| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 9, 2004 – January 2, 2005 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | January 8, 2005 |
| AFC Champions | New England Patriots |
| NFC Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Super Bowl XXXIX | |
| Date | February 6, 2005 |
| Site | ALLTEL Stadium,Jacksonville,Florida |
| Champions | New England Patriots |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | February 13, 2005 |
| Site | Aloha Stadium |
The2004 NFL season was the 85thregular season of theNational Football League (NFL).
With theNew England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004, toJanuary 2, 2005.Hurricanes forced the rescheduling of twoMiami Dolphins home games: the game against theTennessee Titans was moved up one day to Saturday, September 11 to avoid oncomingHurricane Ivan, while the game versus thePittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 26 was moved back 7½ hours to miss the eye ofHurricane Jeanne.
Theplayoffs began on January 8, and eventually the New England Patriots repeated as NFL champions when they defeated thePhiladelphia Eagles 24–21 inSuper Bowl XXXIX atALLTEL Stadium inJacksonville,Florida on February 6. It would mark the last time a team won back-to-back Super Bowls until2023 (that team being theKansas City Chiefs).
The2004 NFL draft was held from April 24 to 25, 2004, atNew York City'sTheater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, theSan Diego Chargers selected quarterbackEli Manning from theUniversity of Mississippi.
Ron Blum returned to line judge (where he officiatedSuper Bowl XXIV andSuper Bowl XXVI), andBill Vinovich was promoted to take his place as referee.
Midway through the season,Johnny Grier, the NFL's first African-American referee, suffered a leg injury that forced him to retire, and became an officiating supervisor for the NFL the following season. He was permanently replaced by the back judge on his crew,Scott Green, who had previous experience as a referee inNFL Europe.
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Within each conference, the four division winners and the top twonon-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners areseeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed thewild-card playoffs orwild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received afirst-round bye. In the second round, thedivisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although theSuper Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[4]
| Seed | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers (North winner) | Philadelphia Eagles (East winner) |
| 2 | New England Patriots (East winner) | Atlanta Falcons (South winner) |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts (South winner) | Green Bay Packers (North winner) |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers (West winner) | Seattle Seahawks (West winner) |
| 5 | New York Jets (wild card) | St. Louis Rams (wild card) |
| 6 | Denver Broncos (wild card) | Minnesota Vikings (wild card) |
TheMiami Dolphins were the first team to be eliminated from the playoff race, having reached a 1–9 record by week 11.[5]
| Jan 9 –RCA Dome | Jan 16 –Gillette Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Denver | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indianapolis | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indianapolis | 49 | Jan 23 – Heinz Field | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | New England | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 8 –Qualcomm Stadium | 2 | New England | 41 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 15 –Heinz Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Jets | 20* | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | NY Jets | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Diego | 17 | Feb 6 –Alltel Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 20* | ||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 8 –Qwest Field | A2 | New England | 24 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 15 –Georgia Dome | ||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Philadelphia | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 27 | Super Bowl XXXIX | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 20 | Jan 23 – Lincoln Financial Field | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | 47 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 9 –Lambeau Field | 2 | Atlanta | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 16 –Lincoln Financial Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 31 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Minnesota | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Green Bay | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:
| Record | Player/team | Date/opponent | Previous record holder[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longest interception return | Ed Reed, Baltimore (106 yards) | November 7, vs Cleveland | Tied by 2 players (103) |
| Most touchdown passes, season | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (49) | N/A | Dan Marino, Miami, 1984 (48) |
| Highest passer rating, season | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (121.1) | Steve Young, San Francisco, 1994 (112.8) | |
| Most interception return yards gained, season | Ed Reed, Baltimore (358) | Charlie McNeil, San Diego, 1961 (349) | |
| Most first downs by a team, season | Kansas City (398) | Miami, 1994 (387) | |
| Most consecutive games won | New England (21) | October 24, vs. N.Y. Jets | Chicago, 1933–34 (17) |
| Most passing touchdowns by a team, season | Indianapolis (51) | N/A | Miami, 1984 (49) |
The Colts led the NFL with 522 points scored. The Colts tallied more points in the first half of each of their games of the 2004 NFL season (277 points) than seven other NFL teams managed in the entire season.[7] Despite throwing for 49 touchdown passes, Peyton Manning attempted fewer than 500 passes for the first time in his NFL career.[8] The San Francisco 49ers' record 420 consecutive scoring games that had started in Week 5 of the1977 season ended in Week 2 of the season.
| Points scored | Indianapolis Colts (522) |
| Total yards gained | Kansas City Chiefs (6,695) |
| Yards rushing | Atlanta Falcons (2,672) |
| Yards passing | Indianapolis Colts (4,623) |
| Fewest points allowed | Pittsburgh Steelers (251) |
| Fewest total yards allowed | Pittsburgh Steelers (4,134) |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | Pittsburgh Steelers (1,299) |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2,579) |
| Scoring | Adam Vinatieri, New England (141 points) |
| Touchdowns | Shaun Alexander, Seattle (20 TDs) |
| Most field goals made | Adam Vinatieri, New England (31 FGs) |
| Passing | Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota (4717 yards) |
| Passing Touchdowns | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (49 TDs) |
| Passer Rating | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis (121.1 rating) |
| Rushing | Curtis Martin, New York Jets (1,697 yards) |
| Rushing Touchdowns | LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego (17 TDs) |
| Receptions | Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City (102) |
| Receiving yards | Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina (1,405) |
| Punt returns | Eddie Drummond, Detroit (13.2 average yards) |
| Kickoff returns | Willie Ponder, New York Giants (26.9 average yards) |
| Interceptions | Ed Reed, Baltimore (9) |
| Punting | Shane Lechler, Oakland (46.7 average yards) |
| Sacks | Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis (16) |
| Most Valuable Player | Peyton Manning,quarterback,Indianapolis |
| Coach of the Year | Marty Schottenheimer,San Diego |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Peyton Manning, quarterback, Indianapolis |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ed Reed,Strong Safety,Baltimore |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback,Pittsburgh |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Jonathan Vilma,linebacker,New York Jets |
| NFL Comeback Player of the Year | Drew Brees, quarterback, San Diego |
| Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year | Warrick Dunn,running back,Atlanta |
| Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Deion Branch,wide receiver,New England |
| Team | Departing coach | Interim coach | Incoming coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | Dave McGinnis | Dennis Green | Fired | After spending two seasons as an analyst forESPN, Green was hired as head coach by the Arizona Cardinals on January 7, 2004. | |
| Atlanta Falcons | Dan Reeves | Wade Phillips | Jim L. Mora | Reeves was fired after winning just three of the first thirteen games of the2003 season, with defensive coordinatorWade Phillips serving as interim coach for the last three games.[9] Mora was previously the 49ers'defensive coordinator from1999 until2003.[10] | |
| Buffalo Bills | Gregg Williams | Mike Mularkey | After three seasons in which the team compiled records of 3–13, 8–8, and 6–10 under his leadership, Williams' contract was allowed to expire after the2003 season. Mularkey served as the Steelers offensive coordinator for the past three seasons. | ||
| Chicago Bears | Dick Jauron | Lovie Smith | Jauron coached the Bears for five seasons (1999–2003), finishing with a 35–45 regular season record and one playoff appearance.[11] Smith was the defensive coordinator of theSt. Louis Rams for three seasons under head coachMike Martz. While in St. Louis, Smith improved the Rams' defense from giving up a league-worst 29.4 points per game in 2000, to an average of 17.1 points per game in 2001. Upon arriving in Chicago, Smith stated he had three goals: beat theGreen Bay Packers, win theNFC North, and win a Super Bowl. | ||
| New York Giants | Jim Fassel | Tom Coughlin | On December 17, 2003, with two games remaining in what became a 4-12 season and knowing that the team was near certain to let him go at its conclusion, Fassel announced he would resign after the season.[12] After being out of football in 2003, former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin was hired to replace Fassel as head coach of the Giants in January 2004. | ||
| Oakland Raiders | Bill Callahan | Norv Turner | Callahan was fired by Raiders ownerAl Davis on January 1, 2004, after a lackluster 4–12 season.[13] Turner was offensive coordinator for theMiami Dolphins in 2002 and 2003. | ||
| Washington Redskins | Steve Spurrier | Joe Gibbs | Resigned | Spurrier resigned on December 30, 2003, choosing to walk away from $15 million still owed to him over the remaining three years of his contract. In January 2004, Gibbs accepted an offer from Redskins ownerDaniel Snyder to return to the team. In the eleven years since Gibbs retired as the Redskins head coach, many NFL owners had approached Gibbs hoping to lure him out of his retirement of managing hisNASCAR racing team, but to no avail. At his press conference, Gibbs stated that even though he enjoyed NASCAR, he had also missed coaching in the NFL. Gibbs left his racing team in the hands of his eldest son,J. D., while his other son,Coy, joined him as an assistant with the Redskins. | |
| Team | Departing executive | Incoming executive | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | Dan Reeves | Rich McKay | Fired | On December 12, 2003, McKay and the Buccaneers came to an agreement that would see McKay leave the organization with the freedom to join any team he wanted with no compensation required. On December 15, 2003, McKay became president and general manager of the Falcons. |
| Miami Dolphins | Eddie Jones | Rick Spielman | Retired | Spielman was promoted from senior vice president of football operations after the 2003 season to replace the retiring Jones. |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Rich McKay | Bruce Allen | Mutual agreement | Following the2003 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave McKay permission to leave the team as his relationship withSuper Bowl XXXVII-winning coachJon Gruden had deteriorated.[14] The Glazer family hired Raiders senior executive Bruce Allen to replace McKay, as Allen had previously worked with Gruden in Oakland. |
This was the seventh year under the league's eight-year broadcast contracts withABC,CBS,Fox, and ESPN to televiseMonday Night Football, the AFC package, the NFC package, andSunday Night Football, respectively.
At CBS,Jim Nantz andGreg Gumbel swapped roles. Nantz replaced Gumbel as CBS's lead play-by-play announcer while Gumbel took Nantz's hosting duties onThe NFL Today.Shannon Sharpe also joinedThe NFL Today as an analyst, replacingDeion Sanders who was let go due to salary disputes, and returned to playing with theBaltimore Ravens from 2004-2005. Former quarterbackSteve Beuerlein joined CBS as a color commentator following his retirement after the 2003 NFL season and worked the #7 broadcast team. As well asDan Dierdorf doing play by play for the first time since the 1980’s for the Titans Dolphins matchup week 1 withTodd Blackledge as the game was moved to Saturday due to Hurricane Ivan.
ESPN play-by-play announcerMike Patrick missed the first few broadcasts to recover from heart bypass surgery.Pat Summerall filled in those weeks for Patrick.
Starting this season CBS, Fox, ABC, and ESPN started broadcasting regular season games inHigh Definition. CBS would do select games weekly, while Fox, ABC, and ESPN broadcast every game weekly.
