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1995 Miami Dolphins season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1995 Miami Dolphins season
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldJoe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Bills) 22–37
Pro Bowlers

The 1995 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 30th season, 26th in the National Football League, and 26th and final under head coach Don Shula. The Dolphins finished 9–7 before losing to the Bills in the playoffs.[1]

Until the 2022 NFL season, this marked the last time the Dolphins finished with a top 10 Offense.

Offseason

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Additions Subtractions
DE Steve Emtman (Colts)[2] SS Tyrone Braxton (Broncos)
QB Dan McGwire (Seahawks) DT Larry Webster (Browns)
CB Terrell Buckley (Packers) RB Aaron Craver (Broncos)
DE Trace Armstrong (Bears) C Jeff Dellenbach (Patriots)
WR Gary Clark (Cardinals) WR Mike Williams (Jaguars)
TE Eric Green (Steelers) TE Keith Jackson (Packers)

1995 Expansion Draft

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Miami Dolphins selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Overall Name Position Expansion Team
3 5 Jeff Novak OG Jacksonville Jaguars
22 43 Brant Boyer LB Jacksonville Jaguars
22 44 Doug Pederson QB Carolina Panthers

NFL Draft

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1995 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 25 Billy Milner  Tackle Houston
2 53 Andrew Greene  Guard Indiana
4 122 Pete Mitchell  Tight end Boston College
5 158 Norman Hand  Defensive tackle Ole Miss
6 194 Jeff Kopp  Linebacker USC
7 233 Corey Swinson  Defensive tackle Hampton
7 246 Shannon Myers  Wide receiver Lenoir–Rhyne
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted Free Agents

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1995 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Ontiwaun Carter Running back Arizona
Travis Cooper Linebacker UCF
Melvin Crawford Safety Hampton
Kirby Dar Dar Wide receiver Syracuse
Seth Dittman Tackle Stanford
Randy Gatewood Wide receiver UNLV
Dave Hack Guard Maryland
Ed Hawthorne Defensive tackle Minnesota
Jason James Center Fresno State
Larry Kennedy Safety Florida
Tarrant Lynch Fullback Alabama
Lee McClinton Fullback New Hampshire
Brent Moss Running back Wisconsin
Joe Planansky Tight end Chadron State
Burt Thornton Wide receiver Purdue
Eric Turral Wide receiver Florida State
Rodney Wilkerson Linebacker Georgia Tech

Roster

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1995 Miami Dolphins roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
53 active, 6 reserve, 4 practice squad

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 3 New York Jets W 52–14 1–0 Pro Player Park 71,317
2 September 10 at New England Patriots W 20–3 2–0 Foxboro Stadium 60,239
3 September 18 Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–10 3–0 Pro Player Stadium 72,874
4 Bye
5 October 1 at Cincinnati Bengals W 26–23 4–0 Riverfront Stadium 52,671
6 October 8 Indianapolis Colts L 24–27 (OT) 4–1 Pro Player Stadium 68,471
7 October 15 at New Orleans Saints L 30–33 4–2 Louisiana Superdome 55,628
8 October 22 at New York Jets L 16–17 4–3 Giants Stadium 67,228
9 October 29 Buffalo Bills W 23–6 5–3 Pro Player Stadium 71,060
10 November 6 at San Diego Chargers W 24–14 6–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 61,966
11 November 12 New England Patriots L 17–34 6–4 Pro Player Stadium 70,399
12 November 20 San Francisco 49ers L 20–44 6–5 Pro Player Stadium 73,080
13 November 26 at Indianapolis Colts L 28–36 6–6 RCA Dome 60,414
14 December 3 Atlanta Falcons W 21–20 7–6 Pro Player Stadium 63,395
15 December 11 Kansas City Chiefs W 13–6 8–6 Pro Player Stadium 70,321
16 December 17 at Buffalo Bills L 20–23 8–7 Rich Stadium 79,531
17 December 24 at St. Louis Rams W 41–22 9–7 Trans World Dome 63,876

Standings

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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

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AFC Wild Card Game

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Buffalo Bills 37, Miami Dolphins 22
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 02222
Bills 10 14 31037

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 of 64 passes for 422 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. The Bills used an NFL-playoff record 341 rushing yards to gain a 27–0 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.

Don Shula's retirement

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The week after Miami's playoff loss to Buffalo, Shula announced his retirement. His 347 wins as a head coach, including 257 with the Dolphins, are an NFL record. Shula coached in six Super Bowls, winning two, and in 1972 he led the only unbeaten and untied season in NFL history. Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and is considered one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.

Awards and honors

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  • Dan Marino, AFC Pro Bowl Selection
  • Dan Marino, All-Pro Selection

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "NFL Box Score for 12/30/1995 - databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  2. ^ "1995 NFL Transactions. Trades - July". National Football League. Retrieved March 10, 2021.