# 2004 Washington Redskins season

The 2004 season was the Washington Redskins' 73rd in the National Football League (NFL). Although they improved on their 5–11 record from 2003 to 6–10, they finished bottom of their division and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year. The season saw Joe Gibbs come out of retirement to return as head coach. The team acquired running back Clinton Portis in a trade that sent Champ Bailey to the Denver Broncos in the 2004 offseason. Week 8 marked the first time since 1932 that the U.S. presidential election went against the Redskins Rule.

## Offseason
### Free agency

| Player | Former team |
| Marcus Washington | Indianapolis Colts |
| Shawn Springs | Seattle Seahawks |
| Cornelius Griffin | New York Giants |
| Phillip Daniels | Chicago Bears |
| Player | New team |
| Lional Dalton | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Jeremiah Trotter | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Peppi Zellner | Arizona Cardinals |
| Regan Upshaw | New York Giants |

### Trades

| March 4, 2004 | To Washington RedskinsClinton Portis | To Denver BroncosChamp Bailey 2nd Rd. Draft Pick (2004) (Tatum Bell) |

### NFL Draft

2004 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 5 | Sean Taylor * | S | Miami (FL) |
| 3 | 81 | Chris Cooley * | TE | Utah State |
| 5 | 151 | Mark Wilson | OT | California |
| 6 | 180 | Jim Molinaro | OT | Notre Dame |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Final roster
## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 9 | Denver Broncos | W 20–17 | 1–0 | FedExField |
| 2 | August 14 | Carolina Panthers | L 20–23 | 1–1 | FedExField |
| 3 | August 21 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–0 | 2–1 | Pro Player Stadium |
| 4 | August 27 | at St. Louis Rams | L 3–28 | 2–2 | Edward Jones Dome |
| 5 | September 3 | Atlanta Falcons | W 27–0 | 3–2 | FedExField |

## Regular season

Due to the addition of the Houston Texans in 2002 and a subsequent change to the NFL's scheduling formula, the 2004 season was the first time since 1991 that the Redskins played the Cincinnati Bengals; the Bengals won the game, the first time they had done so at the Redskins. It was also the first time the Redskins had hosted the Green Bay Packers since 1979.

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 16–10 | 1–0 | FedExField | 90,098 |
| 2 | September 19 | at New York Giants | L 14–20 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | 78,767 |
| 3 | September 27 | Dallas Cowboys | L 18–21 | 1–2 | FedExField | 90,367 |
| 4 | October 3 | at Cleveland Browns | L 13–17 | 1–3 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 73,348 |
| 5 | October 10 | Baltimore Ravens | L 10–17 | 1–4 | FedExField | 90,287 |
| 6 | October 17 | at Chicago Bears | W 13–10 | 2–4 | Soldier Field | 61,985 |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 31 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–28 | 2–5 | FedExField | 89,295 |
| 9 | November 7 | at Detroit Lions | W 17–10 | 3–5 | Ford Field | 62,657 |
| 10 | November 14 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 10–17 | 3–6 | FedExField | 87,786 |
| 11 | November 21 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 6–28 | 3–7 | Lincoln Financial Field | 67,720 |
| 12 | November 28 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–16 | 3–8 | Heinz Field | 63,707 |
| 13 | December 5 | New York Giants | W 31–7 | 4–8 | FedExField | 87,872 |
| 14 | December 12 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–17 | 4–9 | FedExField | 90,089 |
| 15 | December 18 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 26–16 | 5–9 | Monster Park | 65,710 |
| 16 | December 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–13 | 5–10 | Texas Stadium | 63,705 |
| 17 | January 2 | Minnesota Vikings | W 21–18 | 6–10 | FedExField | 78,876 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Giants | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Philadelphia Eagles | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 6–0 | 11–1 | 386 | 260 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 303 | 347 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 293 | 405 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 6–6 | 240 | 265 | W1 |
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. ||||||||||||