1995 Buffalo Bills season

36th season in franchise history

1995 Buffalo Bills season

Owner| Ralph Wilson
General manager| John Butler
Head coach| Marv Levy
Elijah Pitts (interim)
Home field| Rich Stadium
Results
Record| 10–6
Division place| 1st AFC East
Playoff finish| 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

* <- 1994
* Bills seasons
* 1996 ->

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 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.

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]

## Off-season[edit]

### 1995 Expansion Draft[edit]

Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft

Buffalo Bills selected during the Expansion Draft  Round  | Overall  | Name  | Position  | Expansion Team

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5 | 9 | Keith Goganious | Linebacker | Jacksonville Jaguars
23 | 46 | Vince Marrow | Tight End | Carolina Panthers

### NFL Draft[edit]

Main article: 1995 NFL Draft

| = Pro Bowler[3]

|

1995 Buffalo Bills Draft  Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes

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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 |

## Personnel[edit]

### Staff[edit]

1995 Buffalo Bills staff |

Front office

* President – Ralph Wilson
* Executive Vice President and 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

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[5]

### Roster[edit]

1995 Buffalo Bills roster

| Quarterbacks

* 15 Todd Collins
* 12 Jim Kelly
* 10 Alex Van Pelt

Running backs

* 35 Carwell Gardner FB
* 44 Darick Holmes RB/KR
* 30 Yonel Jourdain KR
* 34 Thurman Thomas
* 33 Tim Tindale FB

Wide receivers

* 81 Justin Armour
* 80 Bill Brooks
* 85 Russell Copeland
* 83 Andre Reed
* 89 Steve Tasker PR
* 82 Damon Thomas

Tight ends

* 88 Tony Cline
* 87 Rob Coons
* 84 Lonnie Johnson

|  | Offensive linemen

* 79 Ruben Brown G
* 62 Mike Devlin C
* 70 John Fina T
* 67 Kent Hull C
* 68 Corbin Lacina G
* 72 Corey Louchiey T
* 64 Tom Nutten G
* 60 Jerry Ostroski G
* 74 Glenn Parker T

Defensive linemen

* 90 Phil Hansen DE
* 77 Jim Jeffcoat DE/NT
* 75 Ed Philion NT
* 94 Mark Pike DE
* 78 Bruce Smith DE
* 92 Ted Washington NT
* 73 Karl Wilson DE

|  | Linebackers

* 97 Cornelius Bennett ILB
* 96 Monty Brown ILB
* 57 Damien Covington ILB
* 52 John Holecek ILB
* 95 Bryce Paup OLB
* 58 Marlo Perry ILB
* 59 Sam Rogers OLB
* 50 David White OLB

Defensive backs

* 43 Matt Darby FS
* 41 Greg Evans SS
* 42 Chris Green CB/S
* 27 Ken Irvin CB
* 39 Filmel Johnson CB
* 20 Henry Jones SS
* 46 Marlon Kerner CB
* 24 Kurt Schulz FS
* 28 Thomas Smith CB

Special teams

* 2 Steve Christie K
* 63 Adam Lingner LS
* 9 Chris Mohr P

|  | Reserve lists

* 22 Jeff Burris CB/PR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 54 Herve Damas LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 53 Steve Harvey LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 55 Mark Maddox ILB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad

* 45 Carey Bender RB
* 71 Mike Sheldon G

53 active, 4 inactive, 2 practice squad

Rookies in italics

## Regular season[edit]

### Schedule[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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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

### Season summary[edit]

#### Week 1 at Broncos[edit]

Week One: Buffalo Bills (0–0) at Denver Broncos (0–0)

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 7 | 0 | 0| 0| 7
Broncos | 3 | 9 | 0| 10| 22

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

* Date: September 3, 1995
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 76 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 75,157
* TV announcers (TNT): Verne Lundquist, Pat Haden, and Craig Sager
* Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter

* DEN – Jason Elam 22-yard field goal, 12:32. Broncos 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards.
* BUF – Andre Reed 34-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick), 8:43. Bills 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards.

Second quarter

* DEN – Jason Elam 52-yard field goal, 14:55. Bills 7–6. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards.
* DEN – Jason Elam 20-yard field goal, 8:25. Broncos 9–7. Drive: 10 plays, 42 yards.
* DEN – Jason Elam 38-yard field goal, 0:02. Broncos 12–7. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards.

Third quarter

* No scoring

Fourth quarter

* DEN – Jason Elam 37-yard field goal, 10:23. Broncos 15–7. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards.
* DEN – Terrell Davis 3-yard run (Jason Elam kick), 3:22. Broncos 22–7. Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards.

Top passers

* BUF – Jim Kelly – 12/28, 154 yards, TD
* DEN – John Elway – 22/41, 317 yards, INT

Top rushers

* BUF – Thurman Thomas – 17 rushes, 46 yards
* DEN – Terrell Davis – 20 rushes, 70 yards, TD

Top receivers

* BUF – Russell Copeland – 6 receptions, 75 yards
* DEN – Shannon Sharpe – 10 receptions, 180 yards

|

The Bills first game in Denver since 1977

#### Week 5[edit]

Buffalo Bills (2–1) at Cleveland Browns (3–1)

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 10 | 0 | 3| 9| 22
Browns | 7 | 3 | 6| 3| 19

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio

* Date: October 2
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 67 °F (19.4 °C); wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
* Game attendance: 76,211
* Referee: Gary Lane
* TV announcers (ABC Monday Night Football): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf
* Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

Bills

* Jim Kelly
27/34, 256 Yds, 2 TD, INT
* Thurman Thomas
23 Rush, 86 Yds
* Andre Reed
9 Rec, 97 Yds, TD

Browns

* Vinny Testaverde
18/34, 224 Yds
* Derrick Alexander
1 Rush, 29 Yds
* Andre Rison
6 Rec, 126 Yds

|

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

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Plays | Yards  | TOP | BUF  | CLE
1  | 9:56  |  |  |  | Bills  | Armour 14-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick good  | 7  | 0
1  | 6:49  |  |  |  | Browns  | Punt returned 69 yards for touchdown by Alexander, Stover kick good  | 7  | 7
1  | 0:50  |  |  |  | Bills  | 38-yard field goal by Christie  | 10  | 7
2  | 0:18  |  |  |  | Browns  | 32-yard field goal by Stover  | 10  | 10
3  | 11:10  |  |  |  | Bills  | 31-yard field goal by Christie  | 13  | 10
3  | 6:59  |  |  |  | Browns  | 47-yard field goal by Stover  | 13  | 13
3  | 3:56  |  |  |  | Browns  | 23-yard field goal by Stover  | 13  | 16
4  | 6:30  |  |  |  | Bills  | Reed 41-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick no good  | 19  | 16
4  | 3:49  |  |  |  | Browns  | 38-yard field goal by Stover  | 19  | 19
4  | 0:05  |  |  |  | Bills  | 33-yard field goal by Christie  | 22  | 19
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 22  | 19

#### Week 6[edit]

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.

New York Jets (1-4) at Buffalo Bills (3-1)  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Jets | 0 | 3| 7| 0 | 10
• Bills | 3 | 13| 3| 10 | 29

* Date: Oct 8, 1995
* Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 79,485
* Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C) • 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
* Referee: Bob McElwee
* TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert and Cris Collinsworth

[6]

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

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Plays | Yards  | TOP | NYJ  | BUF
1  | 5:46  | 8  | 60  | 2:53  | Bills  | 38-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 0  | 3
2  | 7:57  | 4  | 4  | 2:09  | Jets  | 26-yard field goal by Nick Lowery | 3  | 3
2  | 3:58  | 11  | 68  | 3:59  | Bills  | 24-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 3  | 6
2  | 0:26  | 7  | 39  | 1:44  | Bills  | 32-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 3  | 9
2  | 0:16  | 1  | 15  | 0:05  | Bills  | Bill Brooks 15-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good  | 3  | 16
3  | 9:03  | 11  | 57  | 5:57  | Jets  | Wayne Chrebet 16-yard touchdown reception from Bubby Brister, Nick Lowery kick good  | 10  | 16
3  | 7:16  | 5  | 23  | 1:47  | Bills  | 51-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 10  | 19
4  | 9:51  | 12  | 77  | 5:30  | Bills  | Thurman Thomas 1-yard touchdown run, Steve Christie kick good  | 10  | 26
4  | 5:56  | 6  | 20  | 2:12  | Bills  | 27-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 10  | 29
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10  | 29

[7]

Team | Category | Player | Statistics

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Jets  | Passing | Bubby Brister | 13/23, 112 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Adrian Murrell | 14 carries, 33 yards
Receiving | Wayne Chrebet | 7 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
Bills  | Passing | Jim Kelly | 9/22, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing | Thurman Thomas | 27 carries, 133 yards, 1 TD
Receiving | Russell Copeland | 5 receptions, 67 yards

[8]

Statistics  | Jets  | Bills

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First downs | 14 | 22
Plays–yards | 53–173 | 67–318
Rushes–yards | 21–51 | 45–220
Passing yards | 122 | 98
Passing: comp–att–int | 17–32–2 | 9–22–1
Time of possession | 31:49 | 28:11

[9]

#### Week 10[edit]

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 -4.0

Buffalo Bills (5-3) at Indianapolis Colts (5-3)  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Bills | 10 | 6| 0| 0 | 16
Colts | 7 | 0| 3| 0 | 10

* Date: November 5
* Location: RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana
* Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 59,612
* Game weather: DOME
* Referee: Larry Nemmers
* TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth

[10]

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

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Plays | Yards  | TOP | BUF  | IND
1  | 11:24  | 2  | 51  | 0:49  | Bills  | Bill Brooks 51-yard touchdown reception from Kelly, Christie kick good  | 7  | 0
1  | 7:50  | 8  | 76  | 3:30  | Colts  | Marshall Faulk 4-yard touchdown run, Cary Blanchard kick good  | 7  | 7
1  | 1:56  | 4  | 2  | 1:13  | Bills  | 39-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 10  | 7
2  | 9:04  | 5  | 74  | 2:29  | Bills  | 23-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 13  | 7
2  | 3:52  | 9  | 43  | 3:45  | Bills  | 33-yard field goal by Steve Christie | 16  | 7
3  | 10:24  | 5  | 40  | 1:42  | Colts  | 37-yard field goal by Cary Blanchard | 16  | 10
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 16  | 10

#### Week 11[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Falcons | 7 | 3| 7| 0 | 17
• Bills | 7 | 7| 6| 3 | 23

* Date: November 12
* Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 62,690
* Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C) • 26 miles per hour (42 km/h; 23 kn)
* Referee: Johnny Grier
* TV announcers (Fox NFL): Thom Brennaman , Ron Pitts, and Eric Clemons (Sideline Reporter)

[11]

#### Week 12[edit]

Starting 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.

Buffalo Bills (7-3) at New York Jets(2-8)  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Bills | 7 | 14| 7| 0 | 28
Jets | 3 | 0| 10| 13 | 26

* Date: Nov 19, 1995
* Location: Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Game start: 4:00pm EST
* Game attendance: 54,436
* Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) • 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert and Cris Collinsworth

[12]

Scoring summary

| Quarter  | Time  | Drive | Team  | Scoring information  | Score

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Plays | Yards  | TOP | BUF  | NYJ
1  | 8:46  | 10  | 58  |  | Jets  | 30-yard field goal by Nick Lowery | 0  | 3
1  | 1:35  | 5  | 59  | 1:36  | Bills  | Bill Brooks 45-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good  | 7  | 3
2  | 6:37  | 17  | 90  | 6:33  | Bills  | Thurman Thomas 12-yard touchdown run, Steve Christie kick good  | 14  | 3
2  | 2:26  | 8  | 52  | 1:47  | Bills  | Bill Brooks 18-yard touchdown reception from Jim Kelly, Steve Christie kick good  | 21  | 3
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 28  | 26

[13]

Team | Category | Player | Statistics

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Bills  | Passing | Jim Kelly | 22/37, 316 yards, 2 TD
Rushing | Thurman Thomas | 18 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD
Receiving | Bill Brooks | 7 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TD
Jets  | Passing | Boomer Esiason | 24/43, 312 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Adrian Murrell | 9 carries, 36 yards
Receiving | Johnny Mitchell | 5 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD

[14]

Statistics  | Bills  | Jets

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First downs | 20 | 17
Plays–yards | 73-373 | 65-351
Rushes–yards | 36-88 | 22-74
Passing yards | 285 | 277
Passing: comp–att–int | 22-37-0 | 24-43-2
Time of possession | 31:12 | 28:48

[15]

#### Week 15[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Bills | 7 | 14| 14| 10 | 45
Rams | 10 | 3| 3| 11 | 27

* Date: December 10
* Location: TWA Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 64,623
* Game weather: DOME
* Referee: Gordon McCarter
* TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Marv Albert , Cris Collinsworth

| Scoring summary

Q1| 8:59| BUF| Bill Brooks 23 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick)| BUF 7–0
Q1| 5:29| STL| Todd Kinchen 6 yard pass from Mark Rypien (Dean Biasucci kick)| Tie 7–7
Q1| 3:15| STL| (Dean Biasucci 28 yard field goal)| STL 10–7
Q2| 7:52| BUF| Thurman Thomas 1 yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick)| BUF 14–10
Q2| 5:29| BUF| Darick Holmes 1 yard run (Steve Christie kick)| BUF 21–10
Q2| 0:00| STL| (Dean Biasucci 37 yard field goal)| BUF 21–13
Q3| 6:29| BUF| Steve Tasker 6 yard pass from Jim Kelly(Steve Christie kick)| BUF 28-13
Q3| 4:34| STL| (Dean Biasucci 51 yard field goal)| BUF 28–16
Q3| 1:08| BUF| Steve Tasker 28 yard pass from Jim Kelly(Steve Christie kick)| BUF 35–16
Q4| 6:52| STL| (Dean Biasucci 25 yard field goal)| BUF 35–19
Q4| 6:40| BUF| Darick Holmes 38 yard run (Steve Christie kick)| BUF 42–19
Q4| 3:54| STL| Jessie Hester 5 yard pass from Mark Rypien, Johnny Bailey pass from Mark Rypien| BUF 42–27
Q4| 1:10| BUF| (Steve Christie 28 yard field goal| BUF 45–27

[16]

### Standings[edit]

AFC East

* view
* talk
* edit

| 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

[17]

## Playoffs[edit]

### AFC Wild Card Game[edit]

Buffalo Bills 37, Miami Dolphins 22

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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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 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.

### AFC Divisional Playoff[edit]

Pittsburgh Steelers 40, Buffalo Bills 21

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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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 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".[citation needed]

## Awards and honors[edit]

* Bryce Paup, NFL Defensive Player of the Year[20]
* Bryce Paup, AFC Pro Bowl selection[21]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Player Season Finder Query Results - Pro-Football-Reference.com". PFRef.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
2. ^ "Levy Tells Bills He Faces Cancer Surgery : Pro football: Coach will miss three games after prostate operation today in Buffalo". Associated Press. October 17, 1995. Retrieved February 11, 2017 - via LA Times.
3. ^ Players are identified as Pro Bowlers if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
4. ^ 9x pro bowler, 1996–2003
5. ^ "Administration, coaches and staff". 1995 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 5–26.
6. ^ [1]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-05.
7. ^ [2]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-05.
8. ^ [3]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-05.
9. ^ [4]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-05.
10. ^ [5]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-05.
11. ^ [6]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-04.
12. ^ [7]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
13. ^ [8]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
14. ^ [9]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
15. ^ [10]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-06.
16. ^ [11]. Retrieved 2020-Jul-03.
17. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 291
18. ^ "Wild Card - Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills - December 30th, 1995". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
19. ^ "Divisional Round - Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers - January 6th, 1996". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
20. ^ "AP Defensive Player of the Year Winners". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
21. ^ "1995 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.

## External links[edit]

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

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* e

Buffalo Bills

* Founded in 1960
* Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
* Players
* Seasons
* Pro Bowl selections
* First-round draft picks
* Starting quarterbacks
* Coaches
* NFL in Toronto

Stadiums|

* War Memorial Stadium
* Highmark Stadium
* Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series)
* New Highmark Stadium (set to open in 2026)

Culture|

* Ralph Wilson
* Billy Buffalo
* Buffalo Jills
* Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson
* Tim Russert
* Buffalo '66
* Second String
* Flutie Flakes
* "Shout" song
* "3 Acts of God"
* Elway to Marino
* Four Falls of Buffalo
* Zubaz
* "No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"

Lore|

* Electric Company
* Wide Right
* No Punt Game
* The Comeback
* Music City Miracle
* Snowvertime
* Hail Murray
* 13 Seconds

Rivalries|

* Kansas City Chiefs
* Miami Dolphins
* New England Patriots
* New York Jets
* Tennessee Titans

Division championships (14)|

* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1980
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1993
* 1995
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Conference championships (4)|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

League championships (2)|

* 1964
* 1965

Wall of Fame|

* Simpson
* Kemp
* McGroder
* Sestak
* Shaw
* Wilson
* 12th Man
* Dubenion
* Stratton
* Ferguson
* Levy
* DeLamielleure
* James
* Abramoski
* Kalsu
* Saimes
* Kelly
* Smerlas
* Hull
* Talley
* Ritcher
* Thomas
* Reed
* Tasker
* Smith
* Edgerson
* Hansen
* Polian
* Miller
* Saban
* Gilchrist

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Radio
* Radio Network
* WGR 550
* Television
* MSG Western New York
* Personalities:
* John Murphy
* Chris Brown
* Van Miller
* Eric Wood
* Steve Tasker

Owners|

* Ralph Wilson
* Pegula family
* Terry
* Kim

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: East Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Buffalo Bills seasons

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

* v
* t
* e

1995 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Buffalo | Cincinnati| Denver| Arizona| Chicago| Atlanta
Indianapolis | Cleveland| Kansas City| Dallas| Detroit| Carolina
Miami | Houston| Oakland| NY Giants| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Jacksonville| San Diego| Philadelphia| Minnesota| St. Louis
NY Jets | Pittsburgh| Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay| San Francisco

* 1995 NFL Draft
* Expansion Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XXX

*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template