1995 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerThe Rooney Family
General managerTom Donahoe
Head coachBill Cowher
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Bills) 40–21
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Colts) 20–16
Lost Super Bowl XXX
(vs. Cowboys) 17–27
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • Dermontti Dawson (1st team)
  • Greg Lloyd (1st team)
  • Carnell Lake (2nd team)
Team MVPNeil O'Donnell
Team ROYKordell Stewart

The 1995 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 63rd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL).

This season saw the Steelers return to the Super Bowl for the first time in sixteen years (Super Bowl XIV). The team's 11–5 finish was good enough for the AFC Central championship and the second seed in the conference.

For the second consecutive season, Pittsburgh hosted the AFC Championship game, by virtue of the Indianapolis Colts' upset of the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Steelers won the conference championship game, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl in a matchup of teams that were looking to join the San Francisco 49ers as the only other team (at the time) to win five Super Bowls. It was the first time in three Super Bowl meetings that the Steelers had lost to the Cowboys, and also their first Super Bowl loss overall. Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher became (at the time) the youngest head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

After the Super Bowl loss, quarterback Neil O'Donnell signed as a free agent with the New York Jets. The Steelers would not return to the Super Bowl until ten years later.

Offseason

Additions Subtractions
P Rohn Stark (Colts) WR Dwight Stone (Panthers)
CB Alvoid Mays (Redskins) RB Barry Foster (Panthers)
CB Chris Oldham (Cardinals) P Mark Royals (Lions)
DE Gerald Williams (Panthers)
T Duval Love (Cardinals)

1995 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft

Pittsburgh Steelers selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Selection Name Position Expansion team
6 12 Tim McKyer Cornerback Carolina Panthers
15 30 Fred Foggie Defensive back Carolina Panthers
19 37 Charles Davenport Wide receiver Jacksonville Jaguars

NFL draft

Main article: 1995 NFL draft

1995 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 27 Mark Bruener  Tight end Washington
2 60 Kordell Stewart *  Quarterback Colorado
3 91 Brenden Stai  Guard Nebraska
4 120 Oliver Gibson  Defensive tackle Notre Dame From New England
4 125 Donta Jones  Linebacker Nebraska
5 151 Lethon Flowers  Safety Georgia Tech From Chicago
5 161 Lance Brown  Safety Indiana
6 199 Barron Miles  Cornerback Nebraska
7 235 Henry Bailey  Wide receiver UNLV
7 247 Cole Ford  Placekicker USC
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1995 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Greg Black Defensive tackle North Carolina
LaMonte Coleman Fullback Slippery Rock
Vincent Dinkins Center South Carolina
Joey Ellis Cornerback Texas
Doug Grant Wide receiver Savannah State
Tirrell Greene Guard Miami (FL)
Germaine Holden Defensive end Notre Dame
Tim Patillo Safety Ohio State
Kiefer Phillips Linebacker Grambling State
Ty Stewart Kicker Iowa State

Staff

1995 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Secretary & counsel – Arthur J. Rooney II
  • Administration advisor – Chuck Noll
  • Director of communications – Joe Gordon
  • Media relations coordinator – Rob Boulware
  • PR Assistant/Community Relations – Ron Miller
  • Entertainment manager – Lynne Balkovec Molyneaux
  • Controller – Mike Hagan
  • Assistant controller – Dan Ferens
  • Assistant controller – Jim Ellenberger
  • Ticket sales manager – Geraldine Glenn
  • Merchandising manager – Tim Carey
  • Football operations
  • Director of football operations – Tom Donahoe
  • Scouting staff
  • College personnel coordinator – Tom Modrak
  • Pro personnel coordinator – Charles Bailey
  • BLESTO College Scout – Mark Gorscak
  • College scout – Phil Kreidler
  • College scout – Bob Lane
  • College scout – Max McCartney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning coordinator – Chet Fuhrman
  • Medical staff
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
  • Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
  • Neurological surgery consultant – Dr. Joseph Maroon
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
  • Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
  • Training staff
  • Head trainer – John Norwig
  • Assistant trainer – Rick Burkholder
  • Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
  • Field assistant – Rich Baker
  • Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
  • Video assistant – Pat Dolan
  • Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
  • Administrative assistant – Lou Spanos
  • Photographers – Mike Fabus, Bill Amatucci

[1]

Roster

1995 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 4 inactive, 4 practice squad

[1] [2] [3]

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Fri. Aug. 4 at Buffalo Bills Rich Stadium 7:30 p.m. WPXI W 31–10 1–0
2 Sun. Aug. 13 Green Bay Packers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 36–13 1–1
3 Sat. Aug. 19 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Stadium 7:30 p.m. WPXI L 20–7 1–2
4 Thu. Aug. 24 Philadelphia Eagles Three Rivers Stadium 8:00 p.m. ESPN L 16–6 1–3

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game site Kickoff (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sun. Sep. 3 Detroit Lions Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX W 23–20 1–0
2 Sun. Sep. 10 at Houston Oilers Astrodome 1:00 p.m. NBC W 34–17 2–0
3 Mon. Sep. 18 at Miami Dolphins Joe Robbie Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC L 23–10 2–1
4 Sun. Sep. 24 Minnesota Vikings Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. FOX L 44–24 2–2
5 Sun. Oct. 1 San Diego Chargers Three Rivers Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC W 31–16 3–2
6 Sun. Oct. 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 20–16 3–3
7 Sun. Oct. 15 Bye
8 Thu. Oct. 19 Cincinnati Bengals Three Rivers Stadium 8:00 p.m. TNT L 27–9 3–4
9 Sun. Oct. 29 Jacksonville Jaguars Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 24–7 4–4
10 Sun. Nov. 5 at Chicago Bears Soldier Field 4:00 p.m. NBC W 37–34 (OT) 5–4
11 Mon. Nov. 13 Cleveland Browns Three Rivers Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 20–3 6–4
12 Sun. Nov. 19 at Cincinnati Bengals Riverfront Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 49–31 7–4
13 Sun. Nov. 26 at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Municipal Stadium 4:00 p.m. NBC W 20–17 8–4
14 Sun. Dec. 3 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 21–7 9–4
15 Sun. Dec. 10 at Oakland Raiders Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 4:00 p.m. NBC W 29–10 10–4
16 Sat. Dec. 16 New England Patriots Three Rivers Stadium 12:30 p.m. NBC W 41–27 11–4
17 Sun. Dec. 24 at Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field 1:00 p.m. NBC L 24–19 11–5

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) Pittsburgh Steelers 11 5 0 .688 407 327 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 9 0 .438 349 374 W1
Houston Oilers 7 9 0 .438 348 324 W2
Cleveland Browns 5 11 0 .313 289 356 L1
Jacksonville Jaguars 4 12 0 .250 275 404 W1

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 3, 1995): vs. Detroit Lions

1 2 3 4 Total
Lions 0 10 0 10 20
Steelers 3 3 7 10 23

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 2 (Sunday September 10, 1995): at Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 14 3 7 10 34
Oilers 3 0 7 7 17

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring drives:

Week 3 (Monday September 18, 1995): at Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 3 0 7 10
Dolphins 3 14 3 3 23

at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida

Scoring drives:

Week 4 (Sunday September 24, 1995): vs. Minnesota Vikings

1 2 3 4 Total
Vikings 0 13 24 7 44
Steelers 0 6 0 18 24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 5 (Sunday October 1, 1995): vs. San Diego Chargers

1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers 0 6 7 3 16
Steelers 21 10 0 0 31

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 6 (Sunday October 8, 1995): at Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 6 3 16
Jaguars 7 10 3 0 20

at Alltell Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Scoring drives:

Week 7 (Sunday October 15, 1995): Bye Week

Week 8 (Thursday October 19, 1995): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 0 10 14 3 27
Steelers 0 3 3 3 9

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 9 (Sunday October 29, 1995): vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 3 4 Total
Jaguars 0 0 7 0 7
Steelers 7 14 0 3 24

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 10 (Sunday November 5, 1995): at Chicago Bears

1 2 3 4OT Total
Steelers 0 17 3 143 37
Bears 3 7 14 100 34

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Scoring drives:

Week 11 (Monday November 13, 1995): vs. Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 3 0 0 3
Steelers 0 7 6 7 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 12 (Sunday November 19, 1995): at Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 10 15 21 49
Bengals 14 10 7 0 31

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Scoring drives:

Week 13 (Sunday November 26, 1995): at Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 10 7 0 3 20
Browns 0 10 7 0 17

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Scoring drives:

Week 14 (Sunday December 3, 1995): vs. Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 7 0 0 7
Steelers 7 7 0 7 21

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 15 (Sunday December 10, 1995): at Oakland Raiders

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 13 3 6 29
Raiders 0 7 3 0 10

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Scoring drives:

Week 16 (Saturday December 16, 1995): vs. New England Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots 3 3 6 15 27
Steelers 17 7 17 0 41

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Week 17 (Sunday December 24, 1995): at Green Bay Packers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 10 3 6 19
Packers 0 14 7 3 24

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Scoring drives:

Playoffs

Game summaries

AFC Divisional Playoff (Saturday January 6, 1996): vs. Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills 0 7 7 7 21
Steelers 7 16 3 14 40

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

AFC Championship game (Sunday January 14, 1996): vs. Indianapolis Colts

Main article: 1995 AFC Championship game

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 3 3 3 7 16
Steelers 3 7 3 7 20

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring drives:

Super Bowl XXX (Sunday January 28, 1996): vs. Dallas Cowboys

1 2 3 4 Total
Cowboys 10 3 7 7 27
Steelers 0 7 0 10 17

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Scoring drives:

Honors and awards

Pro Bowl Representatives

See: 1996 Pro Bowl

References

  1. ^ a b 1995 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  2. ^ 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  3. ^ "1995 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.