# 2004 Miami Dolphins season

The 2004 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 39th overall, and 35th as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6, instead only going 4–12 after starting the season 0–6. The team was adversely affected by the premature retirement of their star running back, Ricky Williams, and the trade of holdout defensive end Adewale Ogunleye for wide receiver Marty Booker, as well as career ending injuries to fullback Rob Konrad and defensive tackle Tim Bowens. With this season record below .500 the team would have their first losing season since 1988. Two of their games were postponed due to Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne.
Despite the disappointing season, the Dolphins, at 2–11 were able to upset the defending and eventual Super Bowl champion 12–1 New England Patriots, a memorable game of the Dolphins-Patriots rivalry known as "The Night That Courage Wore Orange", and handed the Patriots their second loss of the season. During Week 6, their match with the Buffalo Bills is the only time in the NFL since 1968 that the last two winless teams have met each other.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 11 | Tennessee Titans | L 7–17 | 0–1 | Pro Player Stadium | 69,987 |
| 2 | September 19 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–16 | 0–2 | Paul Brown Stadium | 65,705 |
| 3 | September 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 3–13 | 0–3 | Pro Player Stadium | 72,225 |
| 4 | October 3 | New York Jets | L 9–17 | 0–4 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,157 |
| 5 | October 10 | at New England Patriots | L 10–24 | 0–5 | Gillette Stadium | 68,756 |
| 6 | October 17 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–20 | 0–6 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | 72,214 |
| 7 | October 24 | St. Louis Rams | W 31–14 | 1–6 | Pro Player Stadium | 72,945 |
| 8 | November 1 | at New York Jets | L 14–41 | 1–7 | Giants Stadium | 78,216 |
| 9 | November 7 | Arizona Cardinals | L 23–24 | 1–8 | Pro Player Stadium | 72,612 |
| 10 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 11 | November 21 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 17–24 | 1–9 | Qwest Field | 66,644 |
| 12 | November 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 24–17 | 2–9 | Monster Park | 66,156 |
| 13 | December 5 | Buffalo Bills | L 32–42 | 2–10 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,084 |
| 14 | December 12 | at Denver Broncos | L 17–20 | 2–11 | Invesco Field at Mile High | 75,027 |
| 15 | December 20 | New England Patriots | W 29–28 | 3–11 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,629 |
| 16 | December 26 | Cleveland Browns | W 10–7 | 4–11 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,169 |
| 17 | January 2 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 23–30 | 4–12 | M&T Bank Stadium | 69,843 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text |||||||

### "The Night That Courage Wore Orange"

On December 20, the 2–11 Dolphins upset the 12–1 defending and eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots on Monday Night Football by a score of 29–28. Late in the game, A. J. Feeley threw a game-winning touchdown to Derrius Thompson on 4th down and 10. Bleacher Report writer Thomas Galicia nicknamed the game "The Night That Courage Wore Orange".

### Images

* Miami at the Jets in the 2004 season, week 8
* Dolphins defense is called into action, week 8

## Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |
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. ||||||||||||