1995 Detroit Lions season

1995 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Wayne Fontes
General manager	Chuck Schmidt
Owner	William Clay Ford, Sr.
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Wild Card Game (Eagles) 58–37

The 1995 Detroit Lions season was the team's 66th in the National Football League (NFL). It marked the Lions third consecutive playoff appearance, and fourth in five seasons. For the third consecutive year, however, the Lions could not win a playoff game and were eliminated.

At the end of Week 10, the Lions had posted a record of just 3–6, and looked poised for a losing season. However, starting with a Week 11 win over Tampa Bay, the Lions won their final seven games of the season, securing second place in the NFC Central and a playoff berth.

Herman Moore had a career season as he broke Cris Carter’s record for most receptions in a season. Moore and teammate Brett Perriman (108 catches) became the first WR duo to each catch more than 100 receptions in the same season.

In his highly successful 1995 season, Moore caught a career high 123 balls (an NFL record at the time). The Lions' 436 points scored was the most in franchise history until it was eclipsed by the 2011 team.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1995 Detroit Lions draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	20	Luther Elliss *	Defensive tackle	Utah
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1995 Detroit Lions staff
	Front office Owner and President – William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice Chairman – William Clay Ford, Jr. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer – Chuck Schmidt Director of Player Personnel – Ron Hughes Director of Pro Scouting – Kevin Colbert Head coaches Head Coach – Wayne Fontes Assistant Head Coach – Dave Levy Assistant Head Coach/Defense – John Teerlinck Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Tom Moore Quarterbacks – Greg Landry Running Backs – Mo Forte Receivers – Charlie Sanders Tight Ends/Offensive Assistant – Steve Kazor Offensive Line – Paul Boudreau			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Herb Paterra Linebackers – Don Clemons Outside Linebackers – Howard Tippett Defensive Backs – John Fontes Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Novak Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning/Defensive Assistant – Bert Hill

Roster

1995 Detroit Lions final roster
	Quarterbacks 19 Scott Mitchell Running backs 26 Eric Lynch 20 Barry Sanders Wide receivers 83 Aubrey Matthews 84 Herman Moore 87 Johnnie Morton 80 Brett Perriman Tight ends 82 Rodney Holman 86 David Sloan		Offensive linemen 75 Lomas Brown T 74 Mike Compton G 76 Scott Conover T 53 Kevin Glover C 73 Dave Lutz T Defensive linemen 90 Dan Owens DE 91 Robert Porcher DT 91 Tracy Scroggins DE 95 Mike Wells DT		Linebackers 99 Tracy Hayworth OLB 52 Scott Kowalkowski MLB 55 Antonio London OLB 54 Chris Spielman ILB Defensive backs 36 Bennie Blades FS 32 Willie Clay S 47 Ryan McNeil CB 31 Corey Raymond CB Special teams  3 Mark Royals P  4 Jason Hanson K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics 53 Active, 3 Inactive, 4 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1995	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 23–20	58,002
2	September 10, 1995	at Minnesota Vikings	L 20–10	52,234
3	September 17, 1995	Arizona Cardinals	L 20–17	58,727
4	September 25, 1995	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–24	76,236
5	Bye
6	October 8, 1995	Cleveland Browns	W 38–20	74,171
7	October 15, 1995	at Green Bay Packers	L 30–21	60,302
8	October 22, 1995	at Washington Redskins	L 36–30 OT	52,332
9	October 29, 1995	Green Bay Packers	W 24–16	73,462
10	November 5, 1995	at Atlanta Falcons	L 34–22	49,619
11	November 12, 1995	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–24	60,644
12	November 19, 1995	at Chicago Bears	W 24–17	61,779
13	November 23, 1995	Minnesota Vikings	W 44–38	74,559
14	December 4, 1995	Chicago Bears	W 27–7	77,230
15	December 10, 1995	at Houston Oilers	W 24–17	35,842
16	December 17, 1995	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 44–0	70,204
17	December 23, 1995	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 37–10	50,049

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Green Bay Packers	11	5	0	.688	404	314	W2
^(5) Detroit Lions	10	6	0	.625	436	336	W7
Chicago Bears	9	7	0	.563	392	360	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	412	385	L2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7	9	0	.438	238	335	L2

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Game: At Philadelphia Eagles

NFC Wild Card Game: Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	7	0	14	16	37
Eagles	7	31	13	7	58

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 66,099
• Referee: Ron Blum
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf

Game information

1st quarter PHI – Charlie Garner 15 yard rush (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 7–0 DET – David Sloan 32 yard pass from Scott Mitchell (Jason Hanson kick). Tie 7–7 2nd quarter PHI – Gary Anderson 21 yard field goal. Eagles 10–7 PHI – Fred Barnett 22 yard pass from Rodney Peete (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 17–7 PHI – Barry Wilburn 24 yard interception return (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 24–7 PHI – Ricky Watters 1 yard rush (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 31–7 PHI – Rob Carpenter 43 yard pass from Rodney Peete (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 38–7 3rd quarter PHI – Ricky Watters 45 yard pass from Rodney Peete (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 45–7 PHI – Gary Anderson 31 yard field goal. Eagles 48–7 PHI – Gary Anderson 39 yard field goal. Eagles 51–7 DET – Herman Moore 68 yard pass from Don Majkowski (Jason Hanson kick). Eagles 51–14 DET – Johnnie Morton 7 yard pass from Don Majkowski (Jason Hanson kick). Eagles 51–21 4th quarter PHI – William Thomas 30 yard interception return (Gary Anderson kick). Eagles 58–21 DET – David Sloan 2 yard pass from Don Majkowski (Ron Rivers run). Eagles 58–29 DET – Ron Rivers 1 yard run (Herman Moore pass from Don Majkowski). Eagles 58–37 Leading passers DET – Don Majkowski – 14/23, 206 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT PHI – Rodney Peete – 17/25, 270 yards, 3 TD Leading rushers DET – Barry Sanders – 10 rushes, 40 yards PHI – Ricky Watters – 18 rushes, 49 yards, 1 TD Leading receivers DET – Herman Moore – 7 rec, 133 yards, 1 TD PHI – Fred Barnett – 8 rec, 109 yards, 1 TD Turnovers DET – 7 PHI – 1

The Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter, recorded six interceptions, forced seven total turnovers and held future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders to just 40 rushing yards en route to a 58–37 victory in the second highest scoring game in NFL postseason history, which was also the first occasion the Lions had played the Eagles since 1986.^[3] The two teams combined for 874 total yards of offense.

Awards and honors

• Scott Mitchell, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most passing yards by a Lions quarterback, 410 yards
• Herman Moore, Single Season Record, Most Receptions in a Season
• Barry Sanders, All-Pro
• Barry Sanders, NFC Pro Bowl Selection

Milestones

• Barry Sanders, 7th consecutive 1000 yard season
• Herman Moore, 100 reception season,^[4]

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, playing for the Detroit Lions, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points For.
2. "1995 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
3. Detroit Lions v Philadelphia Eagles
4. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440

External links

• 1995 Detroit Lions at Pro-Football-Reference.com