1995 Cincinnati Bengals season
NFL team season
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The 1995 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 28th year in professional football and its 26th with the National Football League.
| 1995 Cincinnati Bengals season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dave Shula |
| Home stadium | Riverfront Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | QB Jeff Blake WR Carl Pickens |
With Jeff Blake firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, the Bengals won their first two games. However, the Bengals would lose their next two, heading into a rematch with Don Shula and the Miami Dolphins, in which the Bengals also lost, 26–23. The Bengals went on to play fairly well the rest of the season, but could not avoid their fifth straight losing season, ending with a 7–9 win–loss record.
One of the season's biggest disappointments was running back Ki-Jana Carter who the Bengals took with first overall pick out of Penn State. Carter would suffer a knee injury in his first preseason game, forcing him to miss his entire rookie season. He would never fully recover, in an injury plagued career.[1]
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1995 Cincinnati Bengals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ki-Jana Carter | Running back | Penn State | |
| 3 | 69 | Melvin Tuten | Offensive tackle | Syracuse | |
| 4 | 102 | Sam Shade | Defensive back | Alabama | |
| 5 | 139 | David Dunn | Wide receiver | Fresno State | |
| 6 | 175 | Ryan Grigson | Offensive tackle | Purdue | |
| 7 | 213 | John Walsh | Quarterback | BYU | |
| Made roster | |||||
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3, 1995 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 24–21 (OT) | 1–0 | RCA Dome | 42,445 |
| 2 | September 10, 1995 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 24–17 | 2–0 | Riverfront Stadium | 48,318 |
| 3 | September 17, 1995 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 21–24 | 2–1 | Kingdome | 39,492 |
| 4 | September 24, 1995 | Houston Oilers | L 28–38 | 2–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 46,332 |
| 5 | October 1, 1995 | Miami Dolphins | L 23–26 | 2–3 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,671 |
| 6 | October 8, 1995 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 16–19 | 2–4 | Tampa Stadium | 41,732 |
| 7 | Bye | |||||
| 8 | October 19, 1995 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–9 | 3–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 56,684 |
| 9 | October 29, 1995 | Cleveland Browns | L 26–29 (OT) | 3–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 58,639 |
| 10 | November 5, 1995 | Oakland Raiders | L 17–20 | 3–6 | Riverfront Stadium | 51,265 |
| 11 | November 12, 1995 | at Houston Oilers | W 32–25 | 4–6 | Houston Astrodome | 32,998 |
| 12 | November 19, 1995 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 31–49 | 4–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 54,636 |
| 13 | November 26, 1995 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 17–13 | 5–7 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | 68,249 |
| 14 | December 3, 1995 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–24 | 5–8 | Lambeau Field | 60,318 |
| 15 | December 10, 1995 | Chicago Bears | W 16–10 | 6–8 | Riverfront Stadium | 38,642 |
| 16 | December 17, 1995 | at Cleveland Browns | L 10–26 | 6–9 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 55,875 |
| 17 | December 24, 1995 | Minnesota Vikings | W 27–24 | 7–9 | Riverfront Stadium | 34,568 |
Season summary
Week 2: vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Week Two: Cincinnati Bengals vs Jacksonville Jaguars
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaguars | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Bengals | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Date: September 10, 1995
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Overcast, 67 °F (19 °C)
- Game attendance: 48,318
- TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Beasley Reece
- Recap
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 16 at Cleveland Browns
Week 16: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Browns | 0 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 26 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Date: December 17, 1995
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Overcast, 29 °F (−2 °C)
- Game attendance: 55,875
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Randy Cross and Jim Gray
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (2) Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 407 | 327 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 349 | 374 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 348 | 324 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 289 | 356 | L1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 275 | 404 | W1 |
Team leaders
Passing
| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Jeff Blake | 567 | 326 | 3822 | 28 | 17 | 82.1 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | YPC | Long | TD |
| Harold Green | 171 | 661 | 3.9 | 23 | 2 |
| Eric Bieniemy | 98 | 381 | 3.9 | 27 | 3 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| Carl Pickens | 99 | 1234 | 12.5 | 68 | 17 |
Defensive
| Player | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FF | FR |
| Steve Tovar | 99 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| John Copeland | 61 | 9.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bracy Walker | 85 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Kicking and punting
| Player | FGA | FGM | FG% | XPA | XPM | XP% | Points |
| Doug Pelfrey | 36 | 29 | 80.6% | 34 | 34 | 100.0% | 121 |
| Player | Punts | Yards | Long | Blkd | Avg. |
| Lee Johnson | 68 | 2861 | 61 | 0 | 42.1 |
Special teams
| Player | KR | KRYards | KRAvg | KRLong | KRTD | PR | PRYards | PRAvg | PRLong | PRTD |
| David Dunn | 50 | 1092 | 21.8 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Sawyer | 2 | 50 | 25.0 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 58 | 6.4 | 21 | 0 |
Awards and records
Conference Leaders
- Carl Pickens, Led AFC, Receptions, (99) [5]
- Carl Pickens, Led AFC, Touchdowns, (17)
Franchise Records
- Carl Pickens, Franchise Record, Most Touchdowns in One Season, (17),[6]
- Doug Pelfrey, Franchise Record, Most Field Goals in One Season, (29),[6]
- Doug Pelfrey, Franchise Record, Most Points in One Season, (121),[6]
Milestones
- Carl Pickens, 2nd 1,000 yard receiving season (1,234 yards) [7]
- David Dunn, 1st 1,000-yard return season[8]
