The Ice Bowl Is the Coldest NFL Game—By Air Temperature
The 1967 Ice Bowl holds the NFL cold record at −13°F. Compare it with the Freezer Bowl and learn why historical wind-chill figures differ.
At Lambeau Field on December 31, 1967, Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the coldest football game in NFL history: the Ice Bowl. Green Bay beat Dallas 21–17 in the NFL Championship Game, played at a kickoff temperature of −13°F (−25°C). The National Weather Service’s Green Bay history confirms the temperature and the record; the Packers’ historical account records the score and finish.
That answer depends on measuring actual air temperature. The Freezer Bowl, Cincinnati’s January 10, 1982 AFC Championship Game against San Diego, holds the distinction for the lowest historically reported wind chill: −59°F, according to the National Weather Service’s football weather history. Those older wind-chill numbers require care when comparing games across eras.
Records table
| Record | Holder | Value | Date or season | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coldest NFL game by kickoff air temperature | Ice Bowl: Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field | −13°F | December 31, 1967 | NWS Green Bay |
| Lowest historically reported NFL game wind chill | Freezer Bowl: San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals, Riverfront Stadium | −59°F, historical wind-chill figure | January 10, 1982 | NWS football weather history |
| Arrowhead Stadium cold record set in 2024 | Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs | −4°F at kickoff | January 13, 2024 | Associated Press via CBS Sports |
These are different categories, not three competing answers to the same record. For the conventional comparison—kickoff air temperature—the Ice Bowl is the answer.
What made the Ice Bowl so cold?
The day before the game, Green Bay reached 20°F. An Arctic front arrived shortly before midnight, and by 9 a.m. on game day the temperature had fallen to −16°F. During play, actual temperatures ranged from −12°F to −14°F, according to the National Weather Service. The colder morning reading is distinct from the accepted −13°F kickoff mark.
The field presented another problem. Lambeau’s underground electric heating system had been installed that summer. In the Packers’ examination of the field conditions, the engineer in charge of operating it said the system could not overcome the extreme cold and wind. Vince Lombardi later blamed moisture trapped between the tarp and turf for the hard surface crust. It is more accurate to describe those limitations than simply say the heater broke.
Green Bay trailed 17–14 before its final 68-yard touchdown drive. Starr’s one-yard keeper won the game rather than leaving the Packers to attempt a tying field goal. The contemporary Associated Press report, republished by FOX Sports, documents that gamble and the winning drive.
The occasion also needs its original name: this was the NFL Championship Game, not an NFC Championship or a Super Bowl. The Packers’ history explains that the NFL and AFL remained separate leagues pending their full merger in 1970. Green Bay advanced to face the AFL champion Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II, as the contemporary AP report records. That distinction is central to how the NFL crowned champions across eras.
Was the Freezer Bowl colder?
By air temperature, no. The Bengals record the Freezer Bowl at −9°F, with a −59°F wind chill, and a 27–7 Cincinnati victory that secured the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance. Their team history also supplies a link between the two games: Bengals coach Forrest Gregg had played right tackle for Green Bay in the Ice Bowl.
By the historical wind-chill figures, the Freezer Bowl has the lower number. But wind chill is not a thermometer reading. It describes heat loss from the human body caused by cold and wind, and the National Weather Service replaced its calculation during the 2001–02 winter.
That change matters when reading conflicting Ice Bowl figures. The Packers’ account gives −46°F, while the NFL’s historical gallery gives −48°F. The NWS reconstruction gives −36°F at kickoff and explicitly uses the newer index for its during-game range of −33°F to −37°F. The Freezer Bowl’s historical −59°F figure should not be ranked directly against a modern-formula reading without identifying the calculation used.
Did Chiefs–Dolphins break the NFL record?
No. The January 13, 2024 playoff game at Arrowhead kicked off at −4°F, with a reported wind chill of −27°F. It broke the stadium’s previous air-temperature record of 1°F, but the Associated Press ranked it fourth-coldest in NFL history at the time. It was exceptionally cold—not colder than the Ice Bowl’s −13°F kickoff.