Wild Card playoffs 1995–96 NFL playoffs

1 wild card playoffs

1.1 december 30, 1995

1.1.1 afc: buffalo bills 37, miami dolphins 22
1.1.2 nfc: philadelphia eagles 58, detroit lions 37


1.2 december 31, 1995

1.2.1 nfc: green bay packers 37, atlanta falcons 20
1.2.2 afc: indianapolis colts 35, san diego chargers 20


1.3 byes

wild card playoffs
december 30, 1995
afc: buffalo bills 37, miami dolphins 22

at rich stadium, orchard park, new york

game time: 12:30 p.m. est
game weather: 30 °f (−1 °c), cloudy
game attendance: 73,103
referee: red cashion
tv announcers (abc): brent musburger , dick vermeil

although dolphins quarterback dan marino completed 33 out of 64 passes 422 yards, bills jumped 27–0 lead going fourth quarter, forced 4 turnovers, , rushed 341 yards, second highest amount in nfl postseason history , since chicago gained 382 rushing yards in 1940 nfl championship game.

buffalo started scoring 58-yard drive, 45 yards came 3 receptions steve tasker (who played on special teams). thurman thomas finished off possession 1-yard touchdown run give bills 7–0 lead. miami had punt on next drive, , john kidd s kick went 29 bills 44-yard line. 3 carries thomas 26 yards on following drive set steve christie s 48-yard field goal. @ end of miami s next possession, kidd s 48-yard punt pinned buffalo @ own 1-yard line. buffalo drove 98 yards, receiver bill brooks picking 21 yards on end-around run , kelly completing 26-yard pass tasker. darick holmes 34-yard run moved ball dolphins 1, far drive go, defensive gene atkins intercepted kelly s pass in end zone on first play of second quarter.

still, miami unable build momentum. managed drive buffalo territory, turn ball on over downs @ bills 32. thomas went work, breaking off 13-yard run on next play, , later taking off 32-yard gain dolphins 21-yard line. on next play, buffalo scored on holmes 21-yard touchdown run, increasing lead 17–0. on dolphins next drive, dan marino threw pass deflected phil hansen , picked off linebacker marlo perry, giving buffalo ball on 38-yard line. following 18-yard run , 7-yard reception thomas, kelly capitalized on turnover 37-yard touchdown throw tasker, increasing bills lead 24–0. next 3 drives end poorly both teams. first miami turned ball on over downs again when linebacker cornelius bennett tackled terry kirby 1 yard short of first down on 4th , 10 bills 40-yard line. buffalo gave ball right when kelly threw pass intercepted troy vincent. miami went on drive 61 yards, including marino s 31-yard completion wide receiver gary clark, bills 35-yard line, drive ended there , pete stoyanovich missed 53-yard field goal attempt on last play of half.

the situation didn t better miami in third quarter. on first drive marino intercepted defensive fimel johnson. on next possession, marino fumbled snap out of shotgun formation, , bills lineman bryce paup recovered it, resulting in christie s second field goal gave bills 27–0 lead. dolphins responded driving 67 yards, including marino s 31-yard completion o. j. mcduffie, cut score 27-7 mcduffie s 5-yard touchdown catch in fourth quarter. after bills punt, dolphins turned ball on over downs @ bills 39. following 2 carries thomas 17 yards, fullback tim tindale, rookie canada s western ontario university had never gained more 6 yards in single carry before game, took off 44-yard touchdown run, giving bills 34-7 lead.

the game on now, there plenty more scoring. miami stormed back, driving 68 yards in 7 plays score on marino s 45-yard bomb randal hill. buffalo responded 3 carries tindale 23 yards set christie s 42-yard field goal. miami moved ball 73 yards in 9 plays. key player on drive running terry kirby, caught 3 passes 46 yards , finished off 1-yard touchdown run, making final score of game 37-22. dolphins managed recover onside kick, lost ball when marino intercepted rookie defensive ken irvin.

both teams combined playoff record 1,038 total yards (502 miami, 536 buffalo). thomas rushed 158 yards, caught 3 passes 48 yards, , scored touchdown. tasker rushed 7 yards, while catching 5 passes 108 yards , score, giving him first career 100-yard receiving game (he have 1 more before retirement after 1997 season). holmes rushed 87 yards , touchdown, while tindale compiled 68 yards (more entire career regular season total) , score of own. mcduffie dolphins top offensive performer 11 receptions 154 yards , touchdown. final game in career of dolphins head coach don shula, retired nfl s all-time leader in coaching wins. marked continuation of dominance against miami bills coach marv levy. since taking on buffalo s coach in 1986, levy recorded 17-5 record against dolphins, including 3-0 in playoffs. of 2016, bills recent playoff victory.

nfc: philadelphia eagles 58, detroit lions 37

at veterans stadium, philadelphia

game time: 4:00 p.m. est
game weather: 38 °f (3 °c), clear
game attendance: 66,099
referee: ron blum
tv announcers (abc): al michaels, frank gifford, , dan dierdorf

prior game, detroit tackle lomas brown famously guaranteed on television lions win. eagles responded opening 51–7 lead on lions. eagles scored 31 points in second quarter, recorded 6 interceptions, , held running barry sanders 40 rushing yards en route 58–37 victory in second highest scoring game in nfl postseason history. eagles 58 points third highest total in nfl postseason history, behind lions 59 points in 1957 , bears 73 points in 1940 nfl championship game. 31-second quarter points second highest single quarter total in postseason game, behind redskins 35 second quarter points in super bowl xxii. 2 redskins players game, defensive barry wilburn , linebacker kurt gouveia playing on philadelphia s defense in one, , both record interception in game.

philadelphia scored first after defensive mark mcmillian intercepted pass detroit qb scott mitchell , returned 16 yards lions 15-yard line, setting charlie garner s 15-yard touchdown run. detroit responded mitchell s 32-yard touchdown pass tight end david sloan. philadelphia exploded in second quarter, starting 30-yard garner run set gary anderson s 21-yard field goal. after punt, eagles increased lead 17-7 rodney peete s 22-yard touchdown wide receiver fred barnett. wilburn returned interception 24 yards score less minute later, , gouveia picked off pass mitchell give team first down @ lions 34. following 2 13-yard catches barnett, ricky watters 1-yard touchdown run made score 31-7. later on 5 second left in half, eagles receiver rob carpenter caught 43-yard touchdown reception on hail mary pass on 3rd , 25, making score 38-7 going halftime.

in second half, 45-yard touchdown reception watters , 2 more field goals anderson increased eagles lead, 51–7, still more 9 minutes remaining in third quarter. there, backup quarterback don majkowski replaced mitchell , threw 68-yard touchdown pass herman moore. lions linebacker chris spielman recovered eagles fumble , majkowski converted touchdown, 7-yard toss receiver johnnie morton, cutting score 51-21. philadelphia linebacker william thomas put thoughts of lions comeback rest returning interception 30 yards touchdown 23 seconds fourth quarter. lay ahead lions pair of meaningless touchdowns, 2-yard catch sloan , 1-yard run ron rivers make final score 58-37.

peete completed 17 of 25 passes 270 yards , 3 touchdowns, while rushing 17 yards. barnett caught 8 passes 109 yards , touchdown. watters rushed 49 yards, caught 3 passes 64 yards, , scored 2 touchdowns. lions receiver herman moore caught 7 passes 133 yards , touchdown.

december 31, 1995
nfc: green bay packers 37, atlanta falcons 20

at lambeau field, green bay, wisconsin

game time: 12:30 p.m. est/11:30 a.m. cst
game weather: 33 °f (1 °c), foggy
game attendance: 60,453
referee: dick hantak
tv announcers (fox): pat summerall , john madden

the packers scored 13 unanswered points in second quarter en route 37–20 victory on falcons.

green bay got scoring opportunity when george teague intercepted pass falcons quarterback jeff george , returned 30 yards atlanta 22-yard line on second play of game. however, 3rd down sack chris doleman pushed packers 28 , chris jacke missed 46-yard field goal attempt. atlanta scored first on quarterback jeff george s 65-yard touchdown pass wide receiver eric metcalf. green bay countered, starting antonio freeman s 42-yard kickoff return packers 48-yard line. 52 yards , 8 plays later, packers scored on edgar bennett s 8-yard touchdown run. on green bay s next drive, took advantage of 35-yard pass interference penalty against defensive ron davis, driving 78 yards score on brett favre s 14-yard touchdown pass robert brooks.

on second play of second quarter, morten andersen s 31-yard field goal made score 14-10 @ end of drive featured 55-yard completion george receiver terrance mathis. however, packers wide receiver antonio freeman returned punt 76 yards touchdown, , green bay extended lead 20–10 (after two-point conversion attempt failed). in closing minutes of first half, packers marched 85-yards in 14 plays score on favre s 2-yard touchdown tight end mark chmura reach 27–10 halftime lead.

after first 5 drives of third quarter ended in punts, atlanta started 80-yard drive ended on george s 27-yard touchdown pass j. j. birden, making score 27-17 less 2 minutes fourth quarter. however, atlanta s comeback hopes dashed green bay went on drive 70 yards score on favre s 18-yard touchdown pass running dorsey levens. key play of drive favre s 20-yard completion brooks on 3rd , 8 falcons 45-yard line, favre s longest completion of game. remained point field goal each team on next 2 possessions.

bennett turned in best postseason performance of career, finishing game 108 rushing yards, 3 receptions 11 yards, , touchdown. favre threw 199 yards , 3 touchdowns. freeman had 72 punt return yards, 54 kickoff return yards, , 14 receiving yards. matcalf had 227 all-purpose yards (8 receptions 114 yards, 6 kickoff returns 107 yards 2 punt returns 6 yards) , touchdown.

afc: indianapolis colts 35, san diego chargers 20

at jack murphy stadium, san diego

game time: 4:00 p.m. est/1:00 p.m. pst
game weather: 66 °f (19 °c), cloudy
game attendance: 61,182
referee: gary lane
tv announcers (nbc): dick enberg, phil simms, , paul maguire

rookie running zack crockett, had 1 rushing attempt during regular season, found himself thrust starting lineup replace injured starter marshall faulk on first play of game. proved task, rushing franchise playoff record 147 yards , scoring 2 touchdowns colts win first playoff game in 24 years. san diego gained 429 yards of total offense, quarterback stan humphries threw 4 interceptions, 2 safety jason belser. chargers running ronnie harmon caught 10 passes 133 yards, while andre coleman added 6 kickoff returns 122.

the chargers jumped 3–0 lead on first drive moving 30 yards , scoring john carney s 54-yard field goal. later in period, colts linebacker steve grant intercepted pass humphries , returned 13 yards chargers 33-yard line. team unable capitalize on turnover. 5 plays later, san diego linebacker junior seau picked off pass jim harbaugh @ san diego 1-yard line.

a 46-yard punt return colts defensive ray buchanan chargers 27 set harbaugh s 2-yard touchdown pass tight end ken dilger minute second quarter. san diego recaptured lead on ensuing possession moving ball 68 yards in 18 plays, converting 5 third downs on drive in no play gained more 10 yards. humphries s 6-yard scoring pass tight end alfred pupunu @ end of made score 10–7. however, colts came right 80-yard drive in harbaugh completed 4 of 5 passes 43 yards , rushed 2 before crockett scored on 33-yard touchdown run give colts 14–10 lead. chargers countered drive indianapolis s 17-yard line. 17 seconds left in first half, humphries pass intercepted in end zone colts defensive ray mcelroy.

4 minutes third quarter, san diego put long scoring drive, 1 covering 90 yards in 12 plays, longest 24-yard reception harmon. humphries finished off 11-yard touchdown pass shawn jefferson, giving chargers 17-14 lead. indianapolis struck 7-play, 81-yard drive in harbaugh completed 4/5 passes 67 yards, last 42-yarder wide receiver sean dawkins.

in fourth quarter, runs terrell fletcher , aaron hayden respective gains of 20 , 15 yards set carney s 30-yard field goal cut indianapolis lead 21–20. on colts next drive, crockett ran 66-yard touchdown , colts never looked back. on chargers next possession, belser intercepted pass humphries , returned 32 yards san diego 23-yard line. harbaugh completed 21-yard pass floyd turner before taking ball end zone himself on 3-yard run. chargers had 3 more drives, result in belser interception, turnover on downs, , time expiring in game.

byes

afc: kansas city chiefs, pittsburgh steelers
nfc: dallas cowboys, san francisco 49ers




^ http://m.spokesman.com/stories/1995/dec/31/rich-gold-mine-for-bills-spittoon-for-dolphins/
^ http://articles.philly.com/1995-12-31/sports/25670597_1_guy-mcintyre-eagles-lions-coach-wayne-fontes