Nov. 28, 1963 - The Detroit Lions, an injured, losing football team this season, tied the Green Bay Packers, 13-13, today by scoring a touchdown with 16 seconds left to play in an exciting game in Detroit. Nick Pietrosante, the fullback, scored the touchdown that brought about the tie, but the primary hero for the Lions was Earl Morrall. This 29-year-old quarterback, who became a regular and a star this year after seven seasons of secondary status, directed a time-consuming touchdown drive at the end with cool confidence. The tie made heroes of all the Lions and dealt a blow to Green Bay’s hopes of defending its championship of the NFL. The Packer season record is now 9-2-1. So, Green Bay is one game behind the Chicago Bears (9-1-1) in the important loss column of the standings. Compounding the Packers’ troubles is an injury suffered by linebacker Ray Nitschke. He said he broke a bone in his right forearm in the fourth quarter and won’t see any more action this season. Detroit had a star in Morrall, and the Packers, alas, had a goat in Jerry Kramer. Green Bay’s guard and kicker missed a field-goal attempt that he will remember. It came at the start of the fourth period on an attempt that looked automatic. Bart Starr, the Green Bay quarterback, set the ball down for Kramer on the Lion 10-yard line, and the goal posts were straight ahead. Jerry, who had kicked 15 field goals out of 26 attempts before today’s game, took a step forward and swung his right leg through in the customary arc. But the ball went way wide of the posts. Kramer went back to the bench and sat in solitude with his head in his hands. Earlier an extra point attempt by Kramer also had failed, but it was not Jerry’s fault that time. John Gordy of the Lions had blocked the kick. Joe Schmidt, the magnificent Detroit linebacker, said the same thing he had a year ago in Detroit after the Lions had upset the Packers. “We stopped them on the ground. That’s what counted.” He added this time: “We sent them to Miami where they belong.” Miami is the scene of the NFL’s Playoff Bowl game among the second-place teams of East and West. The Lions do not like the Packers, and the feeling is mutual. Packer defensive tackle Hank Jordan said, “I hope they play that hard against the Bears and beat ‘em. I never thought we’d lose today. There were no mistakes in the game. The harder we went, the harder they went.” Jordan complimented Lion quarterback Earl Morrall. “He really impressed me today,” said Jordan. “Some of his passes were right on the button. Sometimes he was still throwing with me hanging onto his legs, and that didn’t do much for my ego.”
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