1995 Cincinnati Bengals season

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 field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	QB Jeff Blake WR Carl Pickens
← 1994 Bengals seasons 1996 →

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

Main article: 1995 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

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1995 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office President – Mike Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Dave Shula Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bruce Coslet Quarterbacks – Ken Anderson Running Backs – Jim Anderson Tight Ends – Gary Moeller Offensive Line – Paul Alexander Offensive Assistant/Wide Receivers – John Garrett

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Defensive Line – Bobby DePaul Linebackers – Joe Pascale Defensive Backs – Ron Meeks Defensive Assistant – Tim Krumrie Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe Wessel Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster

1995 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  8 Jeff Blake  7 David Klingler 10 John Walsh Running backs (RB) 21 Eric Bieniemy 38 Jason Burns 46 Jeff Cothran FB 28 Harold Green 36 James Joseph Wide receivers (WR) 18 Thomas Bailey 80 David Dunn KR 84 Jeff Hill KR 81 Carl Pickens 16 David Rhodes 86 Darnay Scott Tight ends (TE) 82 Tony McGee 87 Troy Sadowski 88 Derek Ware

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Darrick Brilz C 75 Anthony Brown G 72 Scott Brumfield G 71 Ray Forsythe G 66 Dan Jones G/C 62 Todd Kalis G 76 Trent Pollard G 77 Kevin Sargent T 61 Melvin Tuten G/T 63 Joe Walter T Defensive linemen (DL) 92 John Copeland DE 98 Todd Kelly DE 96 Alfred Oglesby DT 95 Keith Rucker DT 70 Artie Smith DE 79 Ramondo Stallings DT/DE 67 Kimo von Oelhoffen DT 99 Dan Wilkinson DT

Linebackers (LB) 55 Andre Collins OLB 57 Kevin Jefferson MLB 56 Ricardo McDonald OLB 52 Randy Neal OLB 51 Steve Tovar MLB 91 Brett Wallerstedt MLB Defensive backs (DB) 45 Adrian Hardy CB 25 Rod Jones CB 24 Roger Jones CB 23 Corey Sawyer CB 35 Sam Shade SS 30 Chris Shelling CB 27 Bracy Walker SS 37 Leonard Wheeler CB/FS 31 Darryl Williams FS Special teams 11 Lee Johnson P  9 Doug Pelfrey K 59 Greg Truitt LS

Practice squad none 53 active, 7 inactive Reserve 74 Rich Braham G/C (IR) 43 Mike Brim CB (IR) 32 Ki-Jana Carter RB (IR) 90 Gerald Collins LB (IR) 50 James Francis LB (IR) 64 Bruce Kozerski G (IR) 85 Tim McGee WR (IR) Rookies in italics

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 3, 1995	at Indianapolis Colts	W 24–21 (OT)	1–0	42,445
2	September 10, 1995	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 24–17	2–0	48,318
3	September 17, 1995	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–24	2–1	39,492
4	September 24, 1995	Houston Oilers	L 28–38	2–2	46,332
5	October 1, 1995	Miami Dolphins	L 23–26	2–3	52,671
6	October 8, 1995	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 16–19	2–4	41,732
7	Bye
8	October 19, 1995	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–9	3–4	56,684
9	October 29, 1995	Cleveland Browns	L 26–29 (OT)	3–5	58,639
10	November 5, 1995	Oakland Raiders	L 17–20	3–6	51,265
11	November 12, 1995	at Houston Oilers	W 32–25	4–6	32,998
12	November 19, 1995	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 31–49	4–7	54,636
13	November 26, 1995	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 17–13	5–7	68,249
14	December 3, 1995	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–24	5–8	60,318
15	December 10, 1995	Chicago Bears	W 16–10	6–8	38,642
16	December 17, 1995	at Cleveland Browns	L 10–26	6–9	55,875
17	December 24, 1995	Minnesota Vikings	W 27–24	7–9	34,568

Season summary

Week 2: vs Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	7	0	3	7	17
Bengals	3	7	7	7	24

Game information

First quarter CIN – Doug Pelfrey 27-yard field goal, 9:51. Bengals 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 27 yards, 5:09. JAC – Randy Jordan 71-yard pass from Steve Beuerlein (Mike Hollis kick), 8:43. Jaguars 7–3. Drive: 3 plays, 77 yards, 1:08. Second quarter CIN – Melvin Tuten 3-yard pass from Jeff Blake (Doug Pelfrey kick), 0:16. Bengals 10–7. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 3:08. Third quarter JAC – Mike Hollis 29-yard field goal, 12:18. Tied 10–10. Drive: 5 plays, -7 yards, 0:25. CIN – Harold Green 10-yard run (Doug Pelfrey kick), 8:14. Bengals 17–10. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:04. Fourth quarter CIN – Carl Pickens 68-yard pass from Jeff Blake (Doug Pelfrey kick), 14:04. Bengals 24–10. Drive: 2 plays, 70 yards, 0:48. JAC – Mark Brunell 8-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 7:20. Bengals 24–17. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 4:15. Top passers JAC – Steve Beuerlein – 4/12, 98 yards, TD CIN – Jeff Blake – 20/30, 247 yards, 2 TD Top rushers JAC – Randy Jordan – 20 rushes, 64 yards CIN – Eric Bieniemy – 14 rushes, 65 yards Top receivers JAC – Randy Jordan – 3 receptions, 80 yards, TD CIN – Carl Pickens – 5 receptions, 102 yards, TD

Week Two: Cincinnati Bengals vs Jacksonville Jaguars

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

Week 16 at Cleveland Browns

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	0	3	0	7	10
Browns	0	17	6	3	26

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers CIN – Jeff Blake – 22/46, 257 yards, INT CLE – Vinny Testaverde – 22/23, 241 yards, 2 TD Top rushers CIN – Harold Green – 7 rushes, 33 yards CLE – Earnest Byner – 31 rushes, 121 yards Top receivers CIN – Carl Pickens – 5 receptions, 90 yards CLE – Earnest Byner – 7 receptions, 36 yards

Week 16: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns

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

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	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

^[4]

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]

References

1. Season summary and statistics at Sports E Cylclopedia
2. "1995 Cincinnati Bengals Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
3. "1995 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
4. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 291
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 37
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 440
8. "David Dunn Career Stats". NFL.com.

External links

• Official website
• 1995 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com