# 2004 Carolina Panthers season

The 2004 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League and the 3rd under head coach John Fox. It was also the team's 8th season at Bank of America Stadium. They failed to improve upon their record in 2003, a year when they finished the regular season 11–5 and ultimately fell 29–32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII to the New England Patriots and they finished 7–9. Their collapse to a 1–7 record start was because of key injuries to their starters including wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., through the first eight games. Despite their late-season rally, they failed to make the playoffs since 2002. They would suffer another collapse in 2016 to a 6–10 record that year after appearing in Super Bowl 50 the previous season.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

2004 Carolina Panthers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 28 | Chris Gamble | Cornerback | Ohio State |
| 2 | 62 | Keary Colbert | Wide receiver | USC |
| 3 | 94 | Travelle Wharton | Offensive tackle | South Carolina |
| 5 | 163 | Drew Carter | Wide receiver | Ohio State |
| 6 | 196 | Sean Tufts | Linebacker | Colorado |
| 7 | 232 | Michael Gaines | Tight end | Central Florida |
| Made roster ||||||

## Schedule
### Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | September 13 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–24 | 0–1 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 19 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–17 | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 4 | October 3 | Atlanta Falcons | L 10–27 | 1–2 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 10 | at Denver Broncos | L 17–20 | 1–3 | Invesco Field at Mile High | Recap |
| 6 | October 17 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 8–30 | 1–4 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap |
| 7 | October 24 | San Diego Chargers | L 6–17 | 1–5 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 31 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 17–23 | 1–6 | Qwest Field | Recap |
| 9 | November 7 | Oakland Raiders | L 24–27 | 1–7 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 14 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 37–27 | 2–7 | Monster Park | Recap |
| 11 | November 21 | Arizona Cardinals | W 35–10 | 3–7 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–14 | 4–7 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | December 5 | at New Orleans Saints | W 32–21 | 5–7 | Louisiana Superdome | Recap |
| 14 | December 12 | St. Louis Rams | W 20–7 | 6–7 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 18 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 31–34 (OT) | 6–8 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
| 16 | December 26 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 37–20 | 7–8 | Raymond James Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 2 | New Orleans Saints | L 18–21 | 7–9 | Bank of America Stadium | Recap |

## 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. ||||||||||||