# 2004 Arena Football League season

The 2004 Arena Football League season was the 18th season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 2005. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVIII. The AFL reduced its playoff teams from the top 12 teams in the league making the playoffs to the top eight teams in the league making the playoffs.

## Standings

| Team | Overall | Overall | Overall | Division | Division | Division |
| Team | Wins | Losses | Percentage | Wins | Losses | Percentage |
| National Conference |||||||
| Eastern Division |||||||
| New York Dragons* | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Carolina Cobras | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Dallas Desperados | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Columbus Destroyers | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Philadelphia Soul | 5 | 11 | 0.312 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Southern Division |||||||
| New Orleans VooDoo | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Orlando Predators | 10 | 6 | 0.625 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Tampa Bay Storm | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Austin Wranglers | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Georgia Force | 7 | 9 | 0.438 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| American Conference |||||||
| Central Division |||||||
| Chicago Rush | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 6 | 2 | 0.750 |
| Colorado Crush | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Indiana Firebirds | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Detroit Fury | 5 | 11 | 0.312 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 15 | 0.062 | 1 | 7 | 0.125 |
| Western Division |||||||
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Los Angeles Avengers | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Las Vegas Gladiators | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
* Green indicates clinched playoff berth
* Purple indicates division champion
* Grey indicates best regular season record
* New York Dragons won the Eastern Division, but did not make the playoffs as only the top 8 teams qualified. The AFL reverted to the old rule in the following season in that Division Champions get an automatic bid to the playoffs for the following season.

## Playoffs

All games televised by NBC
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | ArenaBowl XVIII | ArenaBowl XVIII | ArenaBowl XVIII |
| 1 | Arizona | 59 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 42 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 42 | 1 | Arizona | 45 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Colorado | 41 | | | |
| 4 | New Orleans | 44 | 5 | Colorado | 41 | | | |
| 5 | Colorado | 47 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Colorado | 47 | | | | 1 | Arizona | 62 |
| | | | | | | 2 | San Jose | 69 |
| 2 | San Jose | 56 | | | | | | | 2 | San Jose | 69 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay | 52 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Tampa Bay | 52 | 2 | San Jose | 49 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Chicago | 35 | | | |
| 3 | Chicago | 59 | 3 | Chicago | 35 | | | |
| 6 | Orlando | 49 | | | | | | |
Source:

## All-Arena team

| Position | First team | Second team |
| Quarterback | Tony Graziani, Los Angeles | Mark Grieb, San Jose |
| Fullback/Linebacker | Dan Curran, New Orleans | Rupert Grant, Orlando |
| Wide receiver/Defensive back | Kevin Ingram, Los Angeles | Will Pettis, Dallas |
| Wide receiver/Linebacker | Cory Fleming, Orlando | Lawrence Samuels, Tampa Bay |
| Offensive specialist | Marcus Nash, Las Vegas | Damian Harrell, Colorado |
| Offensive lineman/Defensive lineman | Tom Briggs, Austin John Moyer, Chicago Bryan Henderson, Arizona | Tim Martin, New Orleans Jermaine Smith, Orlando Nyle Wiren, Tampa Bay |
| Defensive specialist | Omarr Smith, San Jose Kenny McEntyre, Orlando | Rashad Floyd, Colorado Kevin Gaines, Georgia |
| Kicker | Jay Taylor, Orlando | Remy Hamilton, Los Angeles |