| Team: | Buffalo Bills |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Record: | 10–6 |
| Division Place: | 1st AFC East |
| Coach: | Marv Levy Elijah Pitts (interim) |
| General Manager: | John Butler |
| Owner: | Ralph Wilson |
| Stadium: | Rich Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Dolphins) 37–22 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 21–40 |
| Pro Bowlers: | DE Bruce Smith OLB Bryce Paup ST Steve Tasker |
| Shortnavlink: | Bills seasons |
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 or won a playoff game until 2020.
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 37-22 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 40-21.
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]
See main article: article and 1995 NFL expansion draft.
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 9 | Keith Goganious | Linebacker | Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| 23 | 46 | Vince Marrow | Tight End | Carolina Panthers |
See main article: article and 1995 NFL Draft.
| = Pro Bowler[3] |
| 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 |
| Jason Anderson | Wide receiver | Eastern Washington | |
| Carey Bender | Running back | Coe College | |
| Travis Colquitt | Punter | Marshall | |
| Eric Counts | Defensive tackle | NC State | |
| Herve Damas | Linebacker | Hofstra | |
| Randall Evans | Wide receiver | St. Augustine's (NC) | |
| Che Foster | Fullback | Michigan | |
| Myron Glass | Cornerback | Northern Iowa | |
| Steve Harvey | Linebacker | Kansas | |
| Michael Hendricks | Linebacker | Texas A&M | |
| Adrian Hill | Wide Receiver | NC State | |
| Terry Quinn | Safety | Louisville | |
| Mike Sheldon | Guard | Grand Valley State |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at Denver Broncos | L 7–22 | 0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,157 | |
| 2 | September 10 | Carolina Panthers | W 31–9 | 1–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,190 | |
| 3 | September 17 | Indianapolis Colts | W 20–14 | 2–1 | Rich Stadium | 62,499 | |
| 4 | Bye | ||||||
| 5 | October 2 | at Cleveland Browns | W 22–19 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,211 | |
| 6 | October 8 | New York Jets | W 29–10 | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,485 | |
| 7 | October 15 | Seattle Seahawks | W 27–21 | 5–1 | Rich Stadium | 74,362 | |
| 8 | October 23 | at New England Patriots | L 14–27 | 5–2 | Foxboro Stadium | 60,203 | |
| 9 | October 29 | at Miami Dolphins | L 6–23 | 5–3 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 71,060 | |
| 10 | November 5 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 16–10 | 6–3 | RCA Dome | 59,612 | |
| 11 | November 12 | Atlanta Falcons | W 23–17 | 7–3 | Rich Stadium | 62,690 | |
| 12 | November 19 | at New York Jets | W 28–26 | 8–3 | Giants Stadium | 54,436 | |
| 13 | November 26 | New England Patriots | L 25–35 | 8–4 | Rich Stadium | 69,384 | |
| 14 | December 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–27 | 8–5 | Candlestick Park | 65,568 | |
| 15 | December 10 | at St. Louis Rams | W 45–27 | 9–5 | Trans World Dome | 64,623 | |
| 16 | December 17 | Miami Dolphins | W 23–20 | 10–5 | Rich Stadium | 79,531 | |
| 17 | December 24 | Houston Oilers | L 17–28 | 10–6 | Rich Stadium | 45,253 | |
The Bills first game in Denver since 1977
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. [9]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 -4.0Starting 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. [15]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.
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".