to have left guard Noah Jackson get called for holding, pushing Chicago back 10 yards and leading to a turnover when Phipps was stripped of the ball following a sack by Packers linebacker Mike Hunt, forcing a fumble that was recovered by fellow linebacker Mike Douglass at the Green Bay 41-yard-line.
The Packers were forced to punt the ball back to the Bears, who once again drove into Green Bay territory and seemed to have a 1st-and-goal at the Packers' eight-yard-line.
But once again a penalty pushed the Bears back, this time an illegal use of hands on right tackle Dennis Lick, which was followed by another turnover as Phipps was picked off in the end zone by defensive back Wylie Turner, giving Green Bay the ball at their 20-yard-line.
The Packers would punt the ball again and again the Bears would drive into Green Bay territory, until they were faced with a 4th-and-1 at the Packers' 14-yard-line with 1:10 left in the first half.
Armstrong elected not to go for the field goal, but instead gambled and went for the 1st down.
That decision badly backfired as instead of calling a run up the middle with Payton, the Bears had "Sweetness" run a sweep which he ended up losing 10 yards as cornerback Mike McCoy made the tackle for the Packers.
Taking over at their 24-yard-line, the Packers quickly drove into Chicago territory as Ivery ran for 18 yards on a draw play which was followed by a 25-yard pass from Dickey to Aundra Thompson to set up a 46-yard field goal by Marcol as time expired in the first half to give Green Bay a 6-3 halftime lead.
The Bears got the ball to start the second half and drove 47 yards in 10 plays with Phipps hitting two big pass plays, a 18-yard completion to Scott and a 10-yarder to Brian Baschangel, which led to Thomas' 34-yard field goal, which tied the game 6-6 with 11:23 left in the third quarter.
Later in the quarter, the Bears mounted another drive into Packers territory only to turn it over once again, as McCoy made his second big defensive play of the game as he picked off a Phipps pass at the Green Bay 19-yard-line to stop Chicago for putting more points on the board and taking the lead.
Then in the fourth quarter, Phipps was intercepted for the third time in the game when a pass bounced off the helmet of Green Bay cornerback Eastus Hood and into the hands of free safety Johnnie Gray, who returned the interception to midfield, giving the Packers a chance to take the lead.
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| Packers wide receiver James Lofton would catch five passes for 77 yards to be the game's leading receiver. |
However, the Packers could not mount a drive into field goal range as they were forced to punt.
In fact, the Packers had two other drives that started into Chicago territory in the 4th quarter, one at the Bears' 45-yard-line and another at the Chicago' 37-yard-line, but neither time could get the ball close enough to attempt a field try by Marcol.
The Bears got the ball back with 4:10 to play, but instead of trying to pass the ball downfield in hopes of getting into field goal range for Thomas, the Bears ran seven straight running plays, effective running out the clock and sending the game into overtime.
The Bears won the coin toss and elected to receive, but a holding penalty on the return gave Chicago poor field position as they began their first drive of the extra period at their 11-yard-line.
The Bears picked up one 1st down but more penalties help kill the drive as Payton was almost tackled for a game-losing safety, but was able to stay out of the end zone, forcing a Chicago punt.
The Packers seemed poised to win the game as Fred Nixon returned the ensuing punt 16 yards only to have called it back because of a clipping penalty, forcing Green Bay to start from exactly the 50-yard-line.
Even though they had a short field, it seemed like the end zone was 150 yards away by the way the Packers were unable to move the ball in the fourth quarter despite good field position.
But this time the Packers were able to drive into field goal range as Dickey connected with Lofton for a 32-yard completion on the first play of the drive, to give Green Bay a 1st-and-10 at the Bears' 18-yard-line.
After three more plays netted only one more yard, Starr called on for Marcol to try and win the game with a 34-yard field goal.
Even the distance was relatively short for a field goal, Marcol's kick was low and ended up being blocked by Bears defensive tackle Alan Page, boucing off his helmet and into the hands of Marcol.
Marcol then proceeded to run around the left end and ran untouched for a shocking 25-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 12-6 win and a much needed win to start the season.
However, Marcol's overtime game-winning touchdown would be the highlight of another losing season for the Packers as they finished the season 5-10-1, which included a embarrassing 61-7 loss to the Bears in the rematch in Chicago three years later.
Starr was not fired as head coach as he remained in that position for three more seasons until he was fired following the 1983 season when the Packers lost their last game of the regular season to the Bears, which kept Green Bay from a spot in the playoffs.
The Bears would finish the 1980 season with a 7-9 record as Payton would finish the year with 1,460 rushing yards.
Chicago would go 6-10 in 1981, which led to Armstrong's firing and the hiring of former Bear great Mike Ditka, who with the help of Payton and defensive coordinator Ryan would the Bears to a Super Bowl title during the 1985 season.
As for Marcol, he would be cut by the Packers after the fifth game of the season, which Starr cited was due to poor kickoffs, but Marcol wrote in his 2011 memoir Alive and Kicking: My Journey Through Football, Addiction and Life was because of his drug addictions, which included cocaine.
Marcol also wrote in the book that he was high on cocaine during the game in which he scored his famous touchdown against the Bears.
Marcol would sign with the Houston Oilers later in the 1980 season and kicked a field goal and a extra point for the Oilers in a 22-3 win, ironically, against the Packers.
Those would be the last points Marcol would kick in the NFL as he was released by the Oilers after the season.
Six years later, Marcol's life hit rock bottom as he attempted suicide on an overdose of vodka, rat poison, and battery acid.
Somehow, Marcol survived the suicide attempt, even though he suffered damage to his esophagus.
Marcol is now married and has three children and serves as a counselor to those who suffer from drug and alcohol abuse near his home in Michigan.
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