The 1995 Detroit Lions season was the team's 66th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Finishing at 10–6, it marked the Lions' third consecutive winning season, which had not been accomplished in Detroit since the team posted four consecutive winning seasons from

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. This feat would not be repeated until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. It was also the Lions' third consecutive postseason appearance, and fourth in five seasons – the franchise’s best era since the 1950s. The Lions started the season 0–3 and were 3–6 after a Week 10 loss in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. However, starting with a Week 11 win over

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

, the Lions won a franchise-record seven consecutive games to close out the season and clinch a playoff berth.

Herman Moore Herman Joseph Moore (born October 20, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers and was selected by ...

had a career season as he broke

Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darwin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990–2001 ...

’s NFL record for most receptions in a season (123). Moore and teammate

Brett Perriman Brett R. Perriman (born October 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1988–1990), Detroit Lions (1991–1996), Kansas City Chiefs ...

(108 catches) became the first receiver duo to each have more than 100 receptions in the same season. The Lions' 436 points scored was the most in franchise history until it was eclipsed by the 2011 team. For the third consecutive year, however, the Lions could not win a playoff game and were eliminated as they were routed by the Philadelphia Eagles 58–37 in the Wild Card playoffs after falling behind 51–7. Leading up to their Wild Card game, Detroit offensive linemen

Lomas Brown Lomas Brown Jr. (born March 30, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Brown played college football for th ...

guaranteed a victory over the Eagles. The last remaining active member of the 1995 Detroit Lions was kicker

Jason Hanson Jason Hanson (born June 17, 1970) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker who spent his entire 21-year career with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college ...

, who retired after the 2012 season.

Offseason

1995 expansion draft

NFL draft

Notes * Detroit traded its second-round selection (51st) to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in exchange for the Chargers' first-round selection in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. * Detroit traded up from its third-round selection (82nd) with

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

for the Rams' second-round selection (70th), giving up its fourth-round selection (115th). * Detroit received Seattle's fifth-round selection (141st) in exchange for WR Reggie Barrett. * Detroit received San Francisco's fifth-round selection (163rd) in exchange for RB Derrick Moore.

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Season summary

Week 1: @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 13

* Scott Mitchell 30/45, 410 Yds *

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football running back who played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and in rushin ...

24 Rush, 138 Yds *

12 Rec, 153 Yds *

8 Rec, 127 Yds *

Johnnie Morton Johnnie James Morton Jr. (born October 7, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earni ...

7 Rec, 102 Yds

Standings

Playoffs

NFC Wild Card Game: At Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles scored 31 points in the second quarter, recorded six interceptions, forced seven total turnovers and held future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

running back

to just 40 rushing yards en route to a 58–37 victory in the second highest scoring game in NFL postseason history, which was also the first occasion the Lions had played the Eagles since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. The two teams combined for 874 total yards of offense.

Awards and honors

* Scott Mitchell, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most passing yards by a Lions quarterback, 410 yards *

, Single Season Record, Most Receptions in a Season * Barry Sanders,

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

* Barry Sanders, NFC Pro Bowl Selection

Milestones

* Barry Sanders, 7th consecutive 1000 yard season * Herman Moore, 100 reception season,NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 440

References

External links

1995 Detroit Lions
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

{{1995 NFL season by team

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Detroit Lions seasons

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

1995 in Detroit