The Green Bay Packers faced a big challenge in 1967. Vince Lombardi’s club wanted to become the first team to win three straight championships in the NFL since the league introduced a championship game in 1933. Early in the season, the team got an outstanding defensive performance in a 23-0 shutout of the Atlanta Falcons at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers sacked the Falcons quarterbacks eight times and held Atlanta to just 58 total yards for the game. Today we look back at the 1967 Packers shutout of the Falcons in a dominant defensive performance.

Vince Lombardi’s Packers Blank the Falcons in a Dominating Defensive Performance: The Buildup

The Packers entered the game with a 1-0-1 record. They tied the season opener against the Lions and then edged the Bears 13-10 in Week 2. The offense had struggled early in the season while the defense was off to a strong start.

The Falcons were 0-2 to start their second season in the NFL. They lost to the Colts 38-31 in the season opener and then were trounced by the 49ers 38-7 in Week 2. Both games were on the road.

The Falcons were coached by Norb Hecker who started his coaching career as an assistant under Lombardi with the Packers in 1959. He was named the first coach in Falcons history in 1966.

The Packers were 20-point favorites over the second-year expansion team as they continued their quest for a third straight championship.

A Critical Injury Early

The Packers defense held the Falcons in check early in the game. Atlanta couldn’t move the ball at all. But the Green Bay offense also struggled to move the ball.

With about five minutes left in the first quarter, Packers starting quarterback Bart Starr was sacked by Bob Riggle and Tommy Nobis of the Falcons. Riggle hit Starr high and Nobis low. The play lost 10 yards, but the Packers also lost Starr for the rest of the game due to a bruised right shoulder. He was replaced by backup Zeke Bratkowski.

The Packers super sub led the team to their first touchdown after a big interception by linebacker Dave Robinson. He stepped in front of tight end Billy Martin and made a juggling interception near the sideline. The Packers took over deep in Atlanta territory.

“I couldn’t get there like I wanted to. I was lucky the ball held up,” Robinson said after the game. “Martin made an outside release, which drew me out a little bit. I went back into the hook zone and then I saw the quarterback looking into the flat, so I went back out there.”

Four plays later, Bratkowski found Carroll Dale on a five-yard touchdown pass and the Packers led 7-0.

“It was what we call pivot-out, a fake slant in and out,” Dale said after the game. “He [defender Lee Calland] took the fake, he was going for the slant.”

Vince Lombardi’s Packers Blank the Falcons in a Dominating Defensive Performance: The Packers Strike With a Big Play

In the second quarter, the Packers doubled their lead when Bratkowski found Dale on a 50-yard bomb. Dale was open at the Atlanta 18 and managed to barely reach the end zone. The Packers lead was 14-0.

“I realized someone was going to be coming quickly,” Dale said. “That’s why I cut back the way I did. Somebody had a hold of my ankle at the end zone, but he didn’t get me down.”

Then the defense added to the lead before the half. Willie Davis managed to sack quarterback Randy Johnson in the end zone for a safety. The lead was now 16-0.

“It was a normal rush, but I don’t think their blockers knew where the quarterback was,” David said.
“I saw him make a move and faked outside. The blocker didn’t know where Johnson was and I went right up to him.”

The Packers had a chance to add to their lead before the half, but Don Chandler missed a 25-yard field goal try. It was one of four missed kicks he had in this game.

The Packers Extend Their Lead

After a scoreless third quarter, the Packers added to their lead in the fourth. Fullback Ben Wilson replaced starter Jim Grabowski and had a productive second half. Wilson finished the game with 82 yards on 13 carries. He scored on an 11-yard run around right end. The drive was set up by an interception by Bob Jeter off of quarterback Terry Nofsinger which he returned to the Atlanta 33. Green Bay led 23-0.

The Falcons offense was contained all game. They finished the game with just 58 yards, but 34 of them came in the final 1:24 of the game. For the first three quarters, the Falcons had just four net yards. They added four more in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Packers won 23-0. It was the first time the Falcons had been shut out in their brief history.

Vince Lombardi’s Packers Blank the Falcons in a Dominating Defensive Performance: The Aftermath

The Packers finished the game with eight sacks including three by Henry Jordan and two by Lionel Aldridge who had just returned to the lineup after being sidelined by a broken leg.

Bartkowski finished the game by completing 15-of-26 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. “I’ve been fortunate in having a team which can adjust to me after playing with Bart,” Bartkowski said. “Our receivers did some good jobs of adjusting. The Falcons did some things defensively we didn’t expect. They did a lot of safety blitzing. I try to pattern myself after Bart and prepare myself just as he does each week so there isn’t such a big adjustment.”

The defense played extremely well. “It was a great game all around, but Jordan gave them a heck of rush,” middle linebacker Ray Nitschke said after the game. “But it was Willie [Davis] and the rest of them, too. The whole front four. You’ve got to get a rush from them and we got it today.”

Jordan spoke about what motivated the defense. “Pride. You’re heard us talk about pride? Well, I’ll tell you now, we weren’t too happy with our statistics for the first two games,” he said. “The defense, that is. So, we kind of got together right here before the game and talked about doing something. If we improved our statistics, we improve our whole performance.”

The Packers finished the season 9-4-1 and went on to win their third straight NFL title and Super Bowl II. It was Lombardi’s final season as Packers head coach. No team in the NFL has won three straight championships since.

The Falcons finished the season with a 1-12-1 mark.

For Lombardi and the Packers defense, this was a dominant performance and a win over a former assistant coach.

 

 

 

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