1995 Buffalo Bills season

1995 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Marv Levy Elijah Pitts (interim)
General manager	John Butler
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Dolphins) 37–22 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 21–40
← 1994 Bills seasons 1996 →

The 1995 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League and the 36th overall. This was the last time the Bills won the division and won a playoff game until 2020.

Season summary[]

After suffering a losing season the previous season, the 1995 Bills won the AFC East, and made the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. They defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card Game in Don Shula's final game as an NFL head coach. The following week they lost to the eventual AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Until 2020, this season was the last time the Bills won the AFC East, and the playoff win over Miami represents the last time that the Bills have won a playoff game until 2020.

In his first season with the team, defensive end Bryce Paup was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Paup led the NFL with 17.5 sacks, the fourth-highest single-season total of the 1990s.^[1]

During the season, head coach Marv Levy underwent successful treatment for prostate cancer; assistant Elijah Pitts filled in as interim coach until Levy returned after a three-game absence.^[2]

Off-season[]

1995 Expansion Draft[]

Buffalo Bills selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
5	9	Keith Goganious	Linebacker	Jacksonville Jaguars
23	46	Vince Marrow	Tight End	Carolina Panthers

NFL Draft[]

= Pro Bowler[3]

1995 Buffalo Bills Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	14	Ruben Brown[4]	G	Pittsburgh
2	45	Todd Collins	QB	Michigan
3	76	Marlon Kerner	CB	Ohio State
	96	Damien Covington	LB	North Carolina State
4	109	Ken Irvin	CB	Memphis
	113	Justin Armour	WR	Stanford
	131	Tony Cline	TE	Stanford
5	144	John Holecek	LB	Illinois
6	185	Shannon Clavelle	DT	Colorado
7	221	Tom Nütten	C	Western Michigan
	244	Darick Holmes	RB	Portland State

Personnel[]

Staff[]

1995 Buffalo Bills staff

	Front office President – Ralph Wilson Executive Vice President and General Manager – John Butler Vice President of Football Operations – Marv Levy Director of Pro Personnel – A. J. Smith Director of Player Personnel – Dwight Adams Head coaches Head Coach – Marv Levy Assistant Head Coach – Elijah Pitts Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Tom Bresnahan Quarterbacks – Jim Shofner Running Backs – Elijah Pitts Receivers – Charlie Joiner Offensive Quality Control/Tight Ends – Don Lawrence			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Wade Phillips Defensive Line – Dan Sekanovich Linebackers – Ted Cottrell Assistant Linebackers – Chuck Lester Defensive Backs – Dick Roach Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bruce DeHaven Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

^[5]

Roster[]

1995 Buffalo Bills roster

	Quarterbacks 15 Todd Collins 12 Jim Kelly 10 Alex Van Pelt Running backs 35 Carwell Gardner FB 44 Darick Holmes RB/KR 30 Yonel Jourdain 33 Tim Tindale FB 34 Thurman Thomas Wide receivers 81 Justin Armour 80 Bill Brooks 85 Russell Copeland 83 Andre Reed 89 Steve Tasker 82 Damon Thomas Tight ends 88 Tony Cline 87 84 Lonnie Johnson		Offensive linemen 79 Ruben Brown G 62 Mike Devlin C 70 John Fina T 67 Kent Hull C 68 Corbin Lacina G 72 Corey Louchiey T 64 Tom Nutten G 60 Jerry Ostroski G 74 Glenn Parker T Defensive linemen 90 Phil Hansen DE 77 Jim Jeffcoat DE 94 Mark Pike DE 78 Bruce Smith DE 92 Ted Washington DT 73 Karl Wilson DE		Linebackers 96 Monty Brown ILB 97 Cornelius Bennett ILB 57 Damien Covington OLB 52 John Holecek 95 Bryce Paup OLB 58 Marlo Perry ILB 59 Sam Rogers OLB 50 David White OLB Defensive backs 43 Matt Darby FS 41 Greg Evans SS 42 Chris Green CB 27 Ken Irvin CB 39 Filmel Johnson CB 20 Henry Jones SS 46 Marlon Kerner CB 24 Kurt Schulz FS 28 Thomas Smith CB Special teams  2 Steve Christie K 63 Adam Lingner LS  9 Chris Mohr P		Reserve lists 22 Jeff Burris CB (IR) 55 Mark Maddox ILB (IR) -- Blaise Winter DE (IR) Practice squad —- Mike Sheldon G Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	Attendance	TV time
1	September 3, 1995	at Denver Broncos	L 7–22	0–1	Mile High Stadium	75,157	TNT 8:00ET
2	September 10, 1995	Carolina Panthers	W 31–9	1–1	Rich Stadium	79,190	FOX 1:00ET
3	September 17, 1995	Indianapolis Colts	W 20–14	2–1	Rich Stadium	62,499	NBC 1:00ET
4	Bye
5	October 2, 1995	at Cleveland Browns	W 22–19	3–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	76,211	ABC 9:00ET
6	October 8, 1995	New York Jets	W 29–10	4–1	Rich Stadium	79,485	NBC 1:00ET
7	October 15, 1995	Seattle Seahawks	W 27–21	5–1	Rich Stadium	74,362	NBC 1:00ET
8	October 23, 1995	at New England Patriots	L 14–27	5–2	Foxboro Stadium	60,203	ABC 9:00ET
9	October 29, 1995	at Miami Dolphins	L 6–23	5–3	Joe Robbie Stadium	71,060	NBC 4:00ET
10	November 5, 1995	at Indianapolis Colts	W 16–10	6–3	RCA Dome	59,612	NBC 4:00ET
11	November 12, 1995	Atlanta Falcons	W 23–17	7–3	Rich Stadium	62,690	FOX 1:00ET
12	November 19, 1995	at New York Jets	W 28–26	8–3	The Meadowlands	54,436	NBC 4:00ET
13	November 26, 1995	New England Patriots	L 25–35	8–4	Rich Stadium	69,384	NBC 1:00 ET
14	December 3, 1995	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–27	8–5	Candlestick Park	65,568	ESPN 8:00 ET
15	December 10, 1995	at St. Louis Rams	W 45–27	9–5	Trans World Dome	64,623	NBC 1:00 ET
16	December 17, 1995	Miami Dolphins	W 23–20	10–5	Rich Stadium	79,531	NBC 1:00 ET
17	December 24, 1995	Houston Oilers	L 28–17	10–6	Rich Stadium	45,253	NBC 1:00 ET

Game summaries[]

Week 5[]

showScoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF CLE 1 9:56 Bills Armour 14-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick good 7 0 1 6:49 Browns Punt returned 69 yards for touchdown by Alexander, Stover kick good 7 7 1 0:50 Bills 38-yard field goal by Christie 10 7 2 0:18 Browns 32-yard field goal by Stover 10 10 3 11:10 Bills 31-yard field goal by Christie 13 10 3 6:59 Browns 47-yard field goal by Stover 13 13 3 3:56 Browns 23-yard field goal by Stover 13 16 4 6:30 Bills Reed 41-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick no good 19 16 4 3:49 Browns 38-yard field goal by Stover 19 19 4 0:05 Bills 33-yard field goal by Christie 22 19 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 22 19

Week 6[]

Starting QBs -> New York Jets: Boomer Esiason / Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly

Vegas Line: Buffalo Bills -9.5 /// Over/Under: 38.0 (over)

Thurman Thomas becomes the 11th player all-time to go over the 9,000 career rushing yard mark in this game.

Boomer Esiason was knocked out in the second quarter by Bruce Smith , thus putting Bubby Brister into the game. On his first snap in the game, he fumbled the ball and turned it over to Buffalo.

New York Jets (1-4) at Buffalo Bills (3-1)

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 3 7 0 10 • Bills 3 13 3 10 29 Date: Oct 8, 1995 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 79,485 Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C) • 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert and Cris Collinsworth

^[6]

showScoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYJ BUF 1 5:46 8 60 2:53 Bills 38-yard field goal by Steve Christie 0 3 2 7:57 4 4 2:09 Jets 26-yard field goal by Nick Lowery 3 3 2 3:58 11 68 3:59 Bills 24-yard field goal by Steve Christie 3 6 2 0:26 7 39 1:44 Bills 32-yard field goal by Steve Christie 3 9 2 0:16 1 15 0:05 Bills Bill Brooks (American football) 15-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 3 16 3 9:03 11 57 5:57 Jets Wayne Chrebet 16-yard touchdown reception from Bubby Brister, Nick Lowery kick good 10 16 3 7:16 5 23 1:47 Bills 51-yard field goal by Steve Christie 10 19 4 9:51 12 77 5:30 Bills Thurman Thomas 1-yard touchdown run, Steve Christie kick good 10 26 4 5:56 6 20 2:12 Bills 27-yard field goal by Steve Christie 10 29 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 29

^[7]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Jets	Passing	Bubby Brister	13/23, 112 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Adrian Murrell	14 carries, 33 yards
	Receiving	Wayne Chrebet	7 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
Bills	Passing	Jim Kelly	9/22, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Thurman Thomas	27 carries, 133 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Russell Copeland	5 receptions, 67 yards

^[8]

Statistics	Jets	Bills
First downs	14	22
Plays–yards	53–173	67–318
Rushes–yards	21–51	45–220
Passing yards	122	98
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	17–32–2	9–22–1
Time of possession	31:49	28:11

^[9]

Week 10[]

Elijah Pitts was the Buffalo Bills head coach for this game as Marv Levy was recovering from illness.

Starting QBs: Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly vs Indianapolis Colts: Jim Harbaugh.

In this game, Jim Harbaugh started, but midway through the first quarter Paul Justin was put in by coach Ted Marchibroda as Harbaugh was injured. This wasn't the end for the Colts QB situation, as Justin was hit by Bryce Paup knocking him out of the game. Harbaugh came in briefly after Justin was knocked out, however, Craig Erickson came into the game to finish it out.

Vegas Line: Indianapolis Colts -4.0

Buffalo Bills (5-3) at Indianapolis Colts (5-3)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 10 6 0 0 16 Colts 7 0 3 0 10 Date: November 5 Location: RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 59,612 Game weather: DOME Referee: Larry Nemmers TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth

^[10]

showScoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF IND 1 11:24 2 51 0:49 Bills Bill Brooks (American football) 51-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick good 7 0 1 7:50 8 76 3:30 Colts Marshall Faulk 4-yard touchdown run, Cary Blanchard kick good 7 7 1 1:56 4 2 1:13 Bills 39-yard field goal by Steve Christie 10 7 2 9:04 5 74 2:29 Bills 23-yard field goal by Steve Christie 13 7 2 3:52 9 43 3:45 Bills 33-yard field goal by Steve Christie 16 7 3 10:24 5 40 1:42 Colts 37-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard 16 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 16 10

Week 11[]

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 7 3 7 0 17 • Bills 7 7 6 3 23 Date: November 12 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 62,690 Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C) • 26 miles per hour (42 km/h; 23 kn) Referee: Johnny Grier TV announcers (Fox NFL): Thom Brennaman , Ron Pitts, and Eric Clemons (Sideline Reporter)

^[11]

Week 12[]

Starting QBs -> New York Jets: Boomer Esiason / Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly

Vegas Line: Buffalo Bills -6.5 /// Over/Under: 37.0 (over)

Boomer Esiason throws a last second hail mary TD pass to Adrian Murrell , however, failed on the 2-pt conversion to send the game into OT.

Buffalo Bills (7-3) at New York Jets(2-8)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 14 7 0 28 Jets 3 0 10 13 26 Date: Nov 19, 1995 Location: Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey Game start: 4:00pm EST Game attendance: 54,436 Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) • 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) Referee: Dick Hantak TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert and Cris Collinsworth

^[12]

showScoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP BUF NYJ 1 8:46 10 58 Jets 30-yard field goal by Nick Lowery 0 3 1 1:35 5 59 1:36 Bills Bill Brooks (American football) 45-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 7 3 2 6:37 17 90 6:33 Bills Thurman Thomas 12-yard touchdown run, Steve Christie kick good 14 3 2 2:26 8 52 1:47 Bills Bill Brooks (American football) 18-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good 21 3 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 26

^[13]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Bills	Passing	Jim Kelly	22/37, 316 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Thurman Thomas	18 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Bill Brooks (American football)	7 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD
Jets	Passing	Boomer Esiason	24/43, 312 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Adrian Murrell	9 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	Johnny Mitchell	5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

^[14]

Statistics	Bills	Jets
First downs	20	17
Plays–yards	73-373	65-351
Rushes–yards	36-88	22-74
Passing yards	285	277
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22-37-0	24-43-2
Time of possession	31:12	28:48

^[15]

Week 15[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 14 14 10 45 Rams 10 3 3 11 27 Date: December 10 Location: TWA Dome, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,623 Game weather: DOME Referee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert , Cris Collinsworth

showScoring summary Q1 8:59 BUF Bill Brooks 23 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick) BUF 7–0 Q1 5:29 STL Todd Kinchen 6 yard pass from Mark Rypien (Dean Biasucci kick) Tie 7–7 Q1 3:15 STL (Dean Biasucci 28 yard field goal) STL 10–7 Q2 7:52 BUF Thurman Thomas 1 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick) BUF 14–10 Q2 5:29 BUF Darick Holmes 1 yard run (Steve Christie kick) BUF 21–10 Q2 0:00 STL (Dean Biasucci 37 yard field goal) BUF 21–13 Q3 6:29 BUF Steve Tasker 6 yard pass from Jim Kelly(Steve Christie kick) BUF 28-13 Q3 4:34 STL (Dean Biasucci 51 yard field goal) BUF 28–16 Q3 1:08 BUF Steve Tasker 28 yard pass from Jim Kelly(Steve Christie kick) BUF 35–16 Q4 6:52 STL (Dean Biasucci 25 yard field goal) BUF 35–19 Q4 6:40 BUF Darick Holmes 38 yard run (Steve Christie kick) BUF 42–19 Q4 3:54 STL Jessie Hester 5 yard pass from Mark Rypien, Johnny Bailey pass from Mark Rypien BUF 42–27 Q4 1:10 BUF (Steve Christie 28 yard field goal BUF 45–27

^[16]

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) Buffalo Bills	10	6	0	.625	350	335	L1
(5) Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	331	316	W1
(6) Miami Dolphins	9	7	0	.563	398	332	W1
New England Patriots	6	10	0	.375	294	377	L2
New York Jets	3	13	0	.188	233	384	L4

^[17]

Playoffs[]

AFC Wild Card Game[]

In Buffalo's first playoff game since losing Super Bowl XXVIII two seasons earlier, the Bills handled Miami easily by a score of 37–22 at Rich Stadium. Although Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns, the Bills jumped to a 27–0 lead going into the fourth quarter, and rushed for an NFL playoff-record 341 yards, led by Thurman Thomas's 25 carries for 158 yards. The Bills forced four turnovers, including intercepting Marino three times, in the victory.^[18] It was the final game of Don Shula's coaching career with the Dolphins.

AFC Divisional Playoff[]

Running back Bam Morris scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Steelers stopped the Bills from pulling off a comeback. Pittsburgh jumped to a 20–0 lead by the second quarter with running back John L. Williams's 1-yard touchdown, quarterback Neil O'Donnell's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ernie Mills, and two field goals by Norm Johnson. However, Buffalo running back Thurman Thomas scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the first half. But Johnson made a 34-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give the Steelers a 23–7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Johnson added a 39-yard field goal before Bills tight end Tony Cline caught a 2-yard touchdown reception. With 11:23 left in the game, Thomas scored on a 9-yard touchdown reception to cut the lead to 26–21. In response, Pittsburgh drove 76 yards to score on Morris' 13-yard touchdown run. Linebacker Levon Kirkland then intercepted a pass to set up Morris' 2-yard score with 1:58 remaining to clinch the victory.^[19] Bruce Smith was inactive for the game because he had a 106-degree fever; Smith wanted to play but the Bills' medical staff said "no".^{[citation needed]}

Awards and honors[]

• Bryce Paup, NFL Defensive Player of the Year^[20]
• Bryce Paup, AFC Pro Bowl selection^[21]

References[]

External links[]

• Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Bills on jt-sw.com
• Bills Stats on jt-sw.com