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1995 San Francisco 49ers season

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1995 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General managerCarmen Policy
Head coachGeorge Seifert
Offensive coordinatorMarc Trestman
Defensive coordinatorPete Carroll
Home field3Com Park
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Packers) 17–27
Pro BowlersC Bart Oates
TE Brent Jones
WR Jerry Rice
QB Steve Young
DT Dana Stubblefield
OLB Lee Woodall
MLB Ken Norton Jr.
CB Eric Davis
SS Tim McDonald
FS Merton Hanks

The 1995 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 50th overall.

Fresh from their victory in the Super Bowl the previous season, the 49ers lost cornerback Deion Sanders to Dallas and running back Ricky Watters to Philadelphia. Despite a mediocre 5–4 start, the 49ers went 11–5 and for the fourth straight time, they repeated as NFC West champions. The 49ers finished the season as the league's top scoring offense, averaging 28.6 points per game. They also finished number one in total defense, surrendering just 275 yards per game, along with being the top rushing defense and finishing second in points allowed.[1] However, a stunning 27–17 loss to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs stripped the 49ers of their title defense and ended their season. This would be the first of three consecutive seasons that the Packers beat the 49ers in the playoffs. From 1990 to 2000, the 1995 49ers were the only NFC team to lose a divisional-round playoff game following a first-round bye.

Jerry Rice caught a career-high 122 receptions along with 1,848 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns.

It was also the final season the 49ers wore their Super Bowl era uniforms.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1995 NFL draft
1995 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 10 J. J. Stokes  Wide receiver UCLA
4 127 Tim Hanshaw  Guard BYU began play in 1996.
6 201 Antonio Armstrong  Linebacker Texas A&M
7 238 Herb Coleman  Defensive end Trinity International
      Made roster  

Personnel

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Staff

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1995 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical Development Coordinator – Jerry Attaway
  • Strength Development Coordinator – Michael Barnes


Roster

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1995 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad
  • 19 Darrick Branch WR


53 active, 4 inactive, 5 practice squad Reserve


Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 3 at New Orleans Saints W 24–22 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 66,627
2 September 10 Atlanta Falcons W 41–10 2–0 3Com Park 63,627
3 September 17 New England Patriots W 28–3 3–0 3Com Park 66,179
4 September 25 at Detroit Lions L 24–27 3–1 Pontiac Silverdome 76,236
5 October 1 New York Giants W 20–6 4–1 3Com Park 65,536
6 Bye
7 October 15 at Indianapolis Colts L 17–18 4–2 RCA Dome 60,273
8 October 22 at St. Louis Rams W 44–10 5–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 59,915
9 October 29 New Orleans Saints L 7–11 5–3 3Com Park 65,272
10 November 5 Carolina Panthers L 7–13 5–4 3Com Park 61,722
11 November 12 at Dallas Cowboys W 38–20 6–4 Texas Stadium 65,180
12 November 20 at Miami Dolphins W 44–20 7–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 73,080
13 November 26 St. Louis Rams W 41–13 8–4 3Com Park 66,049
14 December 3 Buffalo Bills W 27–17 9–4 3Com Park 65,568
15 December 10 at Carolina Panthers W 31–10 10–4 Clemson Memorial Stadium 76,136
16 December 18 Minnesota Vikings W 37–30 11–4 3Com Park 64,975
17 December 24 at Atlanta Falcons L 27–28 11–5 Georgia Dome 51,785
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at New Orleans Saints

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The Niners began their Super Bowl defense on the road and raced to a 24–9 lead despite an injury to Steve Young (accidentally kicked in the back of his neck) that necessitated play by Elvis Grbac for part of the first half. Two second-half Saints scores only closed the final to 24–22 Niners.

Week 4: at Detroit Lions

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The Niners suffered their first defeat of the season in a 27–24 loss at the 0–3 Lions. The game lead tied or changed four times in the second half and a last-second Niners field goal attempt failed.

Week 11: vs. Dallas Cowboys

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Week Eleven: San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 17 14 0738
Cowboys 0 7 6720

at Texas Stadium, Dallas, Texas

  • Date: November 12, 1995
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 48 °F or 8.9 °C, relative humidity 39 percent, wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (Fox): Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator)
  • [1]
Game information

In one of the biggest upsets of the year, the injury-depleted 49ers thrashed the Cowboys 38–20. Coming into this game, the Cowboys were the NFL's best team, with an 8–1 record. The 49ers, on the other hand, were sitting at 5–4 coming off disappointing losses to New Orleans and the expansion Panthers by a combined score of 24–14. Steve Young was out with injury and Elvis Grbac was the 49ers' starting quarterback, but he had consistently struggled, completing 55 passes for 570 yards but with four INTs. As a result, the Cowboys were 14-point favorites coming in.

On just the second play of the game, Grbac split two defenders and hit Jerry Rice for an 81-yard touchdown, putting the 49ers up 7–0. On the ensuing possession, Michael Irvin fumbled the ball and it was picked up by Merton Hanks for a 38-yard touchdown, putting the 49ers up by two touchdowns just 1 minute and 24 seconds into the game. On the Cowboys' ensuing drive, they again turned it over (Troy Aikman interception) that resulted in a 49ers field goal. The 49ers led 17–0 just 4 minutes and 58 seconds into the game. By halftime, the 49ers had an astonishing 31–7 lead and held on for the win, upsetting the red-hot Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys turned the ball over four times in the game, while the 49ers had no turnovers.

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) San Francisco 49ers 11 5 0 .688 457 258 L1
(6) Atlanta Falcons 9 7 0 .563 362 349 W1
St. Louis Rams 7 9 0 .438 309 418 L3
Carolina Panthers 7 9 0 .438 289 325 L1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 319 348 W1

Postseason

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See also: 1995–96 NFL playoffs

Schedule

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Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Stadium
Wild Card First-round bye
Divisional January 6, 1996 Green Bay Packers (3) L 17–27 0–1 3Com Park

Game summaries

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NFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (3) Green Bay Packers

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NFC Divisional Playoff: Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 14 7 3327
49ers 0 3 7717

at Candlestick Park

  • Date: January 6, 1996
  • Game time: 1 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: 52 °F or 11.1 °C, relative humidity 85%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton (play-by-play) and Matt Millen (color commentator)
    First quarter Second quarter Third quarter
    • SF - Steve Young 1-yard rush (Jeff Wilkins kick). Packers 21–10
    • GB - Chris Jacke 27-yard field goal. Packers 24–10
    Fourth quarter
    • GB - Chris Jacke 26-yard field goal. Packers 27–10
    • SF - Derek Loville 2-yard rush (Jeff Wilkins kick). Packers 27–17

The 49ers, who were almost 10-point favorites in the game, were upset by the visiting Green Bay Packers. Green Bay set the tone early with a Craig Newsome 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and never looked back. Even though Steve Young had more pass attempts, completions and passing yards than his counterpart 1995 League MVP Brett Favre, he failed to throw for a touchdown and finished with 2 interceptions. The 49ers had 4 turnovers in the game. This was the final game for 49ers wide receiver John Taylor.

Awards and records

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  • Led NFL, Points Scored, 457 Points[3]
  • Jerry Rice, Franchise Record, Most Receiving Yards in One Game, 289 Receiving Yards (December 18, 1995)[4]
  • Jerry Rice, Franchise Record, Most Receptions in One Season, 122 Receptions[4]
  • Jerry Rice, NFL Record, Most Receiving Yards in One Season, 1,848 Receiving Yards[4]
  • Jerry Rice, Pro Bowl MVP[5]

References

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  1. ^ "1995 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1995 San Francisco 49ers starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 455
  4. ^ a b c NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 142
  5. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
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