The following year was a strong one as Jim Brown gritted out another league-leading rushing season. The Browns ended with an 11–3 record and comfortably won the eastern division. That set up a second straight appearance in the NFL Championship game against the Packers on a slippery, mucky Lambeau Field on January 2, 1966. While the score was close early on, Vince Lombardi's team held the Browns scoreless in the second half, winning 23–12 in an upset on a Paul Hornung touchdown. After the season, the NFL and the competing American Football League agreed to merge starting in 1970, but would play an inter-league championship from the 1966 season onward. The 1965 championship thus became the NFL's last before the Super Bowl era, which ushered in a new age of popularity and prosperity for professional football.