| Team: | Detroit Lions |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Record: | 10–6 |
| Division Place: | 2nd NFC Central |
| Coach: | Wayne Fontes |
| General Manager: | Chuck Schmidt |
| Owner: | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Stadium: | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Playoffs: | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Eagles) 37–58 |
| Pro Bowlers: | C Kevin Glover T Lomas Brown WR Herman Moore RB Barry Sanders |
| Ap All-Pros: | T Lomas Brown (1st team) WR Herman Moore (1st team) RB Barry Sanders (1st team) C Kevin Glover (2nd team) |
| Shortnavlink: | Lions seasons |
The 1995 Detroit Lions season was the team's 66th in the National Football League (NFL). Finishing at 10–6, it marked the Lions' third consecutive winning season, which had not been accomplished in Detroit since the team posted four consecutive winning seasons from 1969 to 1972.
It was also the Lions' third consecutive postseason appearance, and fourth in five seasons – the franchise’s best era since the 1950s.
The Lions started the season 0–3 and were 3–6 after a Week 10 loss in Atlanta. However, starting with a Week 11 win over Tampa Bay, the Lions won a franchise-record seven consecutive games to close out the season and clinch a playoff berth.
Herman Moore had a career season as he broke Cris Carter’s NFL record for most receptions in a season (123). Moore and teammate Brett Perriman (108 catches) became the first receiver duo to each have more than 100 receptions in the same season.
The Lions' 436 points scored was the most in franchise history until it was eclipsed by the 2011 team.[1]
For the third consecutive year, however, the Lions could not win a playoff game and were eliminated as they were routed by the Philadelphia Eagles 58–37 in the Wild Card playoffs after falling behind 51–7. Leading up to their Wild Card game, Detroit offensive linemen Lomas Brown guaranteed a victory over the Eagles.
The last remaining active member of the 1995 Detroit Lions was kicker Jason Hanson, who retired after the 2012 season.
| Additions | Subtractions | |
|---|---|---|
| DT Henry Thomas (Vikings) | QB Dave Krieg (Cardinals) | |
| QB Don Majkowski (Colts) | LB Pat Swilling (Raiders) | |
| T Zefross Moss (Colts) | DT Marc Spindler (Jets) | |
| QB Donald Hollas (Bengals) | LB Broderick Thomas (Vikings) |
See main article: article and 1995 NFL expansion draft.
| + Detroit Lions selected during the Expansion Draft | |||||
| Round | Selection | Name | Position | Expansion team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 34 | Carolina Panthers | |||
| 23 | 45 | Jacksonville Jaguars | |||
| 24 | 48 | Carolina Panthers |
See main article: 1995 NFL draft.
Notes
| Tommie Boyd | Wide receiver | Toledo | |
| Mill Coleman | Wide receiver | Michigan State | |
| Kevin Dixson | Wide receiver | Illinois State | |
| Jeff Jones | Tackle | Texas A&M | |
| Ron Rice | Safety | Eastern Michigan | |
| Willie Smith | Linebacker | Penn State | |
| Josh Taves | Defensive end | Northeastern |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 23–20 | 0–1 | 58,002 | |
| 2 | September 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 20–10 | 0–2 | 52,234 | |
| 3 | September 17 | Arizona Cardinals | L 20–17 | 0–3 | 58,727 | |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | W 27–24 | 1–3 | 76,236 | ||
| 5 | Bye | |||||
| 6 | October 8 | Cleveland Browns | W 38–20 | 2–3 | 74,171 | |
| 7 | October 15 | at Green Bay Packers | L 30–21 | 2–4 | 60,302 | |
| 8 | October 22 | at Washington Redskins | L 36–30 (OT) | 2–5 | 52,332 | |
| 9 | October 29 | Green Bay Packers | W 24–16 | 3–5 | 73,462 | |
| 10 | November 5 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 34–22 | 3–6 | 49,619 | |
| 11 | November 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–24 | 4–6 | 60,644 | |
| 12 | November 19 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–17 | 5–6 | 61,779 | |
| 13 | Minnesota Vikings | W 44–38 | 6–6 | 74,559 | ||
| 14 | December 4 | Chicago Bears | W 27–7 | 7–6 | 77,230 | |
| 15 | December 10 | at Houston Oilers | W 24–17 | 8–6 | 35,842 | |
| 16 | December 17 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 44–0 | 9–6 | 70,204 | |
| 17 | December 23 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 37–10 | 10–6 | 50,049 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||
See also: 1995–96 NFL playoffs. The Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter, recorded six interceptions, forced seven total turnovers and held future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders to just 40 rushing yards en route to a 58–37 victory in the second highest scoring game in NFL postseason history, which was also the first occasion the Lions had played the Eagles since 1986.[4] The two teams combined for 874 total yards of offense.