Super Bowl II

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Super Bowl II was the second AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later to be known as the Super Bowl, in professional American football. The game was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.

Aided by kicker Don Chandler's 4 field goals and defensive back Herb Adderly's 60-yard interception return for a touchdown, the National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Oakland Raiders, 33–14.

Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr was named the Super Bowl MVP for the second time for his 13 of 24 passing for 202 yards and one touchdown.

Contents

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Background

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Green Bay Packers

The Packers advanced to their second straight AFL-NFL World Championship Game, but had a much more difficult time then in the previous season. Both of their starting running backs from the previous year, future Pro Football Hall of Famers Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, had left the team. Their replacements, Elijah Pitts and Jim Gabrowski, were both injured early in the season, forcing Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi to use veteran reserve running back Donny Anderson and rookie Travis Williams. Fullbacks Chuck Mercien and Ben Wilson, who were signed as free agents after being discarded by many other teams, were also used to help compensate for the loss of Hornung and Taylor. Meanwhile the team's 33-year old veteran quarterback Bart Starr had missed 4 games during the season with injuries, and finished the season with nearly twice as many interceptions (17) as touchdown passes (9).

The team's deep threat was provided by veteran receivers Carroll Dale, who recorded 35 receptions for 738 yards (a 21.1 average), and 5 touchdowns; and Pro Bowler Boyd Dowler, who had 54 catches for 846 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Packers still had the superb blocking of linemen Jerry Kramer, Fred Thurston, and future hall of famer Forrest Gregg. But overall the team ranked just 9th out of 16 NFL teams in scoring with 332 points.

The Packers defense, however, allowed only 209 points, the 3rd best in the NFL. All 4 starters on Green Bay's secondary, the strongest aspect of their defense, were named to the Pro Bowl: defensive backs Willie Wood, Herb Adderly, Bob Jeter, and Dave Robinson. The Packers also had a superb defensive line led by future hall of famers Henry Jordan and Willie Davis. Behind them, the Packers linebacking core was led by Ray Nitschke, another future hall of fame player.

The Packers barely won the NFL's Central Division with a 9-4-1 regular season record, but managed to blow away their first playoff opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, in the Western Conference Championship Game, 28-7. Green Bay went on to narrowly defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL championship game for the second year in a row, in one of the most famous games in NFL lore: The Ice Bowl.

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Oakland Raiders

The Raiders had stormed to the top of the AFL with a 13-1 regular season record (their only defeat was an October 7th loss to the New York Jets, 27-14, and went on to crush the Houston Oilers, 40-7, in the AFL Championship game. They had led all AFL and NFL teams in scoring with 468 points. And starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica had thrown for 3,228 yards and 30 touchdown passes, the most by any NFL or AFL quarterback in the season.

The offensive line was anchored by future hall of famers center Jim Otto and guard Gene Upshaw, along with Pro Bowlers Harry Schuh and Wayne Hawkins. Wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff led the team with 40 receptions for 876 yards, an average of 21.3 yards per catch. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Billy Cannon recorded 32 passes for 629 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. In the backfield, the Raiders had 3 running backs, Clem Daniels, Hewritt Dixon, and Pete Banaszak, who carried the ball equally and combined for 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The main strength of the Raiders was their defense, nicknamed "The 11 Angry Men". The defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowlers Tom Keating and Ben Davidson. Davidson was an extremely effective pass rusher who had shown his aggressiveness in a regular season game against the New York Jets by breaking the jaw of Jets quarterback Joe Namath while sacking him. Behind them, Pro Bowl linebacker Dan Connors excelled at blitzing and pass coverage, recording 3 interceptions. The Raiders also had 2 Pro Bowlers defensive backs: Willie Bown, who led the team with 7 interceptions, and Kent McCloughan, who had 2 interceptions. Safety Warren Powers recorded 6 interceptions, returning them for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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Super Bowl pregame news and notes

Despite Oakland's accomplishments, and the fact that most experts agreed that this was the weakest of the all the Packer NFL championship teams, the Packers were 14-point favorites to win the Super Bowl. Like the previous year, most fans and sports writers believed that all of the NFL teams were superior to all of the AFL teams.

Thus, most of the drama and discussions surrounding the game was not about which team would win, but on the rumors that Lombardi might retire from coaching after the game. The rumors would prove to be true as Lombardi did resign as Green Bay's head coach after the game. The game would also prove to be the final one for Packers wide receiver Max McGee, one of the heroes of Super Bowl I, and place kicker Don Chandler.

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Television and entertainment

The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS with Ray Scott handling the play-by-play duties and color commentators Jack Kemp and Pat Summerall in the broadcast booth. It was the first time a Super Bowl has been televised live on only one network, which has been the case for all following Super Bowl games. While the Orange Bowl was sold out for the game, unconditional blackout rules in both leagues prevented the live telecast from being shown in the Miami area.

The pregame ceremonies featured two giant figures, one dressed as a Packers player and the other dressed as a Raiders player. They appeared on opposite ends of the field and then faced each other near the 50-yard line.

The Grambling State University Band performed both the national anthem and during the halftime show.

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Game summary

With the exception of Chandler's 39-field goal to give the Packers a 3-0 lead, the first quarter was completely scoreless.

Early in the second quarter, the Packers drove all the way to the Raiders 13-yard line, but once again they had to settle for a Chandler field goal to take a 6-0 lead. Then later in the period, the Packers had the ball on their own 38-yard and they made a big play with a play action pass. Starr faked a handoff in the backfield and then threw a pass to receiver Boyd Dowler. The Raiders defensive backs were fooled by the fake handoff, allowing Dowler to slip by the man covering him, catch the pass, and outrun the defense to score on a 62-yard touchdown completion, increasing the lead to 13-0.

After being completely dominated until this point, the Raiders offense finally struck back their next possession, advancing 79 yards in 9 plays, and scoring on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Daryle Lamonica to receiver Bill Miller. The score seemed to fire up the Raiders' defense, and they forced the Packers to punt on their next drive. But Oakland punt returner Roger Bird, after calling for a fair catch, fumbled punter Donny Anderson's twisting, left footed kick, and Green Bay recovered the ball. After 2 incomplete passes, Starr threw a 12-yard completion to Anderson (who also played running back in addition to being the punter) to set up Chandler's third field goal as the half expired, giving the Packers a 16-7 lead.

Any chance the Raiders might have had to make a comeback seemed to completely vanish in the second half. On the Packers first drive of the second half, Starr completed a 35-yard pass to receiver Max McGee, eventually setting up Anderson's 2-yard touchdown run, making the score 23-7. The Packers increased their lead to 26-7 on their next drive after Chandler kicked his fourth field goal. Then in the fourth quarter, the Packers put the game completely out of reach after defensive back Herb Adderly intercepted a pass from Lamonica and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, making the score 33-7. Oakland did manage to score on their next drive after the turnover with a second touchdown pass from Lamonica to Miller. But all the Raiders' second touchdown did was make the final score look remotely more respectable, 33-14.

At the end of the game, coach Lombardi was carried off the field by his victorious Packers in one of the more memorable images of early Super Bowl history. Don Chandler ended his Packer career in style with 4 field goals.

Oakland's Bill Miller was the top receiver of the game with 5 receptions for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns. Green Bay fullback Ben Wilson was the leading rusher of the game with 62 yards. Lamonica finished the game with 15 out of 34 pass completions for 208 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

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Scoring Summary

  • GB - FG Chandler 39
  • GB - FG Chandler 20
  • GB - Dowler 62 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
  • OAK - Miller 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
  • GB - FG Chandler 43
  • GB - Anderson 2 run (Chandler kick)
  • GB - FG Chandler 31
  • GB - Adderley 60 interception return (Chandler kick)
  • OAK - Miller 23 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)
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Officials

  • Referee: Jack Vest (AFL)
  • Umpire: Ralph Morcroft (NFL)
  • Head Linesman: Tony Veteri (AFL)
  • Line Judge: Bruce Alford (NFL)
  • Field Judge: Bob Baur (AFL)
  • Back Judge: Stan Javie (NFL)

Note: A seven-official system was not used until 1978

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See also

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References

The Super Bowl
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NFL | Super Bowl Champions | Most Valuable Players | Broadcasters | Pre-Super Bowl NFL champions
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