2004 Buffalo Bills season

2004 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Mike Mularkey
General manager	Tom Donahoe
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

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 straight season in which the team missed the playoffs.

Buffalo needed a win in the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers to qualify for the playoffs. However, despite the Steelers playing their third-stringers (which, notably, included Willie Parker, who would have his breakout performance in the game), Buffalo lost 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 has tracked every play in the NFL since the early 1990s, the 2004 Bills are 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 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

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.

Round	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	13	Lee Evans	Wide Receiver	Wisconsin
1	22	J. P. Losman	Quarterback	Tulane
3	74	Tim Anderson	Defensive Tackle	Ohio State
4	109	Tim Euhus	Tight End	Oregon State
7	207	Dylan McFarland	Offensive Tackle	Montana
7	214	Jonathan Smith	Wide Receiver	Georgia Tech

Roster

2004 Buffalo Bills final roster
	Quarterbacks 11 Drew Bledsoe  7 J. P. Losman  6 Shane Matthews Running backs 35 Joe Burns 20 Travis Henry 21 Willis McGahee 31 Daimon Shelton FB 40 Shaud Williams Wide receivers 89 Sam Aiken 83 Lee Evans 80 Eric Moulds 82 Josh Reed 81 Bobby Shaw 19 Jonathan Smith Tight ends 84 Mark Campbell 87 Tim Euhus 88 Ryan Neufeld		Offensive linemen 75 Jonas Jennings T 79 Dylan McFarland T 71 Jason Peters T 61 Mike Pucillo G 72 Lawrence Smith G 70 Trey Teague C 65 Ross Tucker G 58 Chris Villarrial G 68 Mike Williams T Defensive linemen 69 Tim Anderson DT 95 Sam Adams DT 97 Justin Bannan DE 92 Ryan Denney DT 98 Ron Edwards DT 90 Chris Kelsay DE 94 Aaron Schobel DE		Linebackers 55 Angelo Crowell MLB 59 London Fletcher MLB 53 Mario Haggan OLB 96 Jeff Posey OLB 51 Takeo Spikes OLB 57 Josh Stamer OLB Defensive backs 26 Rashad Baker FS 22 Nate Clements CB 33 Jabari Greer CB 24 Terrence McGee CB 36 Lawyer Milloy SS 25 Pierson Prioleau SS 43 Izell Reese FS 28 Kevin Thomas CB 23 Troy Vincent FS 37 George Wilson SS 27 Coy Wire SS Special teams 54 Jon Dorenbos LS  9 Rian Lindell K  8 Brian Moorman P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics 53 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance	Record
1	September 12, 2004	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 13–10	CBS 1:00pm	72,389	0–1
2	September 19, 2004	at Oakland Raiders	L 13–10	CBS 4:15pm	53,610	0–2
3	Bye
4	October 3, 2004	New England Patriots	L 31–17	CBS 1:00pm	72,698	0–3
5	October 10, 2004	at New York Jets	L 16–14	CBS 4:05pm	77,976	0–4
6	October 17, 2004	Miami Dolphins	W 20–13	CBS 1:00pm	72,714	1–4
7	October 24, 2004	at Baltimore Ravens	L 20–6	CBS 1:00pm	69,809	1–5
8	October 31, 2004	Arizona Cardinals	W 38–14	FOX 1:00pm	65,887	2–5
9	November 7, 2004	New York Jets	W 22–17	CBS 1:00pm	72,574	3–5
10	November 14, 2004	at New England Patriots	L 29–6	ESPN 8:30pm	68,756	3–6
11	November 21, 2004	St. Louis Rams	W 37–17	FOX 1:00pm	72,393	4–6
12	November 28, 2004	at Seattle Seahawks	W 38–9	CBS 4:15pm	66,271	5–6
13	December 5, 2004	at Miami Dolphins	W 42–32	CBS 1:00pm	73,084	6–6
14	December 12, 2004	Cleveland Browns	W 37–7	CBS 1:00pm	72,330	7–6
15	December 19, 2004	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 33–17	CBS 1:00pm	65,378	8–6
16	December 26, 2004	at San Francisco 49ers	W 41–7	CBS 4:05pm	63,248	9–6
17	January 2, 2005	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 29–24	CBS 1:00pm	73,414	9–7

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Jaguars 0 3 3 7 13 Bills 7 0 0 3 10 Date: September 12 Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium • Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 72,389 Game weather: 66°F • Wind 9 Referee: Ron Winter TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui and Steve Tasker

Scoring summary 1 BUF Eric Moulds 17 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Rian Lindell kick) Bills 7–0 2 JAC Josh Scobee 25 yard field goal Bills 7–3 3 JAC Josh Scobee 27 yard field goal Bills 7–6 4 BUF Rian Lindell 25 yard field goal Bills 10–6 4 JAC Ernest Wilford 7 yard pass from Byron Leftwich (Josh Scobee kick) Jaguars 13–10

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(2) New England Patriots	14	2	0	.875	5–1	10–2	437	260	W2
(5) New York Jets	10	6	0	.625	3–3	7–5	333	261	L2
Buffalo Bills	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	395	284	L1
Miami Dolphins	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	275	354	L1