# 2004 New Orleans Saints season

The 2004 season was the New Orleans Saints' 38th in the National Football League (NFL). They matched their previous season's output of 8–8, and the team finished the season on a four-game winning streak, which was all the more remarkable because the Saints trailed at some point during every game. This record was equalled by the 2012 Cowboys, but before this season the 1978 Falcons and the 2002 Browns come closest to this record, winning eight games out of fifteen where they trailed at some point.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

2004 New Orleans Saints draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 18 | Will Smith * | Defensive end | Ohio State |
| 2 | 50 | Devery Henderson | Wide receiver | LSU |
| 2 | 60 | Courtney Watson | Linebacker | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 139 | Rodney Leisle | Defensive tackle | UCLA |
| 5 | 156 | Mike Karney | Fullback | Arizona State |
| 7 | 240 | Colby Bockwoldt | Linebacker | BYU |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

During the 2004 regular season, the Saints' non-divisional conference opponents were primarily from the NFC West, although they also played the Minnesota Vikings from the NFC North, and the Dallas Cowboys from the NFC East. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC West.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Seattle Seahawks | L 7–21 | 0–1 | 64,900 |
| 2 | September 19 | San Francisco 49ers | W 30–27 | 1–1 | 64,900 |
| 3 | September 26 | at St. Louis Rams | W 28–25 | 2–1 | 65,856 |
| 4 | October 3 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 10–34 | 2–2 | 28,109 |
| 5 | October 10 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 17–20 | 2–3 | 64,900 |
| 6 | October 17 | Minnesota Vikings | L 31–38 | 2–4 | 64,900 |
| 7 | October 24 | at Oakland Raiders | W 31–26 | 3–4 | 45,337 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | November 7 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–43 | 3–5 | 59,662 |
| 10 | November 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–20 | 4–5 | 64,900 |
| 11 | November 21 | Denver Broncos | L 13–34 | 4–6 | 64,900 |
| 12 | November 28 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 21–24 | 4–7 | 70,521 |
| 13 | December 5 | Carolina Panthers | L 21–32 | 4–8 | 58,878 |
| 14 | December 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 27–13 | 5–8 | 64,056 |
| 15 | December 19 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–17 | 6–8 | 65,075 |
| 16 | December 26 | Atlanta Falcons | W 26–13 | 7–8 | 64,900 |
| 17 | January 2 | at Carolina Panthers | W 21–18 | 8–8 | 73,302 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. ||||||

### Standings

NFC South :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Atlanta Falcons | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 340 | 337 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 348 | 405 | W4 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 355 | 339 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 301 | 304 | L4 |
NFC
viewtalkedit :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| Division leaders ||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 6–0 | 11–1 | .453 | .409 | L2 |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .420 | .432 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | North | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .457 | .419 | W2 |
| 4 | Seattle Seahawks | West | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 8–4 | .445 | .368 | W2 |
| Wild cards ||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis Rams | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 7–5 | .488 | .438 | W2 |
| 6 | Minnesota Vikings | North | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .480 | .406 | L2 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason ||||||||||||
| 7 | New Orleans Saints | South | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .465 | .427 | W4 |
| 8 | Carolina Panthers | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .496 | .366 | L1 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions | North | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .496 | .417 | L2 |
| 10 | Arizona Cardinals | West | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .461 | .417 | W1 |
| 11 | New York Giants | East | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .516 | .417 | W1 |
| 12 | Dallas Cowboys | East | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .516 | .375 | L1 |
| 13 | Washington Redskins | East | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 6–6 | .477 | .333 | W1 |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .477 | .413 | L4 |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | North | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .465 | .388 | L4 |
| 16 | San Francisco 49ers | West | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 2–4 | 2–10 | .488 | .375 | L3 |
| Tiebreakers ||||||||||||
| 1 2 3 St. Louis clinched the NFC #5 seed instead of Minnesota or New Orleans based on better conference record (7–5 to Minnesota’s 5–7 to New Orleans’ 6–6). 1 2 Minnesota clinched the NFC #6 seed instead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 3 4 5 Detroit finished ahead of Arizona and New York Giants based upon head-to-head record (2–0 versus Arizona’s 1–1 and New York Giants’ 0–2). Division tiebreak was initially used to eliminate Dallas and Washington. 1 2 3 New York Giants finished ahead of Dallas and Washington in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record (3–1 to Dallas‘ 2–2 to Washington’s 1–3). 1 2 Dallas finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep. 1 2 Tampa Bay finished ahead of Chicago based upon head-to-head victory. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division. ||||||||||||