1966 NFL Championship Game The 1966 National Football League Championship Game determined the NFL ' s champion , which would meet the AFL ' s champion in Super Bowl I , then formally referred to as the first " AFL - NFL World Championship Game " . The NFL Championship Game was held at the Cowboys ' home stadium , the Cotton Bowl in Dallas , even though the Green Bay Packers had a superior regular season record . As of the 1975 season , playoff sites were determined by regular season record , rather than a rotational basis . Background . It was the first NFL title game played after the AFL - NFL Merger was announced in June 1966 . The game was played on January 1 , 1967 , the second consecutive year that the NFL season ended in January , rather than December . It was the 34th annual NFL championship game since the league began a championship game after the 1933 season . This was seventh season for the Dallas Cowboys and their first winning record since entering the league in 1960 . They were champions of the NFL ' s Eastern Conference with a 10 - 3 - 1 record . The Packers won the Western Conference with a 12 - 2 record , their eighth consecutive winning season under head coach Vince Lombardi . The final score was Green Bay 34 , Dallas 27 . Two weeks later , Green Bay went on to easily defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I in Los Angeles . Game summary . The seasoned Green Bay Packers , defending champions of the 1965 season , were favored by a touchdown over the talented , but young Cowboys team , who had no players with championship experience and only one player over 30 , linebacker Chuck Howley . The game was expected to be a shootout , and as wary as the Packers were of Cowboys wide - out Bob Hayes , the fastest man in football at the time , Packers Coach Vince Lombardi made the decision before the game not to put double - coverage on the former Olympic sprinter . It proved to be a good gamble , as Herb Adderley and Bob Jeter held Hayes to only one reception for one yard . Green Bay took an early 14 - 0 lead on two first - quarter scores ; a 17 - yard touchdown pass from Bart Starr to Elijah Pitts and a 17 - yard return by Jim Grabowski of a Mel Renfro fumble on the ensuing kickoff , all before the Cowboys ' first play . Before the end of the first quarter , though , they tied the score with two touchdowns . Starr broke the tie in the second quarter with a bomb to Carroll Dale over the head of Warren Livingston . After Dallas had cut the lead to 21 - 20 in the third quarter , Starr ' s fourth touchdown pass of the game gave the Packers a 34 - 20 lead with 5 : 20 left in the game , but the Cowboys responded with a 68 - yard touchdown pass from Don Meredith to Frank Clarke . Dallas advanced to the Green Bay 22 - yard line on their next drive , when a pass interference penalty gave the Cowboys a first down at the Packer 2 - yard line . Dan Reeves gained a yard on first down . A false start put the Cowboys back on the Green Bay 6 , and halfback Dan Reeves dropped a pass in the flat on second down . Meredith found tight end Pettis Norman on third down to bring Dallas back to the two - yard line . On fourth down , the Cowboys attempted a rollout pass . Packers ' linebackk Dave Robinson penetrated on the play , and enveloped Meredith . Somehow Meredith got the ball away , but Green Bay ' s Tom Brown intercepted the pass in the end zone as the intended receiver , Hayes , was surrounded by Packers defenders . " I don ' t know , we haven ' t played Alabama yet . " - - Vince Lombardi after being asked what it felt like to be the greatest football team in the world just after winning the ' 67 Super Bowl . With the win , the Packers earned their 10th NFL championship . It was their second in a row and fourth in six seasons under Lombardi . This would be the Packers ' only post - season win in the Dallas area prior to the 2010 season , when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV ( played in the Cowboys ' current home , Cowboys Stadium ) .