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Coldest games in NFL history: 'Ice Bowl' highlights league's 10 chilliest contests

jacob camenker, usa today
·4 min read

Whenever the NFL calendar approaches December, the league's fans get excited. This excitement isn't just about the league's annual playoff push; it's also about watching their favorite teams play in cold-weather environments.

NFL teams have had to brave the elements since the league's earliest days. While the league occasionally postpones games due to blizzards or hurricanes, its teams tend to play through everything else.

That includes not only snow but also freezing temperatures.

Throwing, tackling and catching may not be easy when temperatures drop below freezing, but it becomes even more difficult the more frigid it gets. Just ask the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs about their 2024 playoff meeting during which they played in sub-zero conditions.

What are the coldest games in NFL history? Here's what to know about the handful of games that began at temperatures of zero or lower, starting with one of the best-known games in NFL history.

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What is the coldest game in NFL history?

The coldest game in NFL history remains the 1967 NFL championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. The contest began with temperatures of 13 degrees below zero, per Stathead's official data, but had a wind chill of about 48 degrees below zero.

The Packers managed to grind out a 21-17 victory at home in the unforgiving conditions. Those conditions left officials unable to use whistles. The lead referee had his freeze to his lips and had to pull it off, and saw seven members of the Wisconsin-La Crosse's marching band – which was meant to perform at halftime but couldn't due to their instruments freezing – treated for hypothermia. Meanwhile, players could not start their cars before the game because of the cold, and they slid around on the slick Lambeau Field grass that re-froze thanks to a heating coil malfunction.

The game is considered to be one of the greatest in NFL history.

'Ice Bowl' recap

The Ice Bowl featured a matchup between Vince Lombardi's Packers and Tom Landry's Cowboys to determine the winner of the NFL championship.

Green Bay got off to a fast start against Dallas' "Doomsday" defense, as the Cowboys struggled to adjust to the cold and the slippery footing at Lambeau Field. Bart Starr connected with Boyd Dowler for two touchdowns to open the game and give the Packers an early 14-0 lead.

However, the Cowboys battled back. Dallas' defense got it on the board with a 7-yard fumble recovery touchdown and scored 17 unanswered points. A 50-yard pass from running back Dan Reeves to wide receiver Lance Rentzel put the Cowboys ahead for the first time on the final play of the fourth quarter.

Dallas held the advantage for much of the final quarter before Green Bay executed "The Drive." With 4:50 left in regulation, the Packers got the ball on their own 32-yard line. The temperature was 20 degrees below zero, the wind chill had reached nearly 70 degrees below zero and they were running out of time to get back in the game.

Starr and Lombardi combined to execute a long drive that got them down to Dallas' 1-yard line. They got to the 1-yard line but saw their running back slip twice on the frozen field and fail to get to the end-zone. Then, on third-and-goal, the Packers called a wedge-blocked run play. Starr took the ball himself and plunged into the end-zone behind Jerry Kramer to score and win the game with just seconds remaining in regulation.

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Top 10 coldest NFL games ever

Only seven games in NFL history have kicked off with a starting temperature below seven degrees. The Ice Bowl was the first and the most recent was the wild-card playoff clash between the Dolphins and Chiefs during the 2024 NFL postseason.

Below are the details of the 10 coldest games in NFL history:

Lambeau Field in Green Bay has hosted four of the ten coldest games in NFL history, while Minnesota has hosted two of the five coldest games ever.

That said, it's worth noting that the Vikings' two below-zero games were played at different stadiums. The first in 1972, was played at Metropolitan Stadium, while the second in 2016 was played at TCF Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. That contest against the Seahawks was moved after the roof of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome collapsed under the weight of a significant snowstorm.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coldest NFL games: 'Ice Bowl' highlights most frigid contests ever