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'{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}} {{Infobox NFL season | team = Buffalo Bills | year = 1995 | record = 10–6 | division_place = 1st [[AFC East]] | coach = [[Marv Levy]]; [[Elijah Pitts]] (interim until Levy recovered from [[prostate cancer]] surgery) | general manager = [[John Butler (American football general manager)|John Butler]] | owner = [[Ralph Wilson]] | stadium = [[Rich Stadium]] | playoffs = '''Won''' [[1995–96 NFL playoffs|Wild Card Playoffs]] ([[1995 Miami Dolphins season|Dolphins]]) 37–22<br>Lost [[1995–96 NFL playoffs|Divisional Playoffs]] (at [[1995 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Steelers]]) 21–40 | shortnavlink = Bills seasons }} The '''[[1995 NFL season|1995]] [[Buffalo Bills]] [[List of Buffalo Bills seasons|season]]''' was the 36th season for the club and its 26th in the [[National Football League]]. After suffering a losing season [[1994 Buffalo Bills 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. The playoff win over Miami 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 [[Quarterback sacks|sacks]], the fourth-highest single-season total of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pfref.com/tiny/yyJRo|title=Player Season Finder Query Results - Pro-Football-Reference.com|author=|date=|work=PFRef.com|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10-17/sports/sp-57829_1_marv-levy|title=Levy Tells Bills He Faces Cancer Surgery : Pro football: Coach will miss three games after prostate operation today in Buffalo.|first=From Associated|last=Press|date=October 17, 1995|publisher=|access-date=February 11, 2017|via=LA Times}}</ref> ==Off-season== ===NFL Draft=== {{Main article|1995 NFL Draft}} {| |- |style="background-color:#FFCC00; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"| |= [[Pro Bowl]]er <ref name="Pro Bowler note">Players are identified as Pro Bowlers if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.</ref> |} {| class="wikitable sortable sortable" ! style="background:#C41E3A;color:#14345B;" width="7%"| Round ! style="background:#C41E3A;color:#14345B;" width="7%"| Pick ! style="background:#C41E3A;color:#14345B;" width="20%"| Player ! style="background:#C41E3A;color:#14345B;" width="15%"| Position ! style="background:#C41E3A;color:#14345B;" width="20%"| School/Club team |- |align=center|1||14||bgcolor="#FFCC00"|[[Ruben Brown]]<ref>9x pro bowler, 1996–2003</ref>||[[Guard (American football)|Guard]]||[[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]] |- |align=center|2||45||[[Todd Collins (quarterback)|Todd Collins]]||[[Quarterback]]||[[Michigan Wolverines football|Michigan]] |- |align=center|3||76 ||[[Marlon Kerner]]||[[Cornerback]]||[[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State]] |- |align=center|3||96||[[Damien Covington]]||[[Linebacker]]||[[North Carolina State Wolfpack football|North Carolina State]] |- |align=center|4||109||[[Ken Irvin]]||Cornerback||[[Memphis Tigers football|Memphis]] |- |align=center|4||113||[[Justin Armour]]||[[Wide receiver]]||[[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]] |- |align=center|4||131||[[Tony Cline]]||[[Tight end]]||Stanford |- |align=center|5||144||[[John Holecek]]||Linebacker||[[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]] |- |align=center|6||185||[[Shannon Clavelle]]||[[Defensive tackle]]||[[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado]] |- |align=center|7||221||[[Tom Nütten]]||[[Center (American football)|Center]]||[[Western Michigan Broncos football|Western Michigan]] |- |align=center|7||244||[[Darick Holmes]]||[[Running back]]||[[Portland State Vikings football|Portland State]] |} ==Personnel== ===Staff=== {{NFL final staff | year = 1995 | team = Buffalo Bills | front_office = * President – [[Ralph Wilson]] * Executive Vice President and General Manager – [[John Butler (American football 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_coach = * Head Coach – Marv Levy * Assistant Head Coach – [[Elijah Pitts]] * Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester | offensive = * Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – [[Tom Bresnahan]] * Quarterbacks – [[Jim Shofner]] * Running Backs – Elijah Pitts * Receivers – [[Charlie Joiner]] * Offensive Quality Control/Tight Ends – [[Don Lawrence (American football)|Don Lawrence]] | defensive = * Defensive Coordinator – [[Wade Phillips]] * Defensive Line – Dan Sekanovich * Linebackers – [[Ted Cottrell]] * Assistant Linebackers – Chuck Lester * Defensive Backs – Dick Roach | special_teams = * Special Teams – [[Bruce DeHaven]] | strength = * Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – [[Rusty Jones (American football coach)|Rusty Jones]] }} <ref>{{cite book |title=1995 Buffalo Bills Media Guide |pages=5–26 |chapter=Administration, coaches and staff }}</ref> ===Roster=== {{NFL season roster | year = 1995 | team = Buffalo Bills | quarterbacks = {{NFLplayer|15|Todd Collins|d=quarterback|rookie=y}} {{NFLplayer|12|Jim Kelly}} | running_backs = {{NFLplayer|35|Carwell Gardner|FB}} {{NFLplayer|44|Darick Holmes|rookie=y}} {{NFLplayer|34|Thurman Thomas}} | wide_receivers = {{NFLplayer|81|Justin Armour|rookie=y}} {{NFLplayer|80|Bill Brooks|d=American football}}{{NFLplayer|85|Russell Copeland}} {{NFLplayer|83|Andre Reed}} {{NFLplayer|89|Steve Tasker}} | tight_ends = {{NFLplayer|88|Tony Cline|rookie=y}} {{NFLplayer|84|Lonnie Johnson|d=American football}} | offensive_linemen = {{NFLplayer|79|Ruben Brown|rookie=y|G}} {{NFLplayer|70|John Fina|G/T}} {{NFLplayer|67|Kent Hull|C}} {{NFLplayer|68|Corbin Lacina|G}} {{NFLplayer|63|Adam Lingner|C}} {{NFLplayer|60|Jerry Ostroski|G}} {{NFLplayer|74|Glenn Parker|T}} | defensive_linemen = {{NFLplayer|90|Phil Hansen|d=American football|DE}} {{NFLplayer|94|Mark Pike|DE}} {{NFLplayer|78|Bruce Smith|d=defensive end|DE}} {{NFLplayer|92|Ted Washington|DT}} {{NFLplayer|73|Karl Wilson|DE}} | linebackers = {{NFLplayer|97|Cornelius Bennett}} {{NFLplayer|55|Mark Maddox}} {{NFLplayer|95|Bryce Paup}} {{NFLplayer|58|Marlo Perry}} {{NFLplayer|59|Sam Rogers}} | defensive_backs = {{NFLplayer|22|Jeff Burris|CB}} {{NFLplayer|43|Matt Darby|d=American football}} {{NFLplayer|27|Ken Irvin|CB}} {{NFLplayer|46|Marlon Kerner|rookie=y|CB}} {{NFLplayer|20|Henry Jones|d=American football|SS}} {{NFLplayer|24|Kurt Schulz}} {{NFLplayer|28|Thomas Smith|d=cornerback|CB}} | special_teams = {{NFLplayer|&nbsp;2|Steve Christie|K}} {{NFLplayer|&nbsp;9|Chris Mohr|P}} }} ==Regular season== ===Schedule=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Week ! Date ! Opponent ! Result ! Record ! Game site ! Attendance ! TV time |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 1 | September 3, 1995 | at [[1995 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]] | '''L''' 7–22 | 0–1 | [[Mile High Stadium]] | <center>75,157</center> | TNT 8:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 2 | September 10, 1995 | [[1995 Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers]] | '''W''' 31–9 | 1–1 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>79,190</center> | FOX 1:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 3 | September 17, 1995 | [[1995 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts]] | '''W''' 20–14 | 2–1 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>62,499</center> | NBC 1:00ET |- | 4 | colspan="7" align="center"| ''Bye'' |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 5 | October 2, 1995 | at [[1995 Cleveland Browns season|Cleveland Browns]] | '''W''' 22–19 | 3–1 | [[Cleveland Municipal Stadium]] | <center>76,211</center> | ABC 9:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 6 | October 8, 1995 | [[1995 New York Jets season|New York Jets]] | '''W''' 29–10 | 4–1 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>79,485</center> | NBC 1:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 7 | October 15, 1995 | [[1995 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]] | '''W''' 27–21 | 5–1 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>74,362</center> | NBC 1:00ET |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 8 | October 23, 1995 | at [[1995 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] | '''L''' 14–27 | 5–2 | [[Foxboro Stadium]] | <center>60,203</center> | ABC 9:00ET |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 9 | October 29, 1995 | at [[1995 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] | '''L''' 6–23 | 5–3 | [[Joe Robbie Stadium]] | <center>71,060</center> | NBC 4:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 10 | November 5, 1995 | at Indianapolis Colts | '''W''' 16–10 | 6–3 | [[RCA Dome]] | <center>59,612</center> | NBC 1:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 11 | November 12, 1995 | [[1995 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons]] | '''W''' 23–17 | 7–3 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>62,690</center> | FOX 1:00ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 12 | November 19, 1995 | at New York Jets | '''W''' 28–26 | 8–3 | [[Giants Stadium|The Meadowlands]] | <center>54,436</center> | NBC 4:00ET |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 13 | November 26, 1995 | New England Patriots | '''L''' 25–35 | 8–4 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>69,384</center> | NBC 1:00 ET |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 14 | December 3, 1995 | at [[1995 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] | '''L''' 17–27 | 8–5 | [[Candlestick Park]] | <center>65,568</center> | ESPN 8:00 ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 15 | December 10, 1995 | at [[1995 St. Louis Rams season|St. Louis Rams]] | '''W''' 45–27 | 9–5 | [[Trans World Dome]] | <center>64,623</center> | NBC 1:00 ET |-bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 16 | December 17, 1995 | Miami Dolphins | '''W''' 23–20 | 10–5 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>79,531</center> | NBC 1:00 ET |-bgcolor="#ffdddd" | 17 | December 24, 1995 | [[1995 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers]] | '''L''' 28–17 | 10–6 | [[Rich Stadium]] | <center>45,253</center> | NBC 1:00 ET |} ===Standings=== {{1995 AFC East standings}} <ref>''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, {{ISBN|0-7611-2480-2}}, p. 291</ref> ===Roster=== Thurman Thomas, RB Jim Kelly, QB Andre Reed, WR Don Beebe, WR Bruce Smith, DE Bryce Paup, LB ==Playoffs== ===AFC Wild Card Game=== {{Americanfootballbox | title=Buffalo Bills 37, [[1995 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] 22 |Road=Dolphins |R1=0 |R2=0 |R3=0 |R4=22 |RT=22 |Home='''Bills''' |H1=10 |H2=14 |H3=3 |H4=10 |HT=37 |stadium= [[Rich Stadium]], [[Orchard Park (town), New York|Orchard Park, New York]] |date= December 30, 1995 |time= 12:30 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] |weather= {{convert|30|°F|°C}}, cloudy |TV=[[Monday Night Football|ABC]] |TVAnnouncers= [[Brent Musburger]] and [[Dick Vermeil]] |referee= [[Red Cashion]] |attendance= 73,103 }} In Buffalo's first playoff game since losing the [[Super Bowl XXVIII|Super Bowl]] two seasons earlier, 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 was the final game of Don Shula's coaching career with the Dolphins. As of 2016, this was the last time that the Bills won a playoff game. ===AFC Divisional Playoff=== {{Americanfootballbox | title=[[1995 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] 40, Buffalo Bills 21 |Road=Bills |R1=0 |R2=7 |R3=7 |R4=7 |RT=21 |Home='''Steelers''' |H1=7 |H2=16 |H3=3 |H4=14 |HT=40 |stadium= [[Three Rivers Stadium]], [[Pittsburgh]] |date= January 6, 1996 |time= 12:30 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]] |weather= {{convert|21|°F|°C}}, clear |TV=[[NFL on NBC|NBC]] |TVAnnouncers= [[Marv Albert]] and [[Cris Collinsworth]] |referee= [[Larry Nemmers]] |attendance= 59,072 }} 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 to 26–21. 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".{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}} ==Awards and honors== * [[Bryce Paup]], NFL Defensive Player of the Year * Bryce Paup, AFC Pro Bowl selection ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1995.htm?redir Bills on Pro Football Reference] * [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1995-buf Bills on jt-sw.com] * [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/1995-buf Bills Stats on jt-sw.com] {{Buffalo Bills}} {{Buffalo Bills seasons}} {{1995 NFL season by team}} {{DEFAULTSORT:1995 Buffalo Bills Season}} [[Category:Buffalo Bills seasons]] [[Category:1995 National Football League season by team|Buffalo Bills]] [[Category:AFC East championship seasons]] [[Category:1995 in sports in New York (state)|Buff]]'