The
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
was the 43rd season for the team in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
and 12th in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. The Indianapolis Colts finished the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's 1995 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and finished tied for second in the
AFC East division with the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
. However, the Colts finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
The Colts' 9–7 record was good enough to get them into the playoffs for the first time since 1987, largely due to the insertion of Jim Harbaugh into the starting quarterback role. They defeated the defending conference champion
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
in their first playoff game, then upset the top-seeded
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
in the Divisional Playoffs. The Colts would fall short in the AFC Championship Game against the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in a game that came down to the final play.
Offseason
1995 Expansion Draft
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
Transactions
*July 29: The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiver
Wendell Davis
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Pre season
Schedule
Preseason Game summaries
Week P1 (Friday, August 4, 1995): vs.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game:
Week P2 (Saturday, August 12, 1995): at
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game:
Week P3 (Saturday, August 19, 1995): at
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game:
Week P4 (Thursday, August 24, 1995): vs.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday, September 3, 1995): vs.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 16 minutes
Week 2 at Jets
Week 3 (Sunday, September 17, 1995): at
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 59 minutes
Week 4: BYE WEEK
Week 5 (Sunday, October 1, 1995): vs.
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 11 minutes
Week 6 (Sunday, October 8, 1995): at
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 17 minutes
Week 7 (Sunday, October 15, 1995): vs.
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 1 minute
Week 8 (Sunday, October 22, 1995): at
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 4 minutes
Week 9 (Sunday, October 29, 1995): vs.
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 44 minutes
Week 10 (Sunday, November 5, 1995): at
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 4 minutes
Week 11 (Sunday, November 12, 1995): at
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Week 12 (Sunday, November 19, 1995): at
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Week 13 (Sunday, November 26, 1995): vs.
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 13 minutes
Week 14 (Sunday, December 3, 1995): at
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 9 minutes
Week 15 (Sunday, December 10, 1995): at Jacksonville Jaguars
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 4 minutes
Week 16 (Sunday, December 17, 1995): vs.
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Week 17 (Saturday, December 23, 1995): vs.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 55 minutes
Standings
Playoffs
The team received Wild-Card playoff berth for the playoffs and traveled to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
to play the Chargers. They went on to beat the Chargers, their 1st playoff win in 24 years and 1st in Indianapolis. They also won their Divisional Round game against the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs but would fall short in the
AFC Championship
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This game indirectly led to the adoption of instant replay.
Playoff Game summaries
AFC Wild Card Playoffs (Sunday, December 31, 1995): at (A4)
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 5 minutes
AFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, January 7, 1996): at (A1)
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 3 hours, 8 minutes
AFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 14, 1996): at (A2)
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
*
Point spread:
* Over/Under:
* Time of Game: 2 hours, 59 minutes
Awards and records
*
Jim Harbaugh
James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...
, NFL Passing Leader, (Passer Rating 100.7)
[''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 450]
* Jim Harbaugh,
NFL Comeback Player of the Year
The National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award refers to a number of awards that are given to a National Football League (NFL) player who has shown perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previo ...
See also
*
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South, South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The organization began p ...
*
Indianapolis Colts seasons
*
Colts–Patriots rivalry
The Colts–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. It is considered one of the most famous rivalries in the NFL from the 2000s due to the teams posting numerous wi ...
*
1995 AFC Championship game
The 1995 AFC Championship Game was the championship game for the American Football Conference for the 1995 season. The game was played on January 14, 1996, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who hosted the In ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1995 Indianapolis Colts Season
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
Indianapolis Colts seasons
Colts