1995 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season
of the National Football League
. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers
and the Jacksonville Jaguars
. The two expansion teams were slotted into the two remaining divisions that had only four teams (while the other four had five teams): the AFC Central (Jaguars) and the NFC West
(Panthers).
Meanwhile, the two teams in Los Angeles
relocated to other cities: the Rams
transferred to St. Louis and the Raiders
moved back to Oakland
. During the course of the season it emerged that the Cleveland Browns
would relocate
to Baltimore
for the 1996 season
. The Raiders move was not announced until after the schedule had been announced, which resulted in a problem in the third week of the season when both the Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers
had games scheduled to air on NBC
which ended up overlapping each other (the Raiders game was scheduled for 1 PM in case they were to move and NBC was given the doubleheader so that both Bay Area teams had their games televised locally).
The season ended with Super Bowl XXX
when the Dallas Cowboys
defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers
to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years.
Clinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green
The 1995 season produced four of the top eleven highest single-season totals for receiving yards. The top two receiving yard totals of all time -- Jerry Rice's 1,848 & Isaac Bruce
's 1,781 -- were recorded in 1995. Detroit Lions
receiver Herman Moore
gained 1,686 yards (6th highest all time) and Dallas Cowboys
receiver Michael Irvin
gained 1,603 yards (11th most in NFL history).
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
and the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The two expansion teams were slotted into the two remaining divisions that had only four teams (while the other four had five teams): the AFC Central (Jaguars) and the NFC West
NFC West
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St...
(Panthers).
Meanwhile, the two teams in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
relocated to other cities: the Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
transferred to St. Louis and the Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved back to Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. During the course of the season it emerged that the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
would relocate
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
for the 1996 season
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
. The Raiders move was not announced until after the schedule had been announced, which resulted in a problem in the third week of the season when both the Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
had games scheduled to air on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
which ended up overlapping each other (the Raiders game was scheduled for 1 PM in case they were to move and NBC was given the doubleheader so that both Bay Area teams had their games televised locally).
The season ended with Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
when the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years.
Major rule changes
- An eligible receiver forced out of bounds by a defensive player may return to the field and automatically become eligible to legally be the first player to touch a forward pass.
- Quarterbacks may now receive communications from the bench from a small radio receiver in their helmets, partly repealing a rule that had been in force since 19561956 NFL seasonThe 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
Final regular season standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points AgainstClinched playoff seeds are marked in parentheses and shaded in green
Tiebreakers
- Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
- San Diego was the first AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Indianapolis (1–0).
- Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (4–4 to Oilers' 3–5).
- Seattle finished ahead of Denver and Oakland in the AFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Broncos' 2–2 and Raiders' 1–3).
- Denver finished ahead of Oakland in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
- Philadelphia was the first NFC Wild Card ahead of Detroit based on better conference record (9–3 to Lions' 7–5).
- San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed ahead of Green Bay based on better conference record (8–4 to Packers' 7–5).
- Atlanta was the third NFC Wild Card ahead of Chicago based on better record against common opponents (4–2 to Bears' 3–3).
- St. Louis finished ahead of Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Panthers' 1–3 and Saints' 2–2).
- Carolina finished ahead of New Orleans in the NFC West based on better conference record (4-8 to 3–9).
AFC
- Wild-Card playoffs: BUFFALO 37, Miami 22; Indianapolis 35, SAN DIEGO 20
- Divisional playoffs: PITTSBURGH 40, Buffalo 21; Indianapolis 10, KANSAS CITY 7
- AFC Championship: PITTSBURGH 20, Indianapolis 16 at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
January 14, 1996
NFC
- Wild-Card playoffs: PHILADELPHIA 58, Detroit 37; GREEN BAY 37, Atlanta 20
- Divisional playoffs: Green Bay 27, SAN FRANCISCO 17; DALLAS 30, Philadelphia 11
- NFC Championship: DALLAS 38, Green Bay 27 at Texas StadiumTexas StadiumTexas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...
, IrvingIrving, TexasIrving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, January 14, 1996
Super Bowl
- Super Bowl XXX: DALLAS (NFC) 27, Pittsburgh (AFC) 17, at Sun Devil StadiumSun Devil StadiumSun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
, Tempe, ArizonaTempe, ArizonaTempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, January 28, 1996
Team
| Points scored | San Francisco 49ers (457) |
| Total yards gained | Detroit Lions (6,113) |
| Yards rushing | Kansas City Chiefs (2,222) |
| Yards passing | San Francisco 49ers (4,608) |
| Fewest points allowed | Kansas City Chiefs (241) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | San Francisco 49ers (4,398) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | San Francisco 49ers (1,061) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | New York Jets (2,740) |
Individual
| Scoring | Emmitt Smith Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for... , Dallas (150 points) |
| Touchdowns | Emmitt Smith, Dallas (25 TDs) |
| Most field goals made | Norm Johnson Norm Johnson Norman Douglas "Norm" Johnson is a former professional American football placekicker who played for 18 seasons in the National Football League. During that time, he played for the Seattle Seahawks , Atlanta Falcons , Pittsburgh Steelers , and the Philadelphia Eagles... , Pittsburgh (34 FGs) |
| Rushing | Emmitt Smith, Dallas (1,773 yards) |
| Passing | Jim Harbaugh Jim Harbaugh James Joseph "Jim" Harbaugh is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Harbaugh agreed to a five-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011. Previously, he was the head coach at... , Indianapolis (100.7 rating) |
| Passing touchdowns | Brett Favre Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota... , Green Bay (38 TDs) |
| Pass receiving | Herman Moore Herman Moore Herman Joseph Moore is a former American National Football League wide receiver. At George Washington High School in Danville he played mostly as a kicker and also as a tight end. He went to the University of Virginia, where he was a 2-sport athlete... , Detroit (123 catches) |
| Pass receiving yards | Jerry Rice Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history... , San Francisco (1,848) |
| Punt returns | David Palmer, Minnesota (13.2 average yards) |
| Kickoff returns | Ron Carpenter, New York Jets (27.7 average yards) |
| Interceptions | Orlando Thomas, Minnesota (9) |
| Punting | Rick Tuten, Seattle (45.0 average yards) |
| Sacks | Bryce Paup, Buffalo (17.5) |
The 1995 season produced four of the top eleven highest single-season totals for receiving yards. The top two receiving yard totals of all time -- Jerry Rice's 1,848 & Isaac Bruce
Isaac Bruce
Isaac Isidore Bruce is a retired American football wide receiver. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Memphis....
's 1,781 -- were recorded in 1995. Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
receiver Herman Moore
Herman Moore
Herman Joseph Moore is a former American National Football League wide receiver. At George Washington High School in Danville he played mostly as a kicker and also as a tight end. He went to the University of Virginia, where he was a 2-sport athlete...
gained 1,686 yards (6th highest all time) and Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
receiver Michael Irvin
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN's NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. Irvin was self-nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his...
gained 1,603 yards (11th most in NFL history).
Milestones
The following players set all-time records during the season:| Most Touchdowns, season | Emmitt Smith, Dallas (25) |
| Most Passing Attempts, career | Dan Marino Dan Marino Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League... , Miami (6,531 at the end of the season) |
| Most Passes Completed, career | Dan Marino, Miami (3,913 at the end of the season) |
| Most Passing Yards, career | Dan Marino, Miami (48,841 at the end of the season) |
| Most Touchdown Passes, career | Dan Marino, Miami (352 at the end of the season) |
| Most Pass Receptions, career | Jerry Rice, San Francisco (942 at the end of the season) |
| Most Pass Receiving Yards Gained, career | Jerry Rice, San Francisco (15,123 at the end of the season) |
Awards
| Most Valuable Player NFL Most Valuable Player Award The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP... |
Brett Favre, Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... , Green Bay |
| Coach of the Year NFL Coach of the Year Award The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the... |
Ray Rhodes Ray Rhodes Raymond Earl Rhodes is currently a defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns. He is also the former American football head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers. He is the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans... , Philadelphia |
| Offensive Player of the Year NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season... |
Brett Favre, Quarterback, Green Bay |
| Defensive Player of the Year NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor, who won it three times, and Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie... |
Bryce Paup Bryce Paup Bryce Eric Paup is a former American football defensive end and linebacker, who played professionally for the Green Bay Packers , the Buffalo Bills , the Jacksonville Jaguars , and the Minnesota Vikings .-Biography:Paup grew up on a farm in Scranton, Iowa, where he played football at Scranton... , Linebacker Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen... , Buffalo |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Curtis Martin Curtis Martin Curtis James Martin, Jr. is a former American football running back. He is an alumnus of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , New England |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Hugh Douglas, Defensive End Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years... , New York Jets |