1995 Philadelphia Eagles season
| 1995 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Ray Rhodes |
| Owner | Jeffrey Lurie |
| Home field | Veterans Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoff finish |
Won Wild Card Playoffs (Lions) 58–37 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Cowboys) 30–11 |
The 1995 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 63rd in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved upon their previous output of 7–9, going 10–6 under new head coach Ray Rhodes[1] and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
It wasn't an auspicious start. Ricky Watters, signed as a free agent from the Super Bowl champion San Francisco, infamously came up short on a pass over the middle in the Birds' season-opening 21–6 home loss to Tampa Bay. Following the contest, when asked why he didn't commit to catching the ball and taking a hit, he replied "For who? For what?"
Three weeks later, the Eagles were thumped by a 31-point margin against the Raiders in Oakland. However, the momentum swung in a positive direction after that, as Philly won four straight and seven of their next eight to get back in the playoff hunt.
On a frigid December 10 at the Vet against the Cowboys, the Eagles defense twice stopped Emmitt Smith on 4th-and-1 in Dallas territory late in the fourth quarter of a 17–17 tie. The change of possession resulted in the game-winning field goal from Gary Anderson and bragging rights forever. A win over Phoenix the next week clinched a playoff berth, but a loss at Chicago in the season finale on Christmas Eve torpedoed any hopes of an NFC East crown.
It was the final season for quarterback Randall Cunningham as he retired following the season.
Offseason
The Eagles' training camp was held for 16th and final year at West Chester University of Pennsylvania's John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The camp was about 20 miles from their home stadium in south Philadelphia. In 1996 the Eagles would move to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania about 50 miles away.
NFL draft
The 1995 NFL Draft was held April 22–23, 1995.[2] The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
With a 7–9 record in 1994, and tying with four other teams, the Eagles would rotate picking between the 8th pick to the 12th pick in the seven rounds. They would choose eight players in the five rounds they had picks. The Eagles would make a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for draft picks to move from 12th to 7th on the 1st round. With their 1st pick in the draft, acquired from Tampa Bay, the Eagles chose Mike Mamula a defensive end out of Boston College.
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler [3] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | PICK | PLAYER | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mike Mamula Pick Acquired from Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Defensive End | Boston College |
| 1 | 12 | Pick Traded to Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| 2 | 50 | Bobby Taylor | Defensive back | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 58 | Barrett Brooks | Tackle | Kansas State |
| 3 | 72 | Greg Jefferson | Defensive end | Central Florida |
| 3 | 78 | Chris T. Jones | Wide receiver | Miami (FL) |
| 4 | 119 | Dave Barr | Quarterback | California |
| 5 | pick Made by Detroit Lions | |||
| 6 | Pick Made by Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |||
| 7 | 210 | Kevin Bouie Pick Acquired from Jacksonville Jaguars | Running back | Mississippi State |
| 7 | 248 | Howard Smothers | Tackle | Bethune-Cookman |
Personnel
Staff
| 1995 Philadelphia Eagles staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | TV Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3, 1995 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 21–6 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 2 | September 10, 1995 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 31–19 | |
TNT 8:00ET |
| 3 | September 17, 1995 | San Diego Chargers | L 27–21 | |
NBC 1:00ET |
| 4 | September 24, 1995 | at Oakland Raiders | L 48–17 | |
FOX 4:00ET |
| 5 | October 1, 1995 | at New Orleans Saints | W 15–10 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 6 | October 8, 1995 | Washington Redskins | W 37–34 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 7 | October 15, 1995 | at New York Giants | W 17–14 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 8 | Bye | ||||
| 9 | October 29, 1995 | St. Louis Rams | W 20–9 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 10 | November 6, 1995 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 34–12 | |
ABC 9:00ET |
| 11 | November 12, 1995 | Denver Broncos | W 31–13 | |
ESPN 8:00ET |
| 12 | November 19, 1995 | New York Giants | W 28–19 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 13 | November 26, 1995 | at Washington Redskins | W 14–7 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 14 | December 3, 1995 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 26–14 | |
FOX 4:00ET |
| 15 | December 10, 1995 | Dallas Cowboys | W 20–17 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 16 | December 17, 1995 | Arizona Cardinals | W 21–20 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
| 17 | December 24, 1995 | at Chicago Bears | L 20–14 | |
FOX 1:00ET |
Game summaries
Week 15
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NFL Network selected this game as the #5 Moment at Home in Eagles' history.
Standings
| NFC East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 435 | 291 | W2 |
| (4) Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 318 | 338 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 326 | 359 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 290 | 340 | L2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 275 | 422 | L4 |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | TV Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 30, 1995 | Detroit Lions | W 58–37 | |
ABC 4:00pm EST |
| Division | January 7, 1996 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 30–11 | |
FOX 12:30pm EST |
References
- ↑ 1995 Philadelphia Eagles
- ↑ "Pro Football Draft History: 1995". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ↑ Mulligan, Kevin (May 16, 1995). "Ackles gets power position with Birds". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jul-07.