1995 Indianapolis Colts season
The 1995 Indianapolis Colts season was the 43rd season for the team in the National Football League and 12th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1995 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and finished tied for second in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. However, the Colts finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
1995 Indianapolis Colts season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Ted Marchibroda |
Home field | RCA Dome |
Results | |
Record | 9–7 |
Division place | 2nd AFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Chargers) 35–20 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Chiefs) 10–7 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 16–20 |
The Colts' 9–7 record was good enough to get them into the playoffs for the first time since 1987, largely due to the insertion of Jim Harbaugh into the starting quarterback role. They defeated the defending conference champion San Diego Chargers in their first playoff game, then upset the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Playoffs. The Colts would fall short in the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that came down to the final play.
Offseason
1995 Expansion Draft
Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
13 | 26 | Dewell Brewer | Running Back | Carolina Panthers |
27 | 54 | Paul Butcher | Linebacker | Carolina Panthers |
NFL draft
1995 Indianapolis Colts draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Ellis Johnson | Defensive tackle | Florida | |
2 | 48 | Ken Dilger * | Tight end | Illinois | |
3 | 79 | Zack Crockett | Fullback | Florida State | |
4 | 114 | Ray McElroy | Cornerback | Eastern Illinois | |
5 | 149 | Derek West | Tackle | Colorado | |
6 | 187 | Brian Gelzheiser | Linebacker | Penn State | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Undrafted free agents
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Ben Bronson | Wide receiver | Baylor |
Steve Morrison | Linebacker | Michigan |
Marcus Pollard | Tight end | Bradley |
Transactions
- July 29: The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Wendell Davis[1]
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 3, 1995 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 21–24 | 0–1 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
2 | September 10, 1995 | at New York Jets | W 27–24 | 1–1 | The Meadowlands | NBC 4:05 pm | |
3 | September 17, 1995 | at Buffalo Bills | L 14–20 | 1–2 | Rich Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | |
4 | Bye | ||||||
5 | October 1, 1995 | St. Louis Rams | W 21–18 | 2–2 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | |
6 | October 8, 1995 | at Miami Dolphins | W 27–24 | 3–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | NBC 4:05 pm | |
7 | October 15, 1995 | San Francisco 49ers | W 18–17 | 4–2 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | |
8 | October 22, 1995 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–30 | 4–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | NBC 4:05 pm | |
9 | October 29, 1995 | New York Jets | W 17–10 | 5–3 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
10 | November 5, 1995 | Buffalo Bills | L 10–16 | 5–4 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
11 | November 12, 1995 | at New Orleans Saints | L 14–17 | 5–5 | Louisiana Superdome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
12 | November 19, 1995 | at New England Patriots | W 24–10 | 6–5 | Foxboro Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | |
13 | November 26, 1995 | Miami Dolphins | W 36–28 | 7–5 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
14 | December 3, 1995 | at Carolina Panthers | L 10–13 | 7–6 | Memorial Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | |
15 | December 10, 1995 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 41–31 | 8–6 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | |
16 | December 17, 1995 | San Diego Chargers | L 24–27 | 8–7 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | |
17 | December 23, 1995 | New England Patriots | W 10–7 | 9–7 | RCA Dome | ESPN 8:15 pm |
Week 1 (Sunday, September 3, 1995): vs. Cincinnati Bengals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bengals | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
Colts | 7 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 21 |
at RCA Dome • Indianapolis, Indiana
- Date: September 3, 1995
- Game time: 12 Noon EST
- Game attendance: 42,445
- Referee: Walt Coleman
- TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator) and Tunch Ilkin (sideline reporter)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | |
---|---|
|
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Time of Game: 3 hours, 16 minutes
Week 15 (Sunday, December 10, 1995): at Jacksonville Jaguars
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colts | 14 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 41 |
Jaguars | 0 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 31 |
at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida
- Date: December 10, 1995
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 66,099
- Referee: Mike Carey
- TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan (play-by-play) and John Dockery (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | |
---|---|
|
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Time of Game: 3 hours, 4 minutes
Standings
AFC East | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(3) Buffalo Bills | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 350 | 335 | L1 |
(5) Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 331 | 316 | W1 |
(6) Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 398 | 332 | W1 |
New England Patriots | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 294 | 377 | L2 |
New York Jets | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 233 | 384 | L4 |
Playoffs
The team received Wild-Card playoff berth for the playoffs and traveled to San Diego to play the Chargers. They went on to beat the Chargers, their 1st playoff win in 24 years and 1st in Indianapolis. They also won their Divisional Round game against the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs but would fall short in the AFC Championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This game indirectly led to the adoption of instant replay.
Playoff Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wild Card | December 31, 1995 | at San Diego Chargers (4) | W 35–20 | 1–0 | Jack Murphy Stadium | NBC 4:15 pm | |
Divisional | January 7, 1996 | at Kansas City Chiefs (1) | W 10–7 | 2–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | NBC 4:15 pm | |
Conference Championship | January 14, 1996 | at Pittsburgh Steelers (2) | L 16–20 | 2–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | NBC 12:30 pm |
AFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, January 7, 1996): at Kansas City Chiefs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colts | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Chiefs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Arrowhead Stadium • Kansas City, Missouri
- Date: January 7, 1996
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 77,594
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (color commentator), Phil Simms (color commentator) and Jim Gray (sideline reporter)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | |
---|---|
|
Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Time of Game: 3 hours, 8 minutes
AFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 14, 1996): at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colts | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
Steelers | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: January 14, 1996
- Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 61,062
- Referee: Bernie Kukar
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (color commentator), Phil Simms (color commentator), Jim Gray (sideline reporter) and Will McDonough (sideline reporter)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | |
---|---|
|
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Time of Game: 2 hours, 59 minutes
Awards and records
- Jim Harbaugh, NFL Passing Leader, (Passer Rating 100.7)[2]
- Jim Harbaugh, NFL Comeback Player of the Year
See also
References
- "1995 NFL Transactions. Trades - July". National Football League. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450