Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr enjoyed a Hall of Fame career. Starr helped lead the Pack to five championships between 1961 and 1967 including three in a row between 1965 and 1967. He was named NFL MVP in 1966 and was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. But by 1970, Starr was 36 and nursing a bad shoulder. But Starr had one final moment of glory left in him and it came on a cold and windy day at Lambeau Field against the Packers archrivals, the Chicago Bears. On this day, Starr led the Pack to a dramatic victory on the final play after it seemed the game was out of reach. It would be Bart Starr’s final game winning drive with the Packers.
Remembering Bart Starr’s Final Game Winning Drive with the Packers: The Leadup
The Packers entered their Week 9 clash with the Bears with a 4-4 record. The team got off to a 3-1 start before dropping three of their next four games. Starr barely played in the last two games due to the shoulder injury and Don Horn struggled to move the offense.
The Bears entered the game with a 3-5 mark. Both teams were chasing the first place Vikings in the NFC Central Division.
The blustery weather set this up for a defensive struggle. It was 29 degrees at kickoff, but the wind chill felt like 18.
Starr was a game-time decision for the Packers. Coach Phil Bengtson ultimately determined his quarterback was ready to play.
The Packers Start Quickly
The Packers came out quickly. The team seemed inspired by Starr’s presence, and they grabbed the early lead.
The first scoring drive stalled in the red zone. The Packers settled for a 17-yard field goal by Dale Livingston to give them an early 3-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, the Packers scored again. This time, Donny Anderson capped off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run. The Packers led 10-0. Anderson finished the game with 67 yards on the ground and added four catches for 24 yards.
The game then turned into a defensive showdown as neither team scored in the second quarter. The Pack headed into the locker room at halftime with a 10-0 lead.
Remembering Bart Starr’s Final Game Winning Drive with the Packers: The Lead Evaporates
The Bears tied the game in the third quarter. They got on the board on a 23-yard field goal by Mac Percival to pull to within 10-3. Then, the Bears hit on the big play. Quarterback Jack Concannon found speedy wideout Dick Gordon on a 69-yard scoring play and the game was even at 10-10.
Starr led the Packers back and they retook the lead on a 49-yard field goal by Livingston. That tied his career long and gave the Packers a 13-10 edge after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the Bears put together three scoring drives but failed to reach the end zone. The Packers defense stiffened each time the Bears got deep into Green Bay territory. Percival ended each drive with a field goal and that put Bears ahead 20-14.
The Packers thought the game was over when they went for it on fourth down. Starr scrambled for the first down marker but was stopped short. The Bears took over with 2:44 left in the game.
The Green Bay defense managed to force the Bears to punt, and the Packers took over at their own 20 with 1:40 left and no timeouts remaining. This would be the last chance for the Pack to come back and win the game.
The Winning Drive
With his shoulder aching and time running out, Starr found his old magic. He hit five passes on this final drive to four different receivers. First, he found Carroll Dale along the right sideline for 18 yards and a first down. Then he threw an incomplete pass intended for running back Larry Krause. There was 1:30 left.
Starr still had time, so he looked over the middle and found tight end John Hilton for 29 yards. The ball was at the Chicago 33.
Then, Starr turned his attention to his running backs. He threw short to Krause for 11 yards to the Bears 22. He tried to find running back Perry Williams twice. The first one fell incomplete, but he picked up six more yards on the second try. Then he found Krause for another 11 which put the ball at the Chicago five-yard line with 29 seconds left and the clock running.
The Packers rushed to the line of scrimmage while the Bears tried to stall. Starr snapped the ball with Chicago defensive tackle George Seals still behind the line of scrimmage. Flags flew and the Packers would have one more chance.
The ball was at the Bears three-yard line with seven seconds left on the clock. Starr spoke to Bengtson, and the duo agreed to call a run-pass option on their final play. Starr faked a handoff to Williams and rolled to his right. He looked for Hilton in the end zone, but Hilton was covered by Doug Buffone who collided with the Packers tight end. But the collision also took Buffone out of the play and Starr ran into the corner of the end zone for the tying score. Livington booted the extra point, and the Packers won the game 20-19.
Remembering Bart Starr’s Final Game Winning Drive with the Packers: The Aftermath
“One in three million quarterbacks could have done that,” Buffone told reporters after the game when asked about the game winning drive.
Bears coach Jim Dooley summed it up simply by saying, “Starr’s been the best.”
The win improved the Packers record to 5-4, but they won only one of their final five games and finished the season with a 6-8 record. The Packers replaced Bengtson with Dan Devine before the 1971 season started.
Starr never really got healthy again. He started only three games in 1971 before retiring. This win against the Bears was his last great moment and his final win at Lambeau Field. Starr was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
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