1995 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1995 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 36th season in the National Football League and was the second year under head coach Barry Switzer and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win during 1992 to 1995. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons (would be later matched by the New England Patriots from the 2001 to 2004 seasons). Switzer guided the Cowboys to a fifth Super Bowl victory by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. As of 2020, this is the last time the Cowboys appeared in the NFC Championship Game, and in turn, their last Super Bowl appearance.

1995 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerJerry Jones
Head coachBarry Switzer
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishWon NFC Divisional Playoff (Eagles) 30–11
Won NFC Championship (Packers) 38–27
Won Super Bowl XXX (Steelers) 27–17

Offseason

The 1995 NFL draft was one of the worst in Dallas Cowboys history. It is infamously known as the "backup draft", because the team considered their roster so strong, they drafted players based on their contributions as backups, which limited the future potential of their selections. The team traded their first-round draft choice (28th overall) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (they selected Derrick Brooks), in exchange for two second-round picks. The best player drafted would end up being Eric Bjornson.

NFL draft
Main article: 1995 NFL draft
1995 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 46 Sherman Williams  Running back Alabama
2 59 Kendell Watkins  Tight end Mississippi State
2 63 Shane Hannah  Guard Michigan State
3 92 Charlie Williams  Cornerback Bowling Green
4 110 Eric Bjornson  Tight end Washington
4 129 Alundis Brice  Cornerback Ole Miss
4 130 Linc Harden  Linebacker Oklahoma State
5 166 Ed Hervey  Wide Receiver USC
5 168 Dana Howard  Linebacker Illinois
7 236 Oscar Sturgis  Defensive end North Carolina
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season

The 1995 season, due to the NFL salary cap, once more saw a number of key veterans depart via free agency including wide receiver Alvin Harper to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, safety James Washington to the Washington Redskins, center Mark Stepnoski to the Houston Oilers and longtime Cowboys veteran defensive end Jim Jeffcoat to the Buffalo Bills. Starting cornerback Kevin Smith was out the remainder of the season after an injury in week one and perhaps the most prominent addition came on September 11, 1995, when Dallas signed All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders away from the San Francisco 49ers. Running back Emmitt Smith would earn his fourth NFL rushing title and set a then-record 25 rushing touchdowns in a season against the Arizona Cardinals to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The season began with victories against the Giants, Broncos, Vikings in overtime, and Cardinals. In week five at the Redskins Troy Aikman was injured early and the Cowboys suffered their first loss of the season. Aikman returned the next week and led Dallas to wins over Green Bay, San Diego, the Falcons (marking Deion Sanders’ debut game with the Cowboys), and the Eagles to move to 8–1.

In week ten, the struggling 49ers (only 5–4 and with Elvis Grbac subbing for injured Steve Young) came to Texas Stadium and shocked the Cowboys, 38–20; the game’s signature play was San Francisco’s second play from scrimmage, from the Niners’ 19-yard line, as Grbac’s pass split Dallas’ safeties and Jerry Rice scored.

The win started a six-game win streak for San Francisco while Dallas rebounded beating the Raiders and the Chiefs to move to 10–2 but then were upset at home by the Washington Redskins (The Redskins, who finished only 6–10, swept the eventual world champions; it was the Skins’ seventh win in fourteen meetings since the firing of Tom Landry). The Cowboys would lose their second game in a row in a controversial loss at Philadelphia where with the game tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, Coach Barry Switzer elected to "go for it" on 4th and a foot at the Cowboys 29. The Eagles initially stopped Dallas for no gain but the play was ruled dead because the two-minute warning was reached before Dallas snapped the ball. Switzer then elected to not punt and try again, and this time the play was stopped for a 1-yard loss; Philly took over and soon kicked a field goal to get the win. While the Cowboys in general and Switzer in particular were excoriated by fans and the media, the team became stronger and angrier after this game (Deion Sanders publicly supported Switzer and the decision to try the 4th down conversion) and eventually used those emotions to end the losing streak.

The next week, Dallas appeared headed for a third straight defeat at home to the mediocre Giants (only 5–9 entering the game) but thanks to a clutch late reception by Kevin Williams and a last-second field goal by Chris Boniol, the Cowboys prevailed. Rejuvenated, the team defeated the Arizona Cardinals and (combined with a 49er loss the day before) secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The movie "Jerry Maguire" used film footage from the Arizona matchup.

The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoff game followed by a memorable NFC championship game victory against the Green Bay Packers at Texas Stadium. The team would go on to face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona in an attempt to tie the NFL record of a fifth league title. Dallas dominated early, but as the Steelers gained momentum and threatened an upset over the heavily favored Cowboys, starting cornerback Larry Brown, after the tragic loss of his son Kristopher during the season, was named Super Bowl XXX Most Valuable Player when he made his second interception of a pass from Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell to seal the game.

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 4, 1995 at New York Giants W 35–0 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap
2 September 10, 1995 Denver Broncos W 31–21 2–0 Texas Stadium Recap
3 September 17, 1995 at Minnesota Vikings W 23–17 (OT) 3–0 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
4 September 24, 1995 Arizona Cardinals W 34–20 4–0 Texas Stadium Recap
5 October 1, 1995 at Washington Redskins L 23–27 4–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
6 October 8, 1995 Green Bay Packers W 34–24 5–1 Texas Stadium Recap
7 October 15, 1995 at San Diego Chargers W 23–9 6–1 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap
8 Bye
9 October 29, 1995 at Atlanta Falcons W 28–13 7–1 Georgia Dome Recap
10 November 6, 1995 Philadelphia Eagles W 34–12 8–1 Texas Stadium Recap
11 November 12, 1995 San Francisco 49ers L 20–38 8–2 Texas Stadium Recap
12 November 19, 1995 at Oakland Raiders W 34–21 9–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
13 November 23, 1995 Kansas City Chiefs W 24–12 10–2 Texas Stadium Recap
14 December 3, 1995 Washington Redskins L 17–24 10–3 Texas Stadium Recap
15 December 10, 1995 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–20 10–4 Veterans Stadium Recap
16 December 17, 1995 New York Giants W 21–20 11–4 Texas Stadium Recap
17 December 25, 1995 at Arizona Cardinals W 37–13 12–4 Sun Devil Stadium Recap

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

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result
Divisional January 7, 1996 Philadelphia Eagles W 30–11
NFC Championship January 14, 1996 Green Bay Packers W 38–27
Super Bowl XXX January 28, 1996 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–17

NFC Championship Game
Dallas Cowboys 38, Green Bay Packers 27
1 2 34Total
Packers 10 7 10027
Cowboys 14 10 01438

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Super Bowl XXX
Main article: Super Bowl XXX

Scoring summary
  • DAL – FG: Chris Boniol 42 yards 3–0 DAL
  • DAL – TD: Jay Novacek 3 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Chris Boniol kick) 10–0 DAL
  • DAL – FG: Chris Boniol 35 yards 13–0 DAL
  • PIT – TD: Yancey Thigpen 6 yard pass from Neil O'Donnell (Norm Johnson kick) 13–7 DAL
  • DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 1 yard run (Chris Boniol kick) 20–7 DAL
  • PIT – FG: Norm Johnson 46 yards 20–10 DAL
  • PIT – TD: Byron "Bam" Morris 1 yard run (Norm Johnson kick) 20–17 DAL
  • DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 4 yard run (Chris Boniol kick) 27–17 DAL

Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1995 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

 Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

 Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics
52 Active, 4 Inactive

Awards and records
  • Emmitt Smith, NFL rushing leader
  • Larry Brown, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player

Milestones
  • Michael Irvin, 100 Reception Season (Irvin finished the season with 111 receptions) [1]
  • In 1995, Emmitt Smith won his fourth rushing title. He would rush for a career-high 1,773 yards.[2]

Publications
  • The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
  • Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
  • Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References
  1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
  2. Numbelivable!, p.159, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
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