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.
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! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
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! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
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| Miami Dolphins || 22–37|| Buffalo Bills || December 30, 1995 || 12:30 p.m. || ABC
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| Detroit Lions || 37–58|| Philadelphia Eagles || December 30, 1995 || 4:00 p.m. || ABC
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| Atlanta Falcons || 20–37|| Green Bay Packers || December 31, 1995 || 12:30 p.m. || Fox
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| Indianapolis Colts || 35–20|| San Diego Chargers || December 31, 1995 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
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! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
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| Buffalo Bills || 21–40|| Pittsburgh Steelers || January 6, 1996 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
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| Green Bay Packers || 27–17|| San Francisco 49ers || January 6, 1996 || 4:00 p.m. || Fox
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| Philadelphia Eagles || 11–30|| Dallas Cowboys || January 7, 1996 || 12:30 p.m. || Fox
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| Indianapolis Colts || 10–7|| Kansas City Chiefs || January 7, 1996 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
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! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
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| Indianapolis Colts || 16–20|| Pittsburgh Steelers || January 14, 1996|| 12:30 p.m. || NBC
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| Green Bay Packers || 27–38|| Dallas Cowboys || January 14, 1996 || 4:00 p.m. || Fox
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! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XXX<br><small>Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona</small>
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| Dallas Cowboys || 27–17|| Pittsburgh Steelers || January 28, 1996 || 6:00 p.m. || NBC
|}
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 (who normally only played on special teams). 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 (502 for Miami, 536 for Buffalo). 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 (he would only have one more before his retirement after the 1997 season). Holmes rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Tindale compiled 68 yards (more than his entire career regular season total) 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.
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!Buffalo leads 2–0 in all-time playoff games
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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.
In the third quarter, Lake intercepted a pass from Kelly and returned it 3 yards to the Buffalo 25-yard line, leading to Johnson's fourth field goal that put the team up 26–7. Both teams had to punt on their following drives, and Tasker returned Stark's 30-yard punt 4 yards to the Steelers 42-yard line. A few plays later, he took a handoff on a reverse and ran 40 yards to the 3. Alex Van Pelt (who replaced an injured Jim Kelly) finished the drive with 2-yard touchdown pass to Cline, making the score 26–14.
Early in the fourth quarter, Buffalo took advantage of yet another poor punt from Stark, this one a 31-yard kick that gave them the ball on the Pittsburgh 36. Van Pelt then guided the team to the 11-yard line, where Kelly returned to the field and eventually hit Thomas for a 9-yard scoring completion, cutting the score to 26–21 with 11:23 left in the game. But Pittsburgh then marched 76 yards, including O'Donnell's 3rd down conversion passes to Thigpen and Andre Hastings for gains of 21 and 17 yards, to score on Morris' 13-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 33–21. The following three drives would result in interceptions, with Kelly throwing a pick to Jerry Olsavsky and Matt Darby nabbing a pass from O'Donnell. On the next play, Linebacker Levon Kirkland intercepted a pass from Kelly and returned it 4 yards to the Bills 23-yard line to set up Morris' 2-yard score with 1:58 remaining to clinch the victory.
With the Steelers win, they snapped the Bills' 10 game postseason winning streak against the AFC dating back to 1990. Morris rushed for 106 yards and caught 2 passes for 7. Lake had an interception and a fumble recovery.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Bills and Steelers. Both teams split the first two meetings.
Green Bay would later drive 72 yards in 7 plays to score on tight end Mark Chmura's 13-yard touchdown reception before Young's 32-yard completion to Jerry Rice set up Jeff Wilkins 21–3 field goal to cut the lead to 21–3 at the end of the half. In the second half, Jacke kicked two field goals while the 49ers could only manage two touchdowns: a 1-yard run by Young and a 2-yarder by running back Derek Loville.
This was the only time during the 1990s that an NFC team won a divisional playoff game on the road. Rice finished the game with 11 receptions for 117 yards, while 49ers tight end Brent Jones had 8 catches for 112.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Packers and 49ers.
Williams returned the second half kickoff 24 yards, and then caught a 34-yard pass as his team drove 59 yards to score on Boniol's 18-yard field goal, making the score 20–3. On Dallas' next drive, they upped their lead to 23–3 with Boniol's franchise record 51-yard field goal.
In the fourth quarter, Sanders intercepted a pass from Cunningham and returned it 12 yards to the Eagles 21-yard line, leading to their final score on Aikman's 9-yard pass to Michael Irvin. The Eagles responded as Cunningham completed 4/5 passes for 63 yards before taking the ball into the end zone himself on a 4-yard run. He also completed a pass for a 2-point conversion, but by then only 2:36 remained in the game.
Aikman finished the game 17/24 for 253 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Irvin, who was double teamed most of the game, had only one reception, but Williams caught 6 passes for 124 yards and returned 2 kickoffs for 45. Smith rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 40. Eagles running back Ricky Watters, who rushed for 1,273 yards during the season, finished this game with just 39 yards on 13 attempts, though he also caught 4 passes for 45 yards. As of the end of the 2022 season, this is the most recent Divisional Playoff win for the Cowboys. They have lost seven of those games since (, , , , , and ).
This was the third postseason meeting between the Eagles and Cowboys. Both teams split the first two meetings.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Colts and Steelers. Pittsburgh won both previous meetings when the Colts were previously in Baltimore.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Packers and Cowboys. Dallas had won three of the prior five meetings. This was also their latest playoff victory against Green Bay, as the Packers would go on to win 3 straight playoff games against the Cowboys after that.
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!Pittsburgh leads 2–0 in all-time playoff games
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References
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ()