The 1995 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 26th season in the
National Football League and the 36th overall. This was the last time the Bills won the division or won a playoff game until
2020.
After suffering a losing season
the previous season, the 1995 Bills won the
AFC East, and made the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. They defeated the Miami Dolphins 37-22 in the Wild Card Game in
Don Shula's final game as an NFL head coach. The following week they lost to the eventual AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-21.
Thurman Thomas becomes the 11th player all-time to go over the 9,000 career rushing yard mark in this game.
Boomer Esiason was knocked out in the second quarter by
Bruce Smith , thus putting
Bubby Brister into the game. On his first snap in the game, he fumbled the ball and turned it over to Buffalo.
In this game,
Jim Harbaugh started, but midway through the first quarter
Paul Justin was put in by coach
Ted Marchibroda as Harbaugh was injured. This wasn't the end for the Colts QB situation, as Justin was hit by
Bryce Paup knocking him out of the game. Harbaugh came in briefly after Justin was knocked out, however,
Craig Erickson came into the game to finish it out.
In Buffalo's first playoff game since losing
Super Bowl XXVIII two seasons earlier, the Bills handled Miami easily by a score of 37–22 at Rich Stadium. Although Dolphins quarterback
Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns, the Bills jumped to a 27–0 lead going into the fourth quarter, and rushed for an NFL playoff-record 341 yards, led by Thurman Thomas's 25 carries for 158 yards. The Bills forced four turnovers, including intercepting Marino three times, in the victory.[18] It was the final game of Don Shula's coaching career with the Dolphins.
Running back
Bam Morris scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Steelers stopped the Bills from pulling off a comeback. Pittsburgh jumped to a 20–0 lead by the second quarter with running back
John L. Williams's 1-yard touchdown, quarterback
Neil O'Donnell's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Ernie Mills, and two field goals by Norm Johnson. However, Buffalo running back
Thurman Thomas scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the first half. But Johnson made a 34-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give the Steelers a 23–7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Johnson added a 39-yard field goal before Bills tight end Tony Cline caught a 2-yard touchdown reception. With 11:23 left in the game, Thomas scored on a 9-yard touchdown reception to cut the lead to 26–21. In response, Pittsburgh drove 76 yards to score on Morris' 13-yard touchdown run. Linebacker
Levon Kirkland then intercepted a pass to set up Morris' 2-yard score with 1:58 remaining to clinch the victory.[19] Bruce Smith was inactive for the game because he had a 106-degree fever; Smith wanted to play but the Bills' medical staff said "no".[citation needed]
The 1995 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 26th season in the
National Football League and the 36th overall. This was the last time the Bills won the division or won a playoff game until
2020.
After suffering a losing season
the previous season, the 1995 Bills won the
AFC East, and made the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. They defeated the Miami Dolphins 37-22 in the Wild Card Game in
Don Shula's final game as an NFL head coach. The following week they lost to the eventual AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-21.
Thurman Thomas becomes the 11th player all-time to go over the 9,000 career rushing yard mark in this game.
Boomer Esiason was knocked out in the second quarter by
Bruce Smith , thus putting
Bubby Brister into the game. On his first snap in the game, he fumbled the ball and turned it over to Buffalo.
In this game,
Jim Harbaugh started, but midway through the first quarter
Paul Justin was put in by coach
Ted Marchibroda as Harbaugh was injured. This wasn't the end for the Colts QB situation, as Justin was hit by
Bryce Paup knocking him out of the game. Harbaugh came in briefly after Justin was knocked out, however,
Craig Erickson came into the game to finish it out.
In Buffalo's first playoff game since losing
Super Bowl XXVIII two seasons earlier, the Bills handled Miami easily by a score of 37–22 at Rich Stadium. Although Dolphins quarterback
Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns, the Bills jumped to a 27–0 lead going into the fourth quarter, and rushed for an NFL playoff-record 341 yards, led by Thurman Thomas's 25 carries for 158 yards. The Bills forced four turnovers, including intercepting Marino three times, in the victory.[18] It was the final game of Don Shula's coaching career with the Dolphins.
Running back
Bam Morris scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Steelers stopped the Bills from pulling off a comeback. Pittsburgh jumped to a 20–0 lead by the second quarter with running back
John L. Williams's 1-yard touchdown, quarterback
Neil O'Donnell's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Ernie Mills, and two field goals by Norm Johnson. However, Buffalo running back
Thurman Thomas scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the first half. But Johnson made a 34-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give the Steelers a 23–7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Johnson added a 39-yard field goal before Bills tight end Tony Cline caught a 2-yard touchdown reception. With 11:23 left in the game, Thomas scored on a 9-yard touchdown reception to cut the lead to 26–21. In response, Pittsburgh drove 76 yards to score on Morris' 13-yard touchdown run. Linebacker
Levon Kirkland then intercepted a pass to set up Morris' 2-yard score with 1:58 remaining to clinch the victory.[19] Bruce Smith was inactive for the game because he had a 106-degree fever; Smith wanted to play but the Bills' medical staff said "no".[citation needed]