| Team: | Carolina Panthers |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Record: | 7–9 |
| Division Place: | 4th NFC West |
| Coach: | Dom Capers |
| General Manager: | Bill Polian |
| Owner: | Jerry Richardson |
| Stadium: | Memorial Stadium (Clemson, South Carolina) |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Previous: | none |
| No Prevseason: | true |
| Pro Bowlers: | None |
| Shortnavlink: | Panthers seasons |
The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League and the first under head coach Dom Capers. They went 7–9, the best debut year for any expansion franchise since the NFL's inception. The Panthers played their first season's home games at Clemson University because what would become Ericsson Stadium was still under construction after a deadline point in 1995 for scheduling Carolina's first set of NFL games.
The Panthers were jokingly called "Buffalo Bills South" because of the large number of former Bills on the roster. Quarterback Frank Reich, wide receiver Don Beebe, tight end Pete Metzelaars and linebacker Carlton Bailey had played key roles in the Bills' run of four consecutive Super Bowls earlier in the 1990s and were on the Panthers' inaugural roster. Furthermore, the team's general manager was longtime Bills GM and executive Bill Polian. (See also the 2001 San Diego Chargers season, in which a similar situation arose when John Butler brought several former Bills with him to San Diego after being fired.)
See main article: article and 1995 NFL expansion draft.
[1]See main article: article and 1995 NFL Draft.
Draft trades
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOF | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 20–14 | 1–0 | Fawcett Stadium | 24,625 | ||
| 1 | at Chicago Bears | L 15–18 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 50,300 | ||
| 2 | Denver Broncos | W 19–10 | 2–1 | Memorial Stadium | 57,017 | ||
| 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 10–17 | 2–2 | 3Com Park | 51,185 | ||
| 4 | New York Giants | W 6–3 | 3–2 | Memorial Stadium | 49,114 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 20–23 | 0–1 | Georgia Dome | Recap | |
| 2 | September 10 | at Buffalo Bills | L 9–31 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 17 | St. Louis Rams | L 10–31 | 0–3 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 4 | Bye | ||||||
| 5 | October 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–20 | 0–4 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 6 | October 8 | at Chicago Bears | L 27–31 | 0–5 | Soldier Field | Recap | |
| 7 | October 15 | New York Jets | W 26–15 | 1–5 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 22 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–3 | 2–5 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 9 | October 29 | at New England Patriots | W 20–17 | 3–5 | Foxboro Stadium | Recap | |
| 10 | November 5 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 13–7 | 4–5 | Candlestick Park | Recap | |
| 11 | November 12 | at St. Louis Rams | L 17–28 | 4–6 | Trans World Dome | Recap | |
| 12 | November 19 | Arizona Cardinals | W 27–7 | 5–6 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | November 26 | at New Orleans Saints | L 26–34 | 5–7 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | |
| 14 | December 3 | Indianapolis Colts | W 13–10 | 6–7 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 10 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–31 | 6–8 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 16 | December 17 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–17 | 7–8 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| 17 | December 24 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–20 | 7–9 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Players dumped Gatorade on Dom Capers after the win.[4]