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2004 Buffalo Bills season

45th season in franchise history; most dominant team to miss playoffs in NFL history

45th season in franchise history; most dominant team to miss playoffs in NFL history

FieldValue
teamBuffalo Bills
year2004
record9–7
division_place3rd AFC East
coachMike Mularkey
general managerTom Donahoe
ownerRalph Wilson
stadiumRalph Wilson Stadium
playoffs*Did not qualify*
pro_bowlersDT Sam Adams
OLB Takeo Spikes
CB Nate Clements
KR Terrence McGee
shortnavlinkBills seasons

OLB Takeo Spikes CB Nate Clements KR Terrence McGee

The 2004 Buffalo Bills season was their 45th in the National Football League. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 6–10, finishing 9–7. However, this was the fifth consecutive season in which the team missed the playoffs.

Buffalo started the season with four straight losses. However, they rebounded with nine wins in their next eleven games. Having won six games in a row, they needed a win in the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers to qualify for the playoffs (they also would've been only the second team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting 0–4 after the 1992 Chargers). However, despite the Steelers playing their third stringers (which, notably, included Willie Parker, who would have his breakout performance in the game) and having a 17–16 lead in the fourth quarter, Buffalo lost 29–24 and subsequently missed the playoffs. It was the only winning season that Buffalo had in the 2000s (2000–2009) and would be the Bills' last winning season until 2014.

According to Football Outsiders, who tracked every play in the NFL since the early 1990s (until the site's abandonment in 2023), the 2004 Bills were statistically the best NFL team (in their record-keeping history) to have failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The Bills set an NFL record by returning six kicks (3 punts + 3 kickoffs) for touchdowns in 2004.

Their match with the Miami Dolphins in Week 6 is the only time in the NFL since 1968 that the last two winless teams have met each other.

Offseason

Free Agency

The Bills failed to re-sign guard Ruben Brown and cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr. Both would end up signing with NFC North teams, with Brown signing with the Chicago Bears and Winfield signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

To replace the departed players, the Bills signed former Chicago Bears guard Chris Villarrial and former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent.

NFL draft

Main article: 2004 NFL draft

The Bills drafted future starters Lee Evans from Wisconsin and J. P. Losman from Tulane in the first round of the 2004 Draft. Buffalo also signed undrafted tight end Jason Peters from Arkansas and converted him into a Pro Bowl offensive tackle. Buffalo traded their 2004 second round pick and 2005 first round pick to move into position to draft Losman.

Buffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}" width=7%RoundBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"Pick #Buffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"PlayerBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"PositionBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"College
113Lee EvansWide receiver[Wisconsin](2003-wisconsin-badgers-football-team)
122J. P. LosmanQuarterback[Tulane](2003-tulane-green-wave-football-team)
374Tim AndersonDefensive tackle[Ohio State](2003-ohio-state-buckeyes-football-team)
4109Tim EuhusTight end[Oregon State](2003-oregon-state-beavers-football-team)
7207Dylan McFarlandOffensive tackle[Montana](2003-montana-grizzlies-football-team)
7214Jonathan SmithWide receiver[Georgia Tech](2003-georgia-tech-yellow-jackets-football-team)

Roster

  • Drew Bledsoe

  • J. P. Losman

  • Shane Matthews

  • Dante Brown

  • Joe Burns

  • Travis Henry

  • Willis McGahee

  • Daimon Shelton FB

  • Shaud Williams

  • Sam Aiken

  • Lee Evans

  • Eric Moulds

  • Josh Reed

  • Jonathan Smith PR

  • Ryan Neufeld

  • Rod Trafford

  • Jonas Jennings T

  • Dylan McFarland T

  • Jason Peters T

  • Marcus Price T

  • Mike Pucillo G

  • Lawrence Smith G

  • Trey Teague C

  • Ross Tucker C/G

  • Chris Villarrial G

  • Mike Williams T

  • Sam Adams DT

  • Tim Anderson DT

  • Justin Bannan DT

  • Ryan Denney DE

  • Ron Edwards DT

  • Chris Kelsay DE

  • Aaron Schobel DE

  • Pat Williams DT

  • Angelo Crowell OLB

  • London Fletcher MLB

  • Mario Haggan MLB

  • Jeff Posey OLB

  • Takeo Spikes OLB

  • Josh Stamer OLB

  • Rashad Baker FS

  • Nate Clements CB/PR

  • Jabari Greer CB

  • Terrence McGee CB/KR

  • Lawyer Milloy SS

  • Pierson Prioleau SS

  • Izell Reese FS

  • Kevin Thomas CB

  • Troy Vincent CB/FS

  • Coy Wire SS

  • Bradford Banta LS

  • Rian Lindell K

  • Brian Moorman P

  • Mark Campbell TE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

  • Jon Dorenbos LS (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

  • Tim Euhus TE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

  • Constantin Ritzmann DE (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

  • Jasen Esposito C

  • Drew Haddad WR

  • Luke Lawton FB

  • Uyi Osunde DE

  • David Pruce T

  • Lauvale Sape DT

  • Ben Sobieski G (IR) [[File:Injury icon.svg|7px]]

  • Daryl Towns LB

  • Kahlil Hill WR

Regular season

Schedule

Buffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"WeekBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"DateBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"OpponentBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"ResultBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"RecordBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"VenueBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"AttendanceBuffalo Billsyear=2004border=2}}"Recap1234567891011121314151617
September 12[Jacksonville Jaguars](2004-jacksonville-jaguars-season)**L** 10–130–1Ralph Wilson Stadium72,389[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200409120buf.htm)
September 19at [Oakland Raiders](2004-oakland-raiders-season)**L** 10–130–2McAfee Coliseum53,610[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200409190rai.htm)
*Bye*
October 3**[New England Patriots](2004-new-england-patriots-season)****L** 17–310–3Ralph Wilson Stadium72,698[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410030buf.htm)
October 10at **[New York Jets](2004-new-york-jets-season)****L** 14–160–4Giants Stadium77,976[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410100nyj.htm)
October 17**[Miami Dolphins](2004-miami-dolphins-season)****W** 20–131–4Ralph Wilson Stadium72,714[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410170buf.htm)
October 24at [Baltimore Ravens](2004-baltimore-ravens-season)**L** 6–201–5M&T Bank Stadium69,809[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410240rav.htm)
October 31[Arizona Cardinals](2004-arizona-cardinals-season)**W** 38–142–5Ralph Wilson Stadium65,887[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200410310buf.htm)
November 7**[New York Jets](2004-new-york-jets-season)****W** 22–173–5Ralph Wilson Stadium72,574[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200411070buf.htm)
November 14at **[New England Patriots](2004-new-england-patriots-season)****L** 6–293–6Gillette Stadium68,756[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200411140nwe.htm)
November 21[St. Louis Rams](2004-st-louis-rams-season)**W** 37–174–6Ralph Wilson Stadium72,393[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200411210buf.htm)
November 28at [Seattle Seahawks](2004-seattle-seahawks-season)**W** 38–95–6Qwest Field66,271[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200411280sea.htm)
December 5at **[Miami Dolphins](2004-miami-dolphins-season)****W** 42–326–6Pro Player Stadium73,084[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200412050mia.htm)
December 12[Cleveland Browns](2004-cleveland-browns-season)**W** 37–77–6Ralph Wilson Stadium72,330[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200412120buf.htm)
December 19at [Cincinnati Bengals](2004-cincinnati-bengals-season)**W** 33–178–6Paul Brown Stadium65,378[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200412190cin.htm)
December 26at [San Francisco 49ers](2004-san-francisco-49ers-season)**W** 41–79–6Monster Park63,248[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200412260sfo.htm)
January 2[Pittsburgh Steelers](2004-pittsburgh-steelers-season)**L** 24–299–7Ralph Wilson Stadium73,414[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200501020buf.htm)

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Standings

References

References

  1. "2004 Buffalo Bills Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees".
  2. "Best DVOA to Miss the Playoffs". Football Outsiders.
  3. "Last Winless Team in Each NFL season".
  4. "Jacksonville Jaguars at Buffalo Bills — September 12th, 2004".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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