• Green Bay had not won the NFL West since 1962.
• Paul Hornung's suspension for gambling for the 1963 season set off a chain of events that caused the Packers to fall short in both '63 and '64.
• So Lombardi started the first day of training camp of 1965 by giving his players an ultimatum: This year we are going to be number one! If you don't think we're number one, I don't want you playing for me! If you can't go out there and win, pack your gear and go home!

Most of the Packers had played in the championship games of '60, '61, and '62. But a number of newcomers were expected to help return the team to the top in '65.

• Hornung could no longer do the kicking. Having lost his confidence after being out a year, he cost the Pack several games in '64 by missing PATs and field goals, including five of the latter in one game against the Colts.
• So Lombardi traded a third round draft choice to the New York Giants for nine-year veteran Don Chandler, whom he knew from his time as an assistant with the Giants. Chandler saved a roster spot by doing both the punting and the placekicking.
  One of the reasons the Giants parted with Chandler was that Don pro­posed a novel plan for participating in the 1965 season. With his business interests in Tulsa demanding more of his attention, he asked permission to split his week, taking care of business in Oklahoma before returning to New York for several days of practice. Coach Allie Sherman and owner Well­ington Mara summarily refused his request. When Chandler first met with Lombardi after the trade, he proposed the same arrangement. I thought I had heard all the coaching speeches, Don recalled. I was convinced of what I wanted to do, and I told him that when we first sat down. An hour or so later, I couldn't wait to change my plans. I'll say this about Vince Lombardi: he was hypnotic when he wanted to be. I remember the first time I sat in when he delivered one of those pregame speeches. When it was over, I was afraid to miss a field goal, not because we might lose, but because I'd have to face him afterward.
• Other important additions included WR Carroll Dale from the Rams and C Bill Curry, drafted out of Georgia Tech.

The Packers shot out of the gate fast, winning their first six games.

• But QB Bart Starr's injury in Game 7 at Chicago contributed to two straight defeats–to the Bears and Lions.
• Still struggling on offense, the Pack edged the Rams 6-3 on two Chandler field goals, then clobbered the Vikings.
• But the rematch with the Rams at Los Angeles didn't go well, the home team administering a 21-10 beating.
• After downing Minnesota again, the Packers traveled to Baltimore a half game behind the Colts. Fortunately for Green Bay, the Bears had knocked Johnny Unitas out for the season the week before, and Green Bay took sole pos­session of first place with a 42-27 triumph.
• But they squandered their half-game lead the last Sunday of the season when John Brodie threw a last-minute touchdown pass to pull the 49ers into a tie at 24.
• That necessitated a playoff with Baltimore for the West crown. Since the Packers had won both regular season meetings with the Colts, they hosted the game. With the Colts down to their third quarterback in Tom Matte, the Packers lost Starr on the first play of the game. Backup Zeke Bratkowski led a gritty victory won on Chandler's overtime field goal 13-10. Don had also booted a highly controversial tying field goal in the last seconds of regulation that the Colts insisted sailed wide of the post.
  The dispute caused the league to raise the uprights to 20' for the 1966 season. The rule was often referred to as the "Don Chandler Rule."

• The St. Louis Cardinals hung with Cleveland at first, matching their 4-1 start. But the Cards, wracked by injuries, won only one more game to fall to a tie for 6th in the conference.
• The Dallas Cowboys compiled the best season in their six-year history, winning their last three and five of their last seven to break even, 7-7, good enough for a second-place tie with the Giants.

• Starr suffered from severely bruised ribs. Just lifting his right arm caused pain. Two days before the big game, Lombardi told reporters, If I told you Bart was going to start, I might be wrong. And if I told you he wasn't going to start, I might not be telling the truth. I just won't know for sure until he warms up on Sunday.
• Vince's two running backs, Hornung and Jim Taylor, both 30, suffered the usual aches and pains of a grueling season, but each pronounced himself ready to go. Taylor had a pulled groin muscle, and Hornung contended with a twisted knee, a sprained wrist, and sore ribs. In addition, WR Boyd Dowler nursed a bad ankle and two damaged ribs. DT Ron Kostelnik had a sprained knee.
  There was no way Taylor would miss a confrontation with his nemesis, Jim Brown. Jimmy from LSU was obsessed with Jimmy from Syracuse, whom Lombardi called the greatest player in NFL history. After every game, Tay­lor wanted to know how many yards his rival had gained. I'm always aware of Brown, said Taylor. When we meet head-to-head, I want to do better than he does. I think about it. The Green Bay fullback was the only runner to dethrone Brown from the rushing leadership during his nine years in the league. In 1962, Taylor gained 1,474y, 478 more than Brown.
• The other Packer obsessed with Brown was MLB Ray Nitschke, whose defense was determined to limit the greatest weapon in the league. An intelligent runner who played fullback like a halfback, Brown read his blocks and knew where his teammates and the defenders were at all times.
• In particular, Nitschke & Company worked hard to stop the Browns' bread-and-butter play–the power sweep. Run from a double-wing set, the play was designated "Flip-8" when run to the right and "Flip-9" when run to the left.
  Browns QB Frank Ryan: The trick was to get the ball to Jim when he was in full speed. Jim was so fast and so quick that if we could get the ball to him and he could get around end, he could be effective.
  C John Morrow: We only needed to give him a crack–18 inches–and he would be in the secondary. But one way or another, he'd get the yards. Jim got the job done.
  The toss sweep was Brown's favorite play because it usually got him into open space where he could create. That's when I'd go into my bag of stuff. They're in trouble now. I'm in their territory, 55 things happening at once. I'm moving, evaluating their possible moves, trying to outthink and outmaneuver them, using my speed, quickness, and balance.
  Writers sometimes referred to the Browns quarterback as Dr. Ryan since he had re­ceived a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University. His dissertation was entitled, "A characterization of the set of asymptotic values of a function holomorphic in the unit disk."
• From studying film, Nitschke became convinced that stopping Brown required a village–specifically, the entire Green Bay defense that allowed the fewest yards in the league by a whopping 571y over second-place Dallas. DEs Willie Davis and Lionel Aldridge would have to turn Brown in with help from OLBs Dave Robinson and Lee Roy Caffey. And when Brown turned in, Nitschke, like a heat-seeking missile, would make the tackle.
  D coordinator Phil Bengston met with Nitschke late in the practice week to go over the defensive signals. Whenever Cleveland lined up in the double­wing set, Bengston would signal from the sideline the adjustments Ray would call before the snap. To disguise the defense in an attempt to con­fuse Brown, Bengston employed several different schemes against the sweep depending on whether the cornerback, linebacker, or safety was responsible for stepping up and containing the play.
• Lombardi stressed to his squad that the team that ran the ball better would win on Sunday. Rushing was stronger than passing for each team, as the offensive stats showed: Passing yards - Browns 9th, Packers 12th; rushing yards - Packers 1st, Browns 3rd. Total offense - Browns 3rd, Packers 5th.
• Without making a public announcement, Lombardi decided to start Starr after Saturday morning's practice when Bart said he felt fine.

• Coach Blanton Collier announced that second-year WR Paul Warfield would start for the first time all season after suffering a cracked collarbone against the College All-Stars in the annual preseason game. Warfield had played a key role in the Browns' title game victory in 1964 by drawing double cover­age from the Colts that freed the other WR, Gary Collins, to haul in three touchdown passes.
• Cleveland's only questionable performer was T Dick Schafrath, the leader of the O-line. He wasn't able to work all week because of a pulled hamstring.
• The Browns had coasted down the stretch after clinching the division with three weeks to go. They lost to the Rams in Los Angeles and squeaked past the depleted Cardinals. So the nagging question for Cleveland was whether they could regain the edge that had propelled them to 10 victories in their first 12 games.
• Oddly, the championship game marked the first visit of the Browns to Green Bay for anything other than exhibition games.

The Browns worked out at Lambeau Field the day before the game.

• The turf was frozen but fast, just what they wanted for their ground game.
• However, the forecast for Sunday called for snow in the morning, changing to sleet and freezing rain as the day progressed.
• To avoid distractions, the team spent the night in Appleton WI, 30 miles SW of Green Bay. That decision would create a problem Sunday morning.

CBS televised the game nationwide.

• Ray Scott, Ken Coleman, and Frank Gifford handled the telecast.
• Jack Drees and Jim Morse manned the radio broadcast which was heard around the world via Armed Forces Radio.

• Quarter 1
  The snow had stopped by kickoff, but the footing was soft and mushy as melting snow covered the field. The yard lines had been cleared. However, the conditions worsened when it started to rain.
  When he kicked off to start the game, Lou Groza set a record for most appearances in a championship game. Tom Moore returned the kickoff from the goal line to the 22. Starr alternated short passes and runs to move to two first downs. A 3rd-and-six completion to Taylor to the 36 lengthened the possession. Two plays later, Starr threw to Hornung open over the middle to the 47.
  
  Starr throws an early pass.
  After Jimmy banged to the Cleveland 48, Starr surprised the Browns with a long pass to LE Carroll Dale. Unable to get enough mustard on the ball with his bandaged ribs, Starr underthrew the pass. Dale came back for it as the defender, Walter Beech, slipped down. Carroll caught the ball on the 15 as the safety, Ross Fichtner, overran the play and lost his footing, and scooted into the end zone. Don Chandler converted. Packers 7 Browns 0 (11:08)
  Starr explained the touchdown after the game. That wet ball just slipped. It squibbed off my hand when I threw it, and it never would have been a score except that Dale made it one. I threw short. Dale stopped, came back, caught it, and went by Beach when he slipped. On a day like this, you need everything.
  Bart later recalled why he went for the jugular so soon. We knew it had to be bad for them psychologically, so we hit them right way.
  Starting from the 34 after the kickoff, Jim Ryan started strong with three straight completions, the last one putting six on the board. First, he lofted a beautiful pass down the right sideline to Jim Brown running a step ahead of Dave Robinson, who pushed Jim out at the GB 36. Then LE Paul Warfield took a ball down the seam to the 17.
  Lombardi pulled CB Doug Hart from the game after Warfield's reception and never put him back in. Bob Jeter replaced him.
  From there, Ryan saw his other flanker, Gary Collins, get loose from CB Herb Adderley and hit him in the end zone. Collins caught the ball just before careening into the snow bank off the edge of the field. The holder, Bobby Franklin, fumbled the snap. Groza picked it up and threw it to Franklin, who was downed at the seven. That broke a string of 96 in a row for Groza. Packers 7 Browns 6 (10:07)
  
  Ryan fades to pass.
  Willie Davis on the Browns' passing attack. They surprised us with that. We were set to stop Brown. We thought they would try to establish their running game first and then pass. So we didn't have the big pass rush right at the start. Our linebackers weren't firing through because on those sweeps they'll try to string it out and give the pursuit a chance to come up. We weren't looking for passes that early. It was a fine play selection by Ryan.
  The Pack's second possession didn't go nearly as well as the first. On 3rd­and-12, Jim Kanicki and Bill Glass sacked Starr on the eight. That led to ex­cellent field position for the Browns when Leroy Kelly fair caught Chandler's punt at the GB 39.
  From there, Cleveland took the lead. After Brown gained two, Ryan hit War­field to the 24. Following two runs for 7y, Ryan failed to connect with Warfield behind the goal posts in the end zone. So Groza booted a 24y field goal. Browns 9 Packers 7

• Quarter 4
  The relentless march continued. After Hornung misfired on a halfback pass to Dale, Starr showed how to do it, connecting with Dowler on a drag pattern to the Cleveland 38 to gain a new set of downs. Taylor ran twice for almost 10y, then dove over the top for the first down at the 27. He advanced another four before exiting to a big hand as Tom Moore took his place. The Browns finally drew the line and stopped Hornung for 2y on two carries. So Chandler banged through a 29y field goal that tied a record shared with many of three field goals in a championship game. Packers 23 Browns 12 (9:28)
  
  Starr hands to Hornung.
  The Eastern champs needed a lift, and Kelly gave it to them by returning the kickoff out to the 43. Ken Coleman told CBS viewers that there was no problem with their TV sets. It was the fog that was obscuring the action. The Packer defense descended on Ryan & Company like a fog with a sack on 3rd down that led to another fine Collins punt, this one to the seven with 7:45 on the clock.
  Desperately needing a turnover to set up an easy score, the Browns almost caught Starr in the end zone as he tried a 2nd down pass. But Bart wiggled out to the two. Taylor then fought his way back to the original line of scrimmage at the seven to give Chandler more room to punt.
  
  Taylor cuts back to avoid Wiggin.
  Cleveland tried for the block, but Ralph Smith hit Chandler just after the ball left his foot. The roughing penalty made it first down at the 22. Hornung and Taylor pounded the crestfallen Browns for 13y to move the chains again. But the massed defense held Green Bay to just 2y on three runs as the clock ran down to two minutes. When play resumed, Chandler kicked to Walter Roberts at the 17, and "The Flea" returned 10y.
  
  Elemental football
  Ryan threw a desperation pass for Collins racing down the right sideline, but Adderley intercepted at the GB 26 to extinguish all hope for the visitors.
  With fans gathering at the edges of the field, the Packers ran out the clock. Lombardi first took out Hornung to give fans a chance to applaud, then Starr.
  FINAL: PACKERS 23 BROWNS 12

Fans flooded the field and went after the goal posts.

Watch highlights of the game.