JANUARY 14, 1968

RAIDERS 28, PACKERS 27

At the Orange Bowl, attendance 75,546.  This game put the word “Super” in Super Bowl and set the standard for all world championship games that would follow.  Only one word can adequately describe this game: CONTRADICTION.  The Packers were even or led for 59 out of the 60 minutes of this game, however, the Raiders one minute was the only one that mattered.  The Packers offense generated 454 net offensive yards against the vaunted Raider defense, however, the Raiders defense ruled the day.  The Packers earned 159 hard fought yards on the ground, but, were way below their league average per carry.  Bart Starr passes for 320 yards with a QB rating of 95.8; however, Daryl Lamonica is the hero of the game with a 37.2 QB rating. The Raiders would score 28 points; however, their offense only produced 228 net offensive yards and 7 points.

Both teams opening drives stalled after 6 plays, however, the Packers went on an 8-play, 80 yard TD drive on their second possession.  Ben Wilson gained 5 yards on the patented Packer sweep on a 3^rd and 4 from the -26.  On 3^rd and 16 from the -40, Bart Starr recognized the blitz and threw a perfect spiral to Carroll Dale who never had to break stride resulting in a 60 yard TD.  The Raiders two remaining drives netted only 29 yards and the first quarter came to an end with them trailing 0-7. 

The Packers opened the 2^nd quarter with a three and out and Danny Anderson’s punt only netted 27 yards resulting in outstanding field possession for the Raiders.  Four plays later, Mike Eischeid pinned the Packers at the -4 with a gorgeous 42 yard punt.  On third and 12 from the -2, Bart Starr back pedaled into his own end zone and delivered a bullet to his TE Marv Fleming for a 17 yard gain.  Ben Wilson converted a 3^rd and 1 from the -28 with a powerful inside run, however, the drive stalled at the -32 three plays later.  Punter Babe Anderson fumbled the long snap, numerous players from both sides unsuccessfully tried to recover the loose ball resulting in it traveling backwards 36 yards where reserve linebacker Bill Budness finally gained possession for a Raider touchdown.  Fielding the ensuing kickoff three yards deep in the end zone, Travis Williams creased the wedge at the -22, broke an arm tackle in open field, and made the kicker miss for 103 yard touchdown run.  On the Packer’s next possession, the Raiders forced and recovered a Ben Wilson fumble at the -39 with 3 minutes remaining in the first half.  Three plays later, Bob Jeter intercepted a pass intended for Hewritt Dixon and the Packers ran out the clock to enter the locker room with a 14– 7 lead.

It was evident that both defensive coaching staffs made the right halftime adjustments because five of the combined seven possessions of the 3^rd quarter ended with an interception.  Willie Brown intercepted a pass intended for Boyd Dowler in the end zone for a touchback on the opening drive of the second half.  The Raiders were forced to punt three plays later and the Packers took over at the – 23.  After a 10 yard run by Ben Wilson, Willie Brown read Bart Starr’s eyes and jumped the pass intended for Carroll Dale resulting in a 34 yard TD return and a tie game.  With the short term memory of a true professional, Bart Starr responded with a 73 yard drive ending with a 20 yard TD pass to Boyd Dowler to retake the lead.  The two key plays of the drive was a 23 yard pass completion to Marv Fleming on 2^nd and 2 from the -35 and a 13 yard run by Donny Anderson on a Jerry Kramer lead power sweep on 3^rd and 3 from the 33.  Ray Nitschke intercepted Daryl Lamonica on two consecutive drives to end the third quarter. 

The final quarter began with the Raiders advancing 21 yards before stalling at the 44.  After a touchback, the Packers began their 13^th drive of the game at the -20.  The Raiders stopped Ben Wilson for no gain; Warren Powers sacked Bart Starr for a 6 yard loss resulting in a 3^rd and 16 from the -14.  MLB Dan Connors dropped deeper into coverage than anticipated resulting in the post pattern for Boyd Dowler being intercepted and returned 47 yards for the tying TD.  Once again the Packers showed the heart of a champion by responding with a 10-play, 62 yard drive capped off by a 18 yard Babe Chandler field goal to re-take the lead.  Earlier in the drive, the Packers were faced with a 3^rd and 3 from the -34.  The Packers dared the Raiders to stop their power sweep; result, 7 yard gain by Donny Anderson.  Faced with a 3^rd and 11 from the -40, Bart Starr evaded the blitz and checked down to his safety valve Jim Grabowski who ran for 53 yards.  The Raiders took over at the -32 with just over 6 minutes remaining, however one minute later they were punting from the – 31.  After Willie Wood lost 5 yards on the punt return, the Packers took over at the -33.  Faced with a 3^rd and 5 from the -38, Bart Starr threw a short crossing route to Carroll Dale who turned it up field for a 30 yard gain. The Raiders expended all of their timeouts and finally stopped the Packers at the 16 with less than two minutes remaining in the game.  Coach Vince Lombardi sent the kicking team onto the field and Babe Chandler split the uprights from 23 yards to increase their lead to 6 points.  Rod Sherman fielded the kickoff at the -4 and returned it 56 yards to the 40 with one minute remaining. The Packers went into their prevent defense with only three down lineman in the game.  Daryl Lamonica dropped back and launched a pass into heavy coverage; however, Bill Miller found a way to come down with it in the end zone to tie the game at 27-27.  George Blanda calmly walked onto the field, converted the extra point and left the gridiron a world champion.  (0-7-7-14=28)   (7-7-7-6=27)

• GB –  Dale 60 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
• OA – Budness fumble recovery (Blanda kick)
• GB – Williams 103 kick return (Chandler kick)
• OA – Brown 34 interception return (Blanda kick)
• GB – Dowler 20 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
• OA – Connors 47 interception return (Blanda kick)
• GB – FG Chandler 18
• GB – FG Chandler 23
• OA – Miller 40 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)       

TEAM STATISTICS

                                                            OA                  GB

First Downs……….                           11                    21

            Rushing…                               3                      13

            Passing….                               8                      8

            Penalty….                               0                      0

Total Net Yards………                      228                  454

Net Rushing Yards…..                       41                    159

Net Passing Yards……                      187                  295

Third Down Efficiency…                   0-10/0%           9-16/56%

Penalties……………….                     1-10                 3-20

Return Yards…….                             133                  167

Fumbles/Lost…………                      1/0                   4/1

Sacked/Yards Lost…..                       1/9                   3/25

Field Goals Missed….                        None               None

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Oakland – Dixon 11 for 27; Banaszak 6 for 19; Todd 1 for -5.

Green Bay – 21 for 48; Anderson 18 for 65; Williams 8 for 45; Starr 1 for 1.

PASSING

Oakland – Lamonica 14 for 31 for 196, 1 TD and 3 INTs.

Green Bay – Starr 16 for 25 for 320, 2 TDs and 4 INTs.

RECEIVING

Oakland – Miller 5 for 106, 1 TD;  Cannon 2 for 34; 3 for 26; Banaszak 3 for 16; Todd 1 for 1 for 4.

Green Bay – Dowler 4 for 52, 1 TD; Fleming 2 for 42; Dale 5 for 149, 1 TD; 2 for 18; Grabowski 3 for 59.