Ranking the Super Bowls, #38: Super Bowl I

(photo credit: npr.org)

The first ever AFL-NFL Championship, or better well-known as Super Bowl I, was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967.  This was the first ever game between the two bitter rivals, as the AFL and NFL had a great amount of animosity between each other. The Kansas City Chiefs (who won the AFL Championship), took on the Green Bay Packers (NFL Champions) in the first ever Super Bowl.

 During the 1966 AFL season, the Chiefs went 11-2-1, and they downed the Buffalo Bills, 31-7, in the 1966 AFL Championship. Green Bay finished the NFL season with a 12-2 record, and they defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 34-27, in the NFL Championship. Green Bay were the overwhelming favorites in this game, as all fans and sports writers felt that a team in the older NFL would dominate a team in the upstart AFL. 

Green Bay entered the game as 14 point favorites, but they didn’t enter with a fully squad. Hall of Fame halfback Paul Hornung was held out of the game because of a pinched nerve in his neck. This was the only Super Bowl to be broadcasted by two networks, as CBS held the rights to televise NFL games, while NBC had the rights to broadcast AFL games. Packers wide receiver Max McGee, who already didn’t play often during the season, was out partying the night before the big game. However, he somehow wasn’t affected, and he made a big impact for Green Bay. 

On the Packers first possession, McGee caught a touchdown pass from Bart Starr, to give Green Bay an early 7-0 lead. Kansas City responded in the second quarter, as Len Dawson found Curtis McClinton in the end zone for a touchdown, as Kansas City tied the game at 7. After a few minutes of no scoring, the Packers regained control of the game. Fullback Jim Taylor took it to the house on a 14-yard touchdown run, as he regained the lead for Green Bay, as the Packers led 14-7. 

Seconds before the halftime break, Kansas City chipped away at that deficit, as Mike Mercer knocked down a field goal from 31 yards out, as the Chiefs were only down four at halftime. Kansas City outgained Green Bay 181-164 in the first half, and they had eleven first downs compared to Green Bay’s nine. Kansas City actually had a realistic chance at winning, and in their first possession of the second half, they got all the way to their own 49-yard line. 

However, the Packers brought a heavy blitz on third down with Dave Robinson and Lee Roy Caffey, and that rushed Dawson’s throw. After the poor throw, safety Willie Wood picked it off, and he returned it all the way to the Packers five-yard line. On their first play after the turnover, halfback Elijah Pitts scored on a five-yard rushing touchdown, to give Green Bay the 21-10 lead. Kansas City couldn’t get any closer, as Green Bay scored two more touchdowns, and they won Super Bowl I, 35-10.

 Packers quarterback Bart Starr completed 16 of his 23 pass attempts, for 250 yards and two touchdowns. This nearly flawless performance meant that Starr was the Super Bowl MVP. McGee had seven catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Dawson completed 16 of his 27 pass attempts for 211 yards, one touchdown, and one interception for the Chiefs.