1995–96 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 1995 season began on December 30, 1995. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, 27–17, on January 28, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXX.Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, December 30, 1995
AFC: Buffalo Bills 37, Miami Dolphins 22
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, forced four turnovers, and rushed 341 yards, the second highest amount in NFL postseason history and the most since Chicago gained 382 rushing yards in the 1940 NFL championship game.Buffalo started the scoring with a 58-yard drive, 45 yards which came from 3 receptions by Steve Tasker. Thurman Thomas finished off the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Bills a 7–0 early lead. Miami had to punt on their next drive, and John Kidd's kick went just 29 to the Bills 44-yard line. Three carries by Thomas for 26 yards on the following drive set up Steve Christie's 48-yard field goal. At the end of Miami's next possession, Kidd's 48-yard punt pinned Buffalo back at their own 1-yard line. Buffalo then drove 98 yards, with receiver Bill Brooks picking up 21 yards on an end-around run and Kelly completing a 26-yard pass to Tasker. Darick Holmes' 34-yard run then moved the ball to the Dolphins 1, but that was as far as the drive would go, as Gene Atkins intercepted Kelly's pass in the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.
Still, Miami was unable to build any momentum. They managed to drive into Buffalo territory, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Bills 32. Then Thomas went back to work, breaking off a 13-yard run on the next play, and later taking off for a 32-yard gain to the Dolphins 21-yard line. On the next play, Buffalo scored on Holmes' 21-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 17–0. Then on the Dolphins' next drive, Dan Marino threw a pass that was deflected by Phil Hansen and picked off by linebacker Marlo Perry, giving Buffalo the ball on their 38-yard line. Following an 18-yard run and 7-yard reception by Thomas, Kelly capitalized on the turnover with a 37-yard touchdown throw to Tasker, increasing the Bills lead to 24–0. The next three drives would end poorly for both teams. First Miami turned the ball over on downs again when linebacker Cornelius Bennett tackled Terry Kirby one yard short of a first down on 4th and 10 from the Bills 40-yard line. Then Buffalo gave the ball right back when Kelly threw a pass that was intercepted by Troy Vincent. Miami went on to drive 61 yards, including Marino's 31-yard completion to wide receiver Gary Clark, to the Bills 35-yard line, but their drive ended there and Pete Stoyanovich missed a 53-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half.
The situation didn't get better for Miami in the third quarter. On their first drive Marino was intercepted by defensive back Fimel Johnson. Then on their next possession, Marino fumbled a snap out of shotgun formation, and Bills defensive end Bryce Paup recovered it, resulting in Christie's second field goal that gave the Bills a 27–0 lead. The Dolphins responded by driving 67 yards, including Marino's 31-yard completion to O. J. McDuffie, to cut the score to 27–7 with McDuffie's 5-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. But after a Bills punt, the Dolphins turned the ball over on downs at the Bills 39. Following two carries by Thomas for 17 yards, fullback Tim Tindale, a rookie from Canada's Western Ontario University who had never gained more than 6 yards in a single carry before this game, took off for a 44-yard touchdown run, giving the Bills a 34–7 lead.
The game was essentially over by now, but there was plenty more scoring. Miami stormed back, driving 68 yards in 7 plays to score on Marino's 45-yard bomb to Randal Hill. Buffalo responded with 3 carries by Tindale for 23 yards to set up Christie's 42-yard field goal. Miami then moved the ball 73 yards in 9 plays. The key player on the drive was running back Terry Kirby, who caught 3 passes for 46 yards and finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run, making the final score of the game 37–22. The Dolphins managed to recover an onside kick, but lost the ball when Marino was intercepted by rookie Ken Irvin.
Both teams combined for a playoff record 1,038 total yards. Thomas rushed for 158 yards, caught 3 passes for 48 yards, and scored a touchdown. Tasker rushed for 7 yards, while also catching 5 passes for 108 yards and a score, giving him his first career 100-yard receiving game. Holmes rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Tindale compiled 68 yards and a score of his own. McDuffie was the Dolphins top offensive performer with 11 receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. This was the final game in the career of Dolphins head coach Don Shula, who retired as the NFL's all-time leader in coaching wins. It also marked a continuation of dominance against Miami by Bills coach Marv Levy. Since taking over as Buffalo's coach in 1986, Levy recorded a 17–5 record against the Dolphins, including 3–0 in the playoffs. This was the Bills' last playoff victory until 2020.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Dolphins and Bills. Buffalo won both prior meetings.
| Buffalo leads 2–0 in all-time playoff games |
NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 58, Detroit Lions 37
Prior to this game, Detroit tackle Lomas Brown famously guaranteed on television that the Lions would win. The Eagles responded by opening up with a 51–7 lead over the Lions. The Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter, recorded 6 interceptions, and held running back Barry Sanders to 40 rushing yards en route to a 58–37 victory in the second highest scoring game in NFL postseason history. The Eagles' 58 points were the third highest total in NFL postseason history, behind the Lions' 59 points in 1957 and the Bears' 73 points in the 1940 NFL championship game. Their 31-second quarter points was the second highest single quarter total in a postseason game, behind the Redskins' 35 second quarter points in Super Bowl XXII. Two Redskins players from that game, Barry Wilburn and linebacker Kurt Gouveia were playing on Philadelphia's defense in this one, and both would record an interception in this game.Philadelphia scored first after Mark McMillian intercepted a pass from Detroit QB Scott Mitchell and returned it 16 yards to the Lions 15-yard line, setting up Charlie Garner's 15-yard touchdown run. Detroit responded with Mitchell's 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Sloan. Then Philadelphia exploded in the second quarter, starting with a 30-yard Garner run to set up Gary Anderson's 21-yard field goal. After a punt, the Eagles increased their lead to 17–7 with Rodney Peete's 22-yard touchdown to wide receiver Fred Barnett. Wilburn returned an interception 24 yards for a score less than a minute later, and then Gouveia picked off a pass from Mitchell to give his team a first down at the Lions 34. Following two 13-yard catches by Barnett, Ricky Watters' 1-yard touchdown run made the score 31–7. Later on with just five second left in the half, Eagles receiver Rob Carpenter caught a 43-yard touchdown reception on a Hail Mary pass on 3rd and 25, making the score 38–7 going into halftime.
In the second half, a 45-yard touchdown reception by Watters and two more field goals by Anderson increased the Eagles' lead, 51–7, still with slightly more than nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. From there, backup quarterback Don Majkowski replaced Mitchell and threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Herman Moore. Then Lions' linebacker Chris Spielman recovered an Eagles' fumble and Majkowski converted it into another touchdown, a 7-yard toss to receiver Johnnie Morton, cutting the score to 51–21. But Philadelphia linebacker William Thomas quickly put any thoughts of a Lions' comeback to rest by returning an interception 30 yards for a touchdown 23 seconds into the fourth quarter. All that lay ahead for the Lions were a pair of meaningless touchdowns, a 2-yard catch by Sloan and a 1-yard run by Ron Rivers to make the final score 58–37.
Peete completed 17 of 25 passes for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also rushing for 17 yards. Barnett caught 8 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Watters rushed for 49 yards, caught 3 passes for 64 yards, and scored 2 touchdowns. Lions receiver Herman Moore caught 7 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Lions and Eagles.
Sunday, December 31, 1995
NFC: Green Bay Packers 37, Atlanta Falcons 20
The Packers scored 13 unanswered points in the second quarter en route to a 37–20 victory over the Falcons.Green Bay got an early scoring opportunity when George Teague intercepted a pass from Falcons quarterback Jeff George and returned it 30 yards to the Atlanta 22-yard line on the second play of the game. However, a 3rd down sack by Chris Doleman pushed the Packers back to the 28 and Chris Jacke missed a 46-yard field goal attempt. Atlanta scored first on quarterback Jeff George's 65-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Metcalf. But Green Bay countered, starting with Antonio Freeman's 42-yard kickoff return to the Packers 48-yard line. 52 yards and 8 plays later, the Packers scored on Edgar Bennett's 8-yard touchdown run. On Green Bay's next drive, they took advantage of a 35-yard pass interference penalty against Ron Davis, driving 78 yards to score on Brett Favre's 14-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks.
On the second play of the second quarter, Morten Andersen's 31-yard field goal made the score 14–10 at the end of a drive that featured a 55-yard completion from George to receiver Terance Mathis. However, Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, and Green Bay extended their lead to 20–10. In the closing minutes of the first half, the Packers marched 85-yards in 14 plays to score on Favre's 2-yard touchdown to tight end Mark Chmura to reach a 27–10 halftime lead.
After the first five drives of the third quarter ended in punts, Atlanta started an 80-yard drive that ended on George's 27-yard touchdown pass to J. J. Birden, making the score 27–17 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. However, Atlanta's comeback hopes were soon dashed as Green Bay went on to drive 70 yards to score on Favre's 18-yard touchdown pass to running back Dorsey Levens. The key play of the drive was Favre's 20-yard completion to Brooks on 3rd and 8 from the Falcons 45-yard line, Favre's longest completion of the game. All that remained from this point would be a field goal from each team over the next two possessions.
Bennett turned in the best postseason performance of his career, finishing the game with 108 rushing yards, 3 receptions for 11 yards, and a touchdown. Favre threw for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. Freeman had 72 punt return yards, 54 kickoff return yards, and 14 receiving yards. Metcalf had 227 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Falcons and Packers.