1995 Buffalo Bills season

1995 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
General manager	John Butler
Head coach	Marv Levy; Elijah Pitts (interim until Levy recovered from prostate cancer surgery)
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Dolphins) 37–22 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 21–40

The 1995 Buffalo Bills season was the 36th season for the club and its 26th in the National Football League.

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 would defeat 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. The Miami playoff win represents the last time to date that the Bills have won a playoff game.

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.

During the season, head coach Marv Levy would undergo successful treatment for prostate cancer; with assistant Elijah Pitts filling in as interim coach until Levy returned after a three-game absence.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1995 NFL Draft

= Pro Bowler

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	14	Ruben Brown	Guard	Pittsburgh
2	45	Todd Collins	Quarterback	Michigan
3	76	Marlon Kerner	Cornerback	Ohio State
3	96	Damien Covington	Linebacker	North Carolina State
4	109	Ken Irvin	Cornerback	Memphis
4	113	Justin Armour	Wide receiver	Stanford
4	131	Tony Cline	Tight end	Stanford
5	144	John Holecek	Linebacker	Illinois
6	185	Shannon Clavelle	Defensive tackle	Colorado
7	221	Tom Nütten	Center	Western Michigan
7	244	Darick Holmes	Running back	Portland State

Personnel

Staff

1995 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office President – Ralph Wilson Executive Vice President/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

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 1:00ET
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 1:00ET
14	December 3, 1995	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–27	8–5	Candlestick Park	65,568	ESPN 8:00ET
15	December 10, 1995	at St. Louis Rams	W 45–27	9–5	Trans World Dome	64,623	NBC 1:00ET
16	December 17, 1995	Miami Dolphins	W 23–20	10–5	Rich Stadium	79,531	NBC 1:00ET
17	December 24, 1995	Houston Oilers	L 28–17	10–6	Rich Stadium	45,253	NBC 1:00ET

Standings

AFC East
	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

Roster

Thurman Thomas, RB Jim Kelly, QB Andre Reed, WR Don Beebe, WR Bruce Smith, Delaware Bryce Paup, Delaware Hugh Jaynis, TE

Playoffs

AFC Wild Card Game

Buffalo Bills 37, Miami Dolphins 22

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	0	0	0	22	22
Bills	10	14	3	10	37

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: December 30, 1995
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), cloudy
• Game attendance: 73,103
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil

In Buffalo's first playoff game since losing the Super Bowl two seasons ago, the Bills handled Miami easily. Although Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards, the Bills jumped to a 27–0 lead going into the fourth quarter, and rushed for an NFL playoff record 341 yards. It would be the final game of Don Shula's coaching career with the Dolphins. As of 2015, this was the last time that the Bills won a playoff game.

AFC Divisional Playoff

Pittsburgh Steelers 40, Buffalo Bills 21

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	7	7	7	21
Steelers	7	16	3	14	40

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh

• Date: January 6, 1996
• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 21 °F (−6 °C), clear
• Game attendance: 59,072
• Referee: Larry Nemmers
• TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Cris Collinsworth

Running back Bam Morris scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Steelers stopped the Bills from coming back. 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, 26–21. But Pittsburgh then marched 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. 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.

Awards and honors

• Bryce Paup, NFL Defensive Player of the Year
• Bryce Paup, AFC Pro Bowl selection

References

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