# 2004 Tennessee Titans season

The 2004 Tennessee Titans season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 45th overall and their eighth in the state of Tennessee. The Titans attempted to improve upon their previous output of 12–4, but only managed to win five games for the season. The Titans missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001, and this was their worst record since 1994 when they were still based in Houston.
The season is notable when the team lost three starters from the famed 1999 team; lineman Jevon Kearse went to the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Eddie George was released before the season, and would later sign with the Dallas Cowboys, while tight end Frank Wycheck retired after the 2003 season.

## Schedule
### Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
| 1 | August 14 | Cleveland Browns | W 24–3 | 1–0 |
| 2 | August 21 | at Buffalo Bills | W 16–15 | 2–0 |
| 3 | August 30 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–20 | 2–1 |
| 4 | September 3 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–7 | 3–1 |

### Regular season

In addition to their regular games with AFC South division rivals, the Titans played games against the AFC West and NFC North according to the NFL’s schedule rotation, and also played games against the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals based upon finishing positions from 2003. The Christmas Day game was the first occasion the franchise had played the Denver Broncos since the Houston Oilers met that team in 1995. This is because between 1978 and 2002 non-divisional conference games were scheduled exclusively based upon the preceding season’s finish without any rotary cycle.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | September 11 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–7 | 69,987 | 1–0 |
| 2 | September 19 | Indianapolis Colts | L 17–31 | 68,932 | 1–1 |
| 3 | September 26 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 12–15 | 68,932 | 1–2 |
| 4 | October 3 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–38 | 54,006 | 1–3 |
| 5 | October 11 | at Green Bay Packers | W 48–27 | 70,420 | 2–3 |
| 6 | October 17 | Houston Texans | L 10–20 | 68,932 | 2–4 |
| 7 | October 24 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 3–20 | 64,108 | 2–5 |
| 8 | October 31 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–20 | 68,932 | 3–5 |
| 9 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 10 | November 14 | Chicago Bears | L 17–19 | 68,932 | 3–6 |
| 11 | November 21 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 18–15 | 69,703 | 4–6 |
| 12 | November 28 | at Houston Texans | L 21–31 | 70,721 | 4–7 |
| 13 | December 5 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 24–51 | 57,278 | 4–8 |
| 14 | December 13 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 38–49 | 68,932 | 4–9 |
| 15 | December 19 | at Oakland Raiders | L 35–40 | 44,299 | 4–10 |
| 16 | December 25 | Denver Broncos | L 16–37 | 68,809 | 4–11 |
| 17 | January 2 | Detroit Lions | W 24–19 | 68,809 | 5–11 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text ||||||

## Standings

AFC South :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Indianapolis Colts | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 8–4 | 522 | 351 | L1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 261 | 280 | W1 |
| Houston Texans | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–2 | 6–6 | 309 | 339 | L1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 344 | 439 | 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. ||||||||||||