1995 Carolina Panthers season | |
---|---|
Owner | Jerry Richardson |
General manager | Bill Polian |
Head coach | Dom Capers |
Home field | Memorial Stadium (Clemson, South Carolina) |
Results | |
Record | 7–9 |
Division place | 4th NFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | None |
The 1995 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League and the first under head coach Dom Capers. They went 7–9, the best debut year for any expansion franchise since the NFL's inception. The Panthers played their first season's home games at Clemson University because what would become Bank of America Stadium was still under construction after a deadline point in 1995 for scheduling Carolina's first set of NFL games.
The Panthers were jokingly called "Buffalo Bills South" because of the large number of former Bills on the roster. Quarterback Frank Reich, wide receiver Don Beebe, tight end Pete Metzelaars and linebacker Carlton Bailey had played key roles in the Bills' run of four consecutive Super Bowls earlier in the 1990s and were on the Panthers' inaugural roster. Furthermore, the team's general manager was longtime Bills GM and executive Bill Polian. (See also the 2001 San Diego Chargers season, in which a similar situation arose when John Butler brought several former Bills with him to San Diego after being fired.)
Main article: 1995 NFL expansion draft |
^ Made roster. [1]
Main article: 1995 NFL Draft |
1995 Carolina Panthers draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Kerry Collins * | QB | Penn State | |
1 | 22 | Tyrone Poole | CB | Fort Valley State | |
1 | 29 | Blake Brockermeyer | OT | Texas | |
2 | 36 | Shawn King | DE | Louisiana–Monroe | |
4 | 132 | Frank Garcia | C | Washington | |
5 | 135 | Michael Senters | WR | Northwestern | |
5 | 171 | Andrew Peterson | OT | Washington | |
6 | 188 | Steve Strahan | DT | Baylor | |
6 | 191 | Jerry Colquitt | QB | Tennessee | |
7 | 209 | Chad Cota | SS | Oregon | |
7 | 249 | Michael Reed | SS | Boston College | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HOF | July 29 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 20–14 | 1–0 | Fawcett Stadium | 24,625 |
1 | August 4 | at Chicago Bears | L 15–18 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 50,300 |
2 | August 12 | Denver Broncos | W 19–10 | 2–1 | Memorial Stadium | 57,017 |
3 | August 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 10–17 | 2–2 | 3Com Park | 51,185 |
4 | August 26 | New York Giants | W 6–3 | 3–2 | Memorial Stadium | 49,114 |
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 20–23 (OT) | 0–1 | Georgia Dome | Recap | ||
2 | September 10 | at Buffalo Bills | L 9–31 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | Recap | ||
3 | September 17 | St. Louis Rams | L 10–31 | 0–3 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
4 | Bye | |||||||
5 | October 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–20 | 0–4 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
6 | October 8 | at Chicago Bears | L 27–31 | 0–5 | Soldier Field | Recap | ||
7 | October 15 | New York Jets | W 26–15 | 1–5 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
8 | October 22 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–3 | 2–5 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
9 | October 29 | at New England Patriots | W 20–17 (OT) | 3–5 | Foxboro Stadium | Recap | ||
10 | November 5 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 13–7 | 4–5 | Candlestick Park | Recap | ||
11 | November 12 | at St. Louis Rams | L 17–28 | 4–6 | Trans World Dome | Recap | ||
12 | November 19 | Arizona Cardinals | W 27–7 | 5–6 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
13 | November 26 | at New Orleans Saints | L 26–34 | 5–7 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap | ||
14 | December 3 | Indianapolis Colts | W 13–10 | 6–7 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
15 | December 10 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–31 | 6–8 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
16 | December 17 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–17 | 7–8 | Memorial Stadium | Recap | ||
17 | December 24 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–20 | 7–9 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
See also: 1995 New York Jets season |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
Panthers | 3 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
at Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina
Game information | ||
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Players dumped Gatorade on Dom Capers after the win. [4]
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NFC West | |||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) San Francisco 49ers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 457 | 258 | L1 |
(6) Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 362 | 349 | W1 |
St. Louis Rams | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 309 | 418 | L3 |
Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 289 | 325 | L1 |
New Orleans Saints | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 319 | 348 | W1 |