1995 NFL season
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 previously had only four teams : the AFC Central and the NFC West.
Meanwhile, the two teams in Los Angeles relocated to other cities: the Rams transferred to St. Louis and the Raiders moved back to Oakland; this would be the start of a 20-year absence for the NFL in Los Angeles. 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 rescheduled for 10:00 a.m. PDT in case they were to relocate 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 27–17 at Sun Devil Stadium. They became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years. This season was Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula's last season as coach.
Player movement
Transactions
- July 27: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed linebacker Tommy Thigpen
- July 27: The Miami Dolphins signed Defensive End Steve Emtman
- July 29: The New York Giants signed Jessie Armstead
- July 29: The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Wendell Davis
Retirements
- April 18, 1995: Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Joe Montana announced his retirement. He spent the last two seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Draft
The 1995 NFL draft was held from April 22 to 23, 1995, at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected running back Ki-Jana Carter from Penn State University.Expansion draft
The 1995 NFL expansion draft was held on February 15, 1995. The Jacksonville Jaguars held the first pick overall, while the Carolina Panthers were second, alternating picks as the existing teams made six players available for selection. The Panthers ultimately picked 35 players, while the Jaguars picked 31. With the first selection in the expansion draft, the Jaguars selected quarterback Steve Beuerlein from the Arizona Cardinals. Selecting second, the Panthers obtained cornerback Rod Smith from the New England Patriots.New referees
Mike Carey and Walt Coleman were promoted to referee; Carey became the second African-American referee in NFL history following Johnny Grier, who was promoted in 1988. Dale Hamer had to sit out the 1995 season to recover from open heart surgery, while league expansion from 28 to 30 teams required an additional officiating crew.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 1956. They are also allowed to spike the ball immediately after snap to save time that is running.
Preseason
American Bowl
A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States. Two games were contested in 1995.| Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Score | Stadium | City |
| August 6, 1995 | Denver Broncos | 24 | San Francisco 49ers | 10 | Tokyo Dome |  Hall of Fame GameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame Game featured the NFL's newest expansions teams, as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 20–14, was played on July 29, and held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the same city where the league was founded. The 1995 Hall of Fame Class included Jim Finks, Henry Jordan, Steve Largent, Lee Roy Selmon and Kellen WinslowRegular seasonScheduling formulaWith the addition of Carolina and Jacksonville to give each division five teams, the "fifth place" schedule given to the last-place teams in the AFC East, AFC West, NFC East and NFC Central from 1978 to 1994 was eliminated.Highlights of the 1995 season included:
Tiebreakers
MilestonesThe following players set all-time records during the season:Statistical leadersIndividualThe 1995 season produced four of the top twenty highest single-season totals for receiving yards. Two of the top five teams 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 and Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin gained 1,603 yards.Coaching changesOffseason
In-season
Stadium changes
Uniform changes
DeathsJanuary
February
March
April
May
July
August
September
October
November
DecemberDecember 6- Gerry Cowhig, age 74. Played Linebacker and Running back for Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles from 1947 to 1951.TelevisionThis was the second year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts with ABC, Fox, NBC, TNT, and ESPN. ABC, Fox, and NBC continued to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, the AFC package, respectively. Sunday night games aired on TNT during the first half of the season, and ESPN during the second half of the season.NBC renamed its pregame show as simply The NFL on NBC. The then-recently retired quarterback Joe Montana joined the show as an analyst, alongside Greg Gumbel, Mike Ditka, and Joe Gibbs. Phil Simms and Paul Maguire joined Dick Enberg as NBC's lead broadcast team, replacing Bob Trumpy. Verne Lundquist replaced Gary Bender as TNT's play-by-play announcer. TNT also renamed its pregame show as Pro Football Tonight, with Vince Cellini as its host. |