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| The Packers' Donny Anderson has his punt blocked in the final minute of Green Bay's 1967 Week 13 game against the LA Rams. |
Christmas season is seen by many as the time of miracles and that it is what the Los Angeles Rams got on December 9, 1967 towards the end of their game with the Green Bay Packers.
The Rams came into the game with a 9-1-2 good enough to make the four-team NFL postseason if the four teams with the best records got in but the Rams were in the same division as the Baltimore Colts who held a 10-0-2 record to lead the NFL Coastal Division.
The Rams were led by head coach George Allen who was in his second season as the Los Angeles head coach as he help direct the Rams to an 8-6 record in 1966 for the team's first winning season since 1958.
On the field, Allen had quarterback Roman Gabriel running the offense and the defense which featured the "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line of Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy and Roger Brown who had taken over the right defensive tackle position from Rosey Grier who had retired following the 1966 season.
Despite their excellent record, the Rams needed a win over the Packers to set a winner-take-all game for the Coastal Division in the final week of the season as a Rams victory would vault them over the Colts and clinch LA its first playoff appearance in nine years.
While the Rams' playoff hopes hung in the balance, the Packers were all set to return to the postseason as they had already clinched the NFL Central Division title two weeks earlier in a 17-13 win over the Chicago Bears.
Despite their early clinching of a division title, the 1967 season was anything but smooth sailing for the Packers had been decimated in the backfield as the legendary duo of Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor had departed to the play for the New Orleans Saints prior to the season while their replacements, Jim Grabowski and Elijah Pitts, had gone down to injuries.
But under the steady leadership of head coach Vince Lombardi, quarterback Bart Starr, and one of the NFL's stingiest defenses, the Packers came into the Rams game with 9-2-1 as Green Bay was seeking its third straight NFL championship and fifth in the last seven years.
The Packers got the ball to start the game as a 29-yard pass from Starr to wide receiver Boyd Dowler and a 13-yard run by Donny Anderson put Green Bay in field goal range as Don Chandler would attempt a 41-yard field goal only for the kick to fall short of the uprights to keep the game scoreless.
The Rams would drive to around midfield before punting it back to the Packers who would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to Los Angeles who begin its next possession at the Green Bay 45-yard-line.
The Rams would only travel six yards on three plays as Bruce Gossett would come on to attempt a 46-yard field goal(The goalposts were located at the top of the end zone in 1967).
But linebacker Lee Roy Caffey would come in to block the kick as cornerback Herb Addderly would recover the loose football at the Rams' 43-yard-line to give Green Bay the ball inside LA territory for its next possession.
After three running plays picked up 13 yards and a fresh set of downs, Starr put the ball in the air as he fired a pass for Carroll Dale, who made the catch at the two-yard-line and then strolled in to complete the 30-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 7-0 lead with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter.
The Rams would start their next possession at their 27-yard-line as two running plays picked up 12 yards to set up 1st & 10 at the 39-yard-line when Gabriel went deep and hit tight end Bernie Casey for a 40-yard completion to put Los Angeles at the Packers' 21-yard-line as the first quarter came to an end.
From there, the Rams would overcome a holding penalty to score their first touchdown of the game as Gabriel found wide receiver Jack Snow in the left corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 12:48 left in the second quarter.
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| Packers quarterback Bart Starr would only complete 10 of 20 passes for 138 yards as he threw one touchdown and two interceptions. |
Following a Green Bay three-and-out, the Rams got the ball at their 17-yard-line when Gabriel tried to hit Snow on a bomb only to have Adderly make the interception to give the Packers the ball at their 40-yard-line.
Green Bay would drive to the Los Angeles 29-yard-line until a pair of holding penalties pushed them back and forced the Packers to punt the ball away as the Rams would take over at their 10-yard-line.
The Rams would move 29 yards to their 39-yard-line until Gabriel was picked off again, this time by Green Bay free safety Willie Wood to give the Packers the ball at their 47-yard-line with 2:50 left before halftime.
Two runs by Travis Williams gained 11 yards and a 1st down as the two-minute warning hit as Starr would complete a 20-yard pass to Dowler to put Green Bay at the Rams' 22-yard-line as the next three plays would go nowhere and force the Packers to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Chandler to give them a 10-7 lead with 46 seconds left before halftime.
The Rams tried to muster up a drive before the end of the first half but could go no further than their 35-yard-line as the Packers went into the locker room with a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Rams would get the ball to start the first half as rookie running back Willie Ellison returned the opening kickoff of the second half 43 yards to the Los Angeles 43-yard-line.
The drive would begin with two runs by running back Les Josephsen that totaled 14 yards to give LA a 1st down at the Green Bay 43-yard-line as Gabriel would keep the ball himself and run for two yards to set up 2nd & 8 when he completed a 15-yard pass to Casey which was followed by a seven-yard pass to tight end Billy Truax.
Then after three straight running plays gained eight yards, Gabriel would find Snow for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Rams their first lead of the game at 14-10 with 10:41 remaining in the third quarter.
The Rams defense would then force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 37-yard-line as Josephsen would get his hands on the next two plays, running for four yards and then catching a 10-yard pass from Gabriel to put Los Angeles at the Green Bay 49-yard-line.
Los Angeles would overcome an intentional grounding penalty as Gabriel completed a 19-yard pass to Josephsen and 2nd & 25, then hit Casey for six yards and a 1st down, before connecting with Casey again for 17 yards on 3rd & 4 to put the Rams at the Green Bay 14-yard-line.
However, the drive would stall as the Rams would go no further as Gossett would come on to kick a 23-yard field goal to end the 12-play, 48-yard drive as LA's lead increased to 17-10 with 1:27 left in the third quarter.
The seven-point lead would only last for 19 seconds as Williams would return the ensuing kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown, for his then NFL record fourth kickoff return for a touchdown as Chandler would come on to kick the extra point to tie the game at 17.
The Rams would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession as the game moved into the fourth quarter when Starr was intercepted by Rams cornerback Clancy Williams, whose 19-yard return gave Los Angeles possession at the Green Bay 25-yard-line.
A seven-yard pass to Truax followed by two runs for two yards set up a 4th & inches when Allen negated the field goal and would go for the 1st down which he got when Josephsen picked up the one yard needed for the 1st down.
Josephsen would then carry the ball on the next two plays, gaining six yards to set up 3rd & 4 at the eight-yard-line when Gabriel threw a pass for a wide open Dick Bass in the end zone only for the fullback to drop the ball and force LA to settle for a 16-yard field goal by Gossett to give the Rams a 20-17 lead with 10:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a Packers three-and-out, the Rams began their next possession at their 47-yard-line things went from bad to worse for Bass as he coughed up the football after a hit by Green Bay defensive end Bob Brown as defensive tackle Jim Weatherwax would recover the fumble to give the Packers the ball at the Los Angeles 43-yard-line with 7:40 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Packers would methodically drive down the field as Starr completed passes of six yards to Mercein, 14 yards to Williams, and nine yards to Dowler on an eight-play, 43-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Mercein to give Green Bay a 24-20 lead with 2:19 to go in the game.
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| Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel would complete 20 of 36 passes for 227 yards and throw three touchdown passes. |
Following a 24-yard return by Kelton Winston on the ensuing kickoff, the Rams would begin their next possession at their 33-yard-line with two minutes to go and needing a touchdown to win.
After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Gabriel would hit Bucky Pope for 12 yards, then Casey for 11 yards to put the Rams at the Packers' 44-yard-line as Gabriel would throw three straight incomplete passes to bring up 4th & 10.
That is when Gabriel tried to find Casey only for Packers linebacker Dave Robinson almost pick off the pass as it fell incomplete to give Green Bay the ball at their 44-yard-line with over a minute left and a chance to run out the clock.
The Packers would run the ball three straight times but would go backwards as they lost three yards as the Rams called all three of their timeouts to set up a 4th & 13 situation at the Green Bay 41-yard-line with 54 seconds left.
It seemed all the Packers needed to do was punt the ball away and have their defense clamp down on Gabriel and the Rams' offense who would have very little time to drive down the field and get the touchdown that they needed to win the game.
But that is when the miracle occurred for the Rams as linebacker Tony Guillory broke the Packers' wall and blocked Anderson's punt as defensive back Claude Crabb would scoop up the loose football and 20 yards to the Green Bay five-yard-line to give Gabriel a second chance at winning the game.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Gabriel would find Casey in the left corner of the end zone for the five-yard touchdown that with Gossett's extra point gave the Rams a shocking 27-24 lead with 34 seconds to play.
The Packers would get one last chance as they began their last drive at their 34-yard-line but Starr could only get Green Bay past the Los Angeles 40-yard-line as his last pass of the game would be intercepted by linebacker Maxie Baughan as time expired with the Rams on top 27-24 to keep their division hopes alive.
The win over the Packers would set up a winner-take-all game for the Coastal Division the following week as the Rams hosted the Colts as the "Fearsome Foursome" would lead a seven-sack effort by the defense as Gabriel would throw three touchdown passes in a 34-10 win to send Los Angeles to the playoffs for the first time since 1958.
However, the Rams would face the Packers in a rematch for the Western Conference Championship which Green Bay won 28-7 on their way to a third straight NFL title and second straight win in the Super Bowl.
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