# 1995 Denver Broncos season

The 1995 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League, and the 36th overall. The season would be a turning point for the franchise, as being the first year that Mike Shanahan would be head coach, and that would include the drafting of future 2,000 yard rusher and Super Bowl MVP Terrell Davis.

## Off season
### NFL draft

1995 Denver Broncos draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 4 | 121 | Jamie Brown | OT | Florida A&M |
| 4 | 124 | Ken Brown | LB | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | 146 | Phil Yeboah-Kodie | LB | Penn State |
| 6 | 182 | Fritz Fequeire | G | Iowa |
| 6 | 196 | Terrell Davis * $^†$ | RB | Georgia |
| 7 | 218 | Steve Russ | LB | Air Force |
| 7 | 222 | Byron Chamberlain * | Wide receiver | Wayne State (NE) |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance | TV Time (MT) |
| 1 | September 3, 1995 | Buffalo Bills | W 22–7 | 1–0 | 75,743 | TNT 6:00 pm |
| 2 | September 10, 1995 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 31–21 | 1–1 | 64,576 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 3 | September 17, 1995 | Washington Redskins | W 38–31 | 2–1 | 71,930 | Fox 2:00 pm |
| 4 | September 24, 1995 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–6 | 2–2 | 58,978 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 5 | October 1, 1995 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 27–10 | 2–3 | 56,483 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 6 | October 8, 1995 | at New England Patriots | W 37–3 | 3–3 | 60,074 | TNT 6:00 pm |
| 7 | October 16, 1995 | Oakland Raiders | W 27–0 | 4–3 | 75,491 | ABC 6:00 pm |
| 8 | October 22, 1995 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 21–7 | 4–4 | 71,044 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 9 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 10 | November 5, 1995 | Arizona Cardinals | W 38–6 | 5–4 | 71,488 | Fox 2:00 pm |
| 11 | November 12, 1995 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–13 | 5–5 | 60,842 | ESPN 6:00 pm |
| 12 | November 19, 1995 | San Diego Chargers | W 30–27 | 6–5 | 74,681 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 13 | November 26, 1995 | at Houston Oilers | L 42–33 | 6–6 | 36,113 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 14 | December 3, 1995 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 31–23 | 7–6 | 72,231 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 15 | December 10, 1995 | Seattle Seahawks | L 31–27 | 7–7 | 71,488 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 16 | December 17, 1995 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 20–17 | 7–8 | 75,061 | NBC 2:00 pm |
| 17 | December 24, 1995 | at Oakland Raiders | W 31–28 | 8–8 | 50,074 | NBC 2:00 pm |

### Standings

AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Kansas City Chiefs | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 358 | 241 | W2 |
| $^{(4)}$ San Diego Chargers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 321 | 323 | W5 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 363 | 366 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 388 | 345 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 348 | 332 | L6 |

## Season summary
### Week 1 vs Bills

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Broncos | 3 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 22 |
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
* Date: September 3, 1995
* Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear, 76 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 75,157
* TV announcers (TNT): Verne Lundquist, Pat Haden, and Craig Sager
* Box Score, Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
DEN – Jason Elam 22-yard field goal, 12:32. Broncos 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards.
BUF – Andre Reed 34-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Steve Christie kick), 8:43. Bills 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards.
Second quarter
DEN – Jason Elam 52-yard field goal, 14:55. Bills 7–6. Drive: 5 plays, 19 yards.
DEN – Jason Elam 20-yard field goal, 8:25. Broncos 9–7. Drive: 10 plays, 42 yards.
DEN – Jason Elam 38-yard field goal, 0:02. Broncos 12–7. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards.
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
DEN – Jason Elam 37-yard field goal, 10:23. Broncos 15–7. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards.
DEN – Terrell Davis 3-yard run (Jason Elam kick), 3:22. Broncos 22–7. Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards.
Top passers
BUF – Jim Kelly – 12/28, 154 yards, TD
DEN – John Elway – 22/41, 317 yards, INT
Top rushers
BUF – Thurman Thomas – 17 rushes, 46 yards
DEN – Terrell Davis – 20 rushes, 70 yards, TD
Top receivers
BUF – Russell Copeland – 6 receptions, 75 yards
DEN – Shannon Sharpe – 10 receptions, 180 yards :
This game was the Bills’ first game in Denver since 1977.