Transactions

• July 27: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed linebacker Tommy Thigpen^[1]
• July 27: The Miami Dolphins signed Defensive End Steve Emtman^[1]
• July 29: The New York Giants signed Jessie Armstead^[1]
• July 29: The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver Wendell Davis^[1]

Retirements

• April 18, 1995: Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Joe Montana announced his retirement. He spent the last two seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs.^[2]

Draft

The 1995 NFL draft was held from April 22 to 23, 1995 at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected running back Ki-Jana Carter from Penn State University.

Expansion Draft

The 1995 NFL expansion draft was held on February 15, 1995.^[3] The Jacksonville Jaguars held the first pick overall, while the Carolina Panthers were second, alternating picks as the existing teams made six players available for selection,.^[4] The Panthers ultimately picked 35 players, while the Jaguars picked 31. With the first selection in the Expansion Draft, the Jaguars selected quarterback Steve Beuerlein from the Arizona Cardinals. Selecting second, the Panthers obtained cornerback Rod Smith from the New England Patriots.

American Bowl

A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States. Two games were contested in 1995.

Date	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Score	Stadium	City
August 6, 1995	Denver Broncos	24	San Francisco 49ers	10	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo
August 12, 1995	Buffalo Bills	9	Dallas Cowboys	7	SkyDome	Toronto

Hall of Fame Game

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game featured the NFL's newest expansions teams, as the Carolina Panthers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 20–14, was played on July 29, and held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the same city where the league was founded. The 1995 Hall of Fame Class included Jim Finks, Henry Jordan, Steve Largent, Lee Roy Selmon and Kellen Winslow

Scheduling formula

With the addition of Carolina and Jacksonville to give each division five teams, the "fifth place" schedule given to the last-place teams in the AFC East, AFC West, NFC East and NFC Central from 1978 to 1994 was eliminated.

Highlights of the 1995 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 23, featuring the Minnesota Vikings at Detroit and Kansas City Chiefs at Dallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.
• Snowball Game (1995): In the final weekend of the season, the New York Giants hosted the San Diego Chargers. Giants fans threw snowballs onto the field throughout the contest. This action resulted in 15 arrests and the ejection of 175 fans from Giants Stadium; San Diego posted a 27–17 victory in what became known as the "Snowball Game".^[5]

Final standings

Tiebreakers

• Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• San Diego was the first AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Indianapolis (1–0).
• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (4–4 to Oilers' 3–5).
• Seattle finished ahead of Denver and Oakland in the AFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Broncos' 2–2 and Raiders' 1–3).
• Denver finished ahead of Oakland in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Philadelphia was the first NFC Wild Card ahead of Detroit based on better conference record (9–3 to Lions' 7–5).
• San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed ahead of Green Bay based on better conference record (8–4 to Packers' 7–5).
• Atlanta was the third NFC Wild Card ahead of Chicago based on better record against common opponents (4–2 to Bears' 3–3).
• St. Louis finished ahead of Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Panthers' 1–3 and Saints' 2–2).
• Carolina finished ahead of New Orleans in the NFC West based on better conference record (4–8 to 3–9).

Team

Individual

The 1995 season produced four of the top twenty highest single-season totals for receiving yards. Two of the top five teams receiving yard totals of all time – Jerry Rice's 1,848 & Isaac Bruce's 1,781 – were recorded in 1995. Detroit Lions receiver Herman Moore gained 1,686 yards (6th highest all time) and Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin gained 1,603 yards (11th most in NFL history).

Offseason

• Denver Broncos: Mike Shanahan replaced the fired Wade Phillips
• Carolina Panthers: Dom Capers became this expansion team's first head coach.
• Houston Oilers: Jeff Fisher became the permanent head coach. Fisher served as interim for the final six games of 1994 after Jack Pardee was fired.
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Tom Coughlin became this expansion team's first head coach.
• Oakland Raiders: Mike White replaced the fired Art Shell for the Raiders' first season since returning to Oakland.
• Philadelphia Eagles: Ray Rhodes replaced the fired Rich Kotite.
• New York Jets: Rich Kotite replaced the fired Pete Carroll.
• Seattle Seahawks: Dennis Erickson replaced the fired Tom Flores.
• St. Louis Rams: Rich Brooks replaced the fired Chuck Knox for the Rams's first season in St. Louis.

In-season

• Buffalo Bills: Elijah Pitts served as interim for three games while Marv Levy recovered from prostate cancer surgery.

January

• January 27- Bob Chandler, age 45. Played Wide Receiver for the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders from 1971 to 1982. Was a member of the Raiders squad that won Super Bowl XV.

February

• February 22- Jim Katcavage, age 60. Played Defensive Line and end for the New York Giants from 1956 to 1968.

March

• March 24- Chet Mutryn, age 74. Played Halfback and Defensive Back for the Buffalo Bisons and Baltimore Colts from 1946 to 1950.

April

• April 26- Bruce Bosley, age 61. Played Center for the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons from 1956 to 1969.

May

• May 22- Butch Morse, age 84. Played receiver for the Detroit Lions from 1935 to 1940.
• May 23- Danny Fortmann, age 79. Two way player who played Guard and linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1936 to 1943. Inducted into the pro football hall of fame in 1965.

July

• July 17- George Kavel, age 85. Played running back for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1934.

August

• August 8- George Svendsen, age 82. Played center for the Green Bay Packers from 1935 to 1941.
• August 29- Al Akins, age 74. Two-way player who played defensive back and running back for Cleveland Browns and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1946 to 1948.

September

• September 8- Lin Houston, age 74. Played guard for Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1953.

October

• October 2- John Ayers, age 42. Played guard for the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos from 1977 to 1987. Won two Super Bowls as a member of the 49ers.

November

• November 1- Rocco Canale, age 75. Played offensive guard for the Philadelphia Eagles and Boston Yanks from 1943 to 1947.

December

December 6- Gerry Cowhig, age 74. Played Linebacker and Running back for Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles from 1947 to 1951.