# 2004 Baltimore Ravens season

The 2004 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 9th in the National Football League (NFL), their 6th under head coach Brian Billick, and their 3rd season under general manager Ozzie Newsome.
They were unable to improve upon their previous output of 10–6 and a playoff appearance, instead going 9–7 and missing the playoffs ending in a season of disappointment.
The 2004 season was the subject of the John Feinstein non-fiction book Next Man Up; the result of Feinstein spending the season behind the scenes with the team.
It was highlighted by then-37-year-old Deion Sanders making a comeback after three years out of football. Meanwhile, Jamal Lewis, who was coming off a historic 2003 season, was arrested for drug charges and earned a two-game suspension by the NFL. He would finish the season with just 1,006 yards rushing as the Ravens were one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2004. Ed Reed, who had 9 interceptions for the season, was named Defensive Player of the Year.
For the season, the Ravens introduced black alternate uniforms for the first time in franchise history.

## Draft

2004 Baltimore Ravens draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 51 | Dwan Edwards | DT | Oregon State |
| 3 | 82 | Devard Darling | WR | Washington State |
| 5 | 153 | Roderick Green | DE | Central Missouri |
| 6 | 187 | Josh Harris | QB | Bowling Green |
| 6 | 199 | Clarence Moore | WR | Northern Arizona |
| 7 | 244 | Derek Abney | WR | Kentucky |
| 7 | 246 | Brian Rimpf | G | East Carolina |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
| 1 | August 12 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | August 20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–26 | 1–1 |
| 3 | August 28 | Detroit Lions | W 17–6 | 2–1 |
| 4 | September 2 | at New York Giants | W 27–17 | 3–1 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

In addition to their regular games with AFC North divisional rivals, the Ravens played against the AFC East and NFC East based on the NFL’s schedule rotation introduced in 2002, and also played against the Chiefs and the Colts, who had in 2003 finished first in the two remaining AFC divisions.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | at Cleveland Browns | L 3–20 | 0–1 | 73,068 |
| 2 | September 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–13 | 1–1 | 69,859 |
| 3 | September 26 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 23–9 | 2–1 | 65,575 |
| 4 | October 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 24–27 | 2–2 | 69,827 |
| 5 | October 10 | at Washington Redskins | W 17–10 | 3–2 | 90,287 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 24 | Buffalo Bills | W 20–6 | 4–2 | 69,809 |
| 8 | October 31 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–15 | 4–3 | 67,715 |
| 9 | November 7 | Cleveland Browns | W 27–13 | 5–3 | 69,781 |
| 10 | November 14 | at New York Jets | W 20–17 $_{(OT)}$ | 6–3 | 77,826 |
| 11 | November 21 | Dallas Cowboys | W 30–10 | 7–3 | 69,924 |
| 12 | November 28 | at New England Patriots | L 3–24 | 7–4 | 68,756 |
| 13 | December 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 26–27 | 7–5 | 69,695 |
| 14 | December 12 | New York Giants | W 37–14 | 8–5 | 69,856 |
| 15 | December 19 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 10–20 | 8–6 | 57,240 |
| 16 | December 26 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–20 | 8–7 | 64,227 |
| 17 | January 2 | Miami Dolphins | W 30–23 | 9–7 | 69,843 |
| Note: Intra-divisional games are in bold text. ||||||

### Week 2: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Ravens | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
at M&T Bank Stadium • Baltimore, Maryland
* Date: September 19
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Clear • 67 °F or 19.4 °C
* Game attendance: 69,859
* Referee: Walt Coleman
* TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger 12/20, 176 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Duce Staley 16 Rush, 57 Yds
Hines Ward 6 Rec, 151 Yds, TD
Ravens
Kyle Boller 10/18, 98 Yds
Jamal Lewis 24 Rush, 62 Yds, 2 TD
Kevin Johnson 2 Rec, 32 Yds :
Steelers starting quarterback Tommy Maddox would suffer an injury during this game, sending 2004 first-round pick Ben Roethlisberger out on the field. After the game, Roethlisberger would lead the Steelers to fourteen straight victories to end the season. Thus, this marked the only loss the Steelers suffered during the regular season.

## Standings

AFC North :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 5–1 | 11–1 | 372 | 251 | W14 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 317 | 268 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 374 | 372 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 276 | 390 | W1 |
AFC
viewtalkedit :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
| Division leaders ||||||||||||
| 1 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 5–1 | 11–1 | .484 | .479 | W14 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | East | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .492 | .478 | W2 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .500 | .458 | L1 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | West | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .477 | .411 | W1 |
| Wild cards ||||||||||||
| 5 | New York Jets | East | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .523 | .406 | L2 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | West | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .484 | .450 | W2 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason ||||||||||||
| 7 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .479 | W1 |
| 8 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .472 | W1 |
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .512 | .382 | L1 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 4–8 | .543 | .453 | W2 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | South | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .504 | .402 | L1 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .551 | .509 | L1 |
| 13 | Oakland Raiders | West | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .570 | .450 | L2 |
| 14 | Tennessee Titans | South | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .512 | .463 | W1 |
| 15 | Miami Dolphins | East | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .555 | .438 | L1 |
| 16 | Cleveland Browns | North | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 3–9 | .590 | .469 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers ||||||||||||
| 1 2 Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 New York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami). 1 2 3 Jacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head. 1 2 Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City). 1 2 Houston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory. 1 2 Miami finished ahead of Cleveland 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. ||||||||||||