# 1968 Green Bay Packers season

The 1968 Green Bay Packers season was their 50th season overall and the 48th season in the National Football League. Under first-year head coach Phil Bengtson, the team finished with a 6–7–1 record, third place in the four-team Central Division of the Western Conference.
It was the Packers' first losing season in a decade, and marked a turning point in team history, starting a long period of futility and decline known as the "Gory Years". From 1968 through 1991, Green Bay had only five winning seasons (1969, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1989), made the playoffs twice (1972, 1982), with one win (1982).
A few weeks after winning Super Bowl II in January 1968, Vince Lombardi stepped down as head coach but remained as general manager, and longtime defensive coordinator Bengston was promoted. Lombardi left after the season for the Washington Redskins.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1968 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 5 | Fred Carr * | Linebacker | Texas at El Paso |
| 1 | 26 | Bill Lueck | Guard | Arizona |
| 3 | 67 | Billy Stevens | Quarterback | Texas at El Paso |
| 3 | 81 | Dick Himes | Tackle | Ohio State |
| 4 | 92 | Brendan McCarthy | Running back | Boston College |
| 4 | 108 | John Robinson | Wide receiver | Tennessee State |
| 5 | 121 | Steve Duich | Tackle | San Diego State |
| 5 | 137 | Francis Winkler | Defensive end | Memphis State |
| 6 | 164 | Walter Chadwick | Running back | Tennessee |
| 7 | 191 | Andy Beath | Defensive back | Duke |
| 8 | 218 | Tom Owens | Guard | Missouri-Rolla |
| 9 | 245 | Bob Apisa | Running back | Michigan State |
| 10 | 260 | Rick Cash | Tackle | Northeast Missouri State |
| 10 | 272 | Ron Worthen | Center | Arkansas State |
| 11 | 299 | Gordon Rule | Defensive back | Dartmouth |
| 12 | 325 | Dennis Porter | Tackle | Northern Michigan |
| 13 | 353 | Frank Geiselman | Wide receiver | Rhode Island |
| 14 | 380 | John Farler | Wide receiver | Colorado |
| 15 | 407 | Ridley Gibson | Defensive back | Baylor |
| 16 | 434 | Al Groves | Tackle | St. Norbert |
| 17 | 461 | Ken Rota | Running back | North Dakota State |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 30–13 | 1–0 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 |
| 2 | September 22 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–26 | 1–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 49,346 |
| 3 | September 29 | Detroit Lions | L 17–23 | 1–2 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 |
| 4 | October 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 38–7 | 2–2 | Atlanta Stadium | 58,850 |
| 5 | October 13 | Los Angeles Rams | L 14–16 | 2–3 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 49,646 |
| 6 | October 20 | at Detroit Lions | T 14–14 | 2–3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 57,302 |
| 7 | October 28 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 28–17 | 3–3–1 | Cotton Bowl | 74,604 |
| 8 | November 3 | Chicago Bears | L 10–13 | 3–4–1 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 |
| 9 | November 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–14 | 3–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 |
| 10 | November 17 | New Orleans Saints | W 29–7 | 4–5–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 49,644 |
| 11 | November 24 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–7 | 5–5–1 | D.C. Stadium | 50,621 |
| 12 | December 1 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 20–27 | 5–6–1 | Kezar Stadium | 47,218 |
| 13 | December 7 | Baltimore Colts | L 3–16 | 5–7–1 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 |
| 14 | December 15 | at Chicago Bears | W 28–27 | 6–7–1 | Wrigley Field | 46,435 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Season summary
### Week 1 vs Eagles

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Packers | 7 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 30 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: September 15
* Game attendance: 67 °F (19 °C)
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
PHI – Sam Baker 27-yard field goal. Eagles 3–0. Drive:
GB – Jim Grabowski 6-yard run (Jerry Kramer kick). Packers 7–3. Drive:
Second quarter
GB – Carroll Dale 12-yard pass from Bart Starr (Jerry Kramer kick). Packers 14–3. Drive:
PHI – Sam Baker 17-yard field goal. Packers 14–6. Drive:
GB – Boyd Dowler 55-yard pass from Bart Starr (Jerry Kramer kick). Packers 21–6. Drive:
Third quarter
GB – Jerry Kramer 17-yard field goal. Packers 24–6. Drive:
GB – Jerry Kramer 22-yard field goal. Packers 27–6. Drive:
Fourth quarter
PHI – Gary Ballman 2-yard pass from King Hill (Sam Baker kick). Packers 27–13. Drive:
GB – Jerry Kramer 35-yard field goal. Packers 30–13. Drive:
Top passers
PHI – King Hill – 16/35, 196 yards, TD, INT
GB – Bart Starr – 14/18, 220 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
PHI – Tom Woodeshick – 11 rushes, 48 yards
GB – Donny Anderson – 12 rushes, 92 yards
Top receivers
PHI – Ben Hawkins – 4 receptions, 85 yards
GB – Boyd Dowler – 5 receptions, 110 yards, TD :

### Week 14

A win by the Packers was important because a Bears loss means that The Minnesota Vikings clinched the Central Division title and their first ever playoff berth.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Packers | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Bears | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 27 |

## Standings

NFL Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–4 | 282 | 242 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 250 | 333 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 1–4–1 | 2–7–1 | 281 | 227 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 3–2–1 | 4–5–1 | 207 | 241 | L1 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.