2003 – 04 NFL playoffs The NFL playoffs following the 2003 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXXVIII . Beginning with the 2003 – 04 season , the NFL changed the selection procedures regarding officials for playoffs games . The league suspended the prior practice of assembling " all - star " officiating crews of highly - rated individual officials . Instead , the league began using the entire crews that were highest rated during the regular season , preserving familiarity and cohesiveness in the officiating . The " all - star " crews were later resumed , beginning with the 2005 - 06 Conference Championships . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday January 3 , 2004 . AFC : Tennessee Titans 20 , Baltimore Ravens 17 . In a defensive struggle , Gary Anderson kicked the winning 46 - yard field goal for the Titans with 29 seconds left . The winning kick was set up after a 15 - yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Ravens offensive lineman Orlando Brown forced Baltimore to punt and enabled Tennessee to start its final drive from its own 37 - yard line . Titans quarterback Steve McNair threw three interceptions . Meanwhile , the Ravens running back Jamal Lewis , the league ' s regular season rushing leader , was limited to 35 yards on 14 carries . On the Titans opening drive of the game , McNair completed passes to Drew Bennett and Frank Wycheck for gains of 17 and 14 yards , while Eddie George rushed five times for 25 yards on a 10 - play , 67 - yard drive . Running back Chris Brown finished the drive with a 6 - yard touchdown run to give Tennessee a 7 - 0 lead . The Ravens were forced to punt on their ensuing drive , but three plays later , safety Ed Reed tipped a pass from McNair into the arms of cornerback Will Demps , who returned it 56 yards for a touchdown . Early in the second quarter , a 15 - yard punt return from Titans receiver Derrick Mason gave his team the ball at the Ravens 35 - yard line . McNair then led them to the 17 - yard line , but Reed intercepted a pass from him and returned it 23 yards to the 29 . After an exchange of punts , Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright completed four passes for 56 yards and rushed for 11 , setting up a 43 - yard field goal by Matt Stover giving Baltimore a 10 – 7 halftime lead . Midway through the third quarter , McNair ' s 49 - yard touchdown pass to Justin McCareins gave the Titans a 14 – 10 lead . Then in the fourth quarter , Tennessee defense back Samari Rolle intercepted a pass from Wright at the Ravens 30 - yard line , setting up a 45 - yard field goal from Anderson . But Wright led Baltimore back , completing five passes for 80 yards on their ensuing drive . Tight end Todd Heap caught three of Wright ' s passes for 55 yards , and finished the drive with leaping 35 - yard catch in the back of the end zone to tie the game . After an exchange of punts , the Titans took the ball on their own 37 - yard line and drove 35 yards to Ravens 28 - yard line where Anderson ' s 46 - yard field goal with 33 seconds left gave them the win . NFC : Carolina Panthers 29 , Dallas Cowboys 10 . The Cowboys ' turnaround season under coach Bill Parcells came to a crashing halt . The Panthers outgained the Cowboys in total yards 380 – 204 and held the ball for 34 : 23 . Dallas Quarterback Quincy Carter threw for only 154 yards and an interception , while being sacked 3 times . Meanwhile , Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 273 yards and a touchdown to Steve Smith , who had five receptions for 135 yards and added 22 return yards on special teams . Stephen Davis ran for 104 yards and another touchdown , while Muhsin Muhammad caught four passes for 103 yards . John Kasay kicked five field goals for Carolina . On the Panther third play of the game , Delhomme completed a 70 - yard pass to Smith on the Cowboys 1 - yard line , setting up Kasay ' s first field goal . Later in the first quarter , Toby Gowin ' s 31 - yard punt gave the Panthers the ball at the Cowboys 41 - yard line , and they scored another field goal to take a 6 – 0 lead . On the Cowboys ensuing drive , Carter completed a 28 - yard pass to Joey Galloway and Troy Hambrick ran for 16 yards , giving Dallas a first down at the Panthers 20 - yard line . But two plays later , fullback Richie Anderson fumbled the ball and Carolina safety Mike Minter recovered it . Later in the second quarter , Gowin once again gave the Panthers great field position with a 17 - yard punt to the Carolina 49 - yard line , and this time they managed to get the ball into the end zone with a 23 - yard touchdown run by Davis , giving them a 13 – 0 lead . Carter managed to respond on the Cowboys ensuing drive , completing an 18 - yard pass to Galloway , a 21 - yard pass to Terry Glenn , and a 12 - yard pass to Anderson . Billy Cundiff finished the drive with a 37 - yard field goal to cut the score to 13 – 3 with 1 : 03 left in the second quarter . But after the ensuing kickoff , Delhomme ' s 57 - yard completion to Muhammad set up Kasay ' s third field goal on the last play of the half . The Panthers continued to dominate the game in the second half . Smith returned a Gowin punt 7 yards to the Panthers 37 - yard line . Then after a 24 - yard reception by Muhammad , he caught a 7 - yard pass and capped the drive with a 32 - yard touchdown catch . Later on , he returned a punt to his own 40 - yard line , setting up a 38 - yard drive that ended with Kasay ' s fourth field goal , increasing the Panthers lead to 26 – 3 . Dallas receiver Michael Bates returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Panthers 47 - yard line , sparking a desperate rally . Carter then completed six consecutive passes and finished the drive with a 9 - yard touchdown run , cutting the score to 26 – 10 . Dallas ' defense managed to force a punt on Carolina ' s next drive , but two plays later , Panthers lineman Julius Peppers intercepted a screen pass from Carter and returned it 34 yards to the Cowboys 11 - yard . Four plays later , Kasay kicked his 5th field goal with 3 : 04 left in the game to close out the scoring . Sunday January 4 , 2004 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 33 , Seattle Seahawks 27 ( OT ) . Packers defensive back Al Harris returned an interception 52 yards for the game winning touchdown 4 : 25 in overtime , making this the first playoff game ever to be won in overtime with a defensive touchdown . The game is memorable for Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck ' s ironic comment after winning the coin toss for the start of overtime , telling the microphoned referee , and thus the crowd at Lambeau Field and the national television audience , " We want the ball , and we ' re going to score . " After forcing a punt , the Seahawks scored on their opening drive , with Hasselbeck completing two passes to Koren Robinson for 25 yards and Shaun Alexander rushing for 22 on the way to a 30 - yard field goal by Josh Brown . In the second quarter , Tom Rouen ' s 38 - yard punt gave the Packers the ball at midfield . Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre then completed a 29 - yard pass to fullback William Henderson to set up a 31 - yard field goal from Ryan Longwell . Seattle struck back with a 51 - yard drive , featuring a 28 - yard reception by Bobby Engram , and scored another Brown field goal to retake the lead . But on the first play of the Packers ensuing drive , Favre completed a 44 - yard pass to Javon Walker . Then after a 13 - yard run from Ahman Green , Favre threw a 23 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Bubba Franks . Seattle was forced to punt from their own 7 on their next drive , and receiver Antonio Chatman returned the ball 6 yards to the Seahawks 39 - yard line . Two plays later , Favre ' s 23 - yard completion to Donald Driver set up Longwell ' s 27 - yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the half , giving the Packers a 13 - 6 lead . Seattle took the second half kickoff and stormed down the field , driving 74 yards in 10 plays . Hasselbeck started out the drive with a 25 - yard pass to Darrell Jackson , followed it up with a 15 - yard completion to Itula Mili , and later completed 14 - yard pass to Mili . Alexander finished the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run on fourth down to tie the game . Then after forcing a punt , Hasselbeck completed 5 of 7 passes for 72 yards , including a 33 - yard pass to Robinson , and Alexander scored with another 1 - yard touchdown run to give his team a 20 - 13 lead . Green Bay fullback Nick Luchey returned the ensuing kickoff 12 yards to his own 40 - yard line , and Favre subsequently led the Packers 60 yards in 11 plays , taking over 7 minutes off the clock . At the end of the drive , Green ' s 1 - yard touchdown run tied the game with 9 : 56 left in the fourth quarter . Seattle went three - and - out on their next drive , and Chatman returned Rouen ' s punt 21 yards to the Seahawks 49 - yard line . Favre once again led the Packers on another long scoring drive , moving the ball 49 yards in 12 plays and consuming 6 : 51 off the clock . Green finished the drive with another 1 - yard touchdown run , and Longwell ' s extra point gave the Packers a 27 - 20 lead with 2 : 39 left in regulation . But Hasslbeck responded by completing 3 of 5 passes for 59 yards , including a 34 - yard pass to Engram , on the way to Alexander ' s third 1 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . Favre ' s 27 - yard completion to Walker on the Packers ensuing drive gave them a chance to win , but Longwell missed a 47 - yard field goal attempt on the last play of the fourth quarter , and it went into overtime . After both teams went three - and - out on their first drives of the extra period , Seattle drove to their own 45 - yard before Harris ' 52 - yard interception return for a touchdown won the game . Favre completed 26 of 38 passes for 319 yards ( his second highest post season total ) and a touchdown . This was his 14th consecutive postseason game with a touchdown pass , a postseason record . Walker caught 5 passes for 111 yards . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 41 , Denver Broncos 10 . Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning completed 22 of 26 passes for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns , giving him a perfect passer rating of 158 . 3 as the Colts crushed the Broncos , scoring on every possession until running back Edgerrin James lost a fumble with 14 : 14 left in the fourth quarter . Manning passed for four touchdowns in the first half alone , including one to Marvin Harrison where he got up and scored after falling down untouched . Both Harrison and Brandon Stokley scored two touchdowns for Indianapolis , and Reggie Wayne added the fifth . Meanwhile , the Colts defense picked off two passes from Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer and recovered a fumble . Harrison recorded a career postseason high 7 receptions for 133 yards 2 touchdowns , while receiver Brandon Stokley caught 4 passes for 144 yards and 2 scores . The Colts took the opening kickoff and stormed down the field . James gained 39 yards on the first five plays of the drive , and then Manning finished it with a 31 - yard touchdown pass to Stokley . Denver responded on their ensuing drive , advancing the ball 49 yards in 12 plays and taking 8 : 13 off the clock . Jason Elam capped off the drive with a 49 - yard field goal to cut their deficit to 7 - 3 , but it was as close as Denver would ever get for the rest of the game . After the kickoff , Harrison caught 3 passes for 70 yards , including a pass in which he made a diving catch around three Denver players . All of them thought Harrison was down by contact and started to leave the field , but no one had actually touched him , and Harrison got back up and ran 46 yards for a touchdown . After forcing a punt , the Colts drove 80 yards in nine plays . James rushed for 17 yards on the drive , while Manning started it off with a 25 - yard completion to tight end Marcus Pollard and finished it with a 23 - yard touchdown pass to Harrison , giving the Colts a 21 - 3 lead with 11 : 07 left in the second quarter . Denver managed to move the ball to the Colts 36 - yard line on their ensuing drive , but a 15 - yard penalty on guard Dan Neal pushed them out of field goal range and forced them to punt . Micah Knorr managed to pin Indianapolis back at their own 13 - yard line with his punt , but on the first play after that , Manning threw an 87 - yard touchdown pass to Stokley . Plummer ' s 18 - yard completion to Rod Smith helped the Broncos advance to the Indianapolis 37 - yard line on Denver ' s next possession , but then he threw an interception to defensive back David Macklin , who returned it 21 yards to the Colts 45 - yard line . After the turnover , Manning completed four passes for 48 yards , moving the ball to the Broncos 10 - yard line where Mike Vanderjagt made a 27 - yard field goal on the last play of the half , giving the Colts a 31 - 3 halftime lead . The Colts defense stepped up in the third quarter , forcing three turnovers . Denver took the second half kickoff and drove to the Colts 23 - yard line , featuring a 34 - yard reception by Smith . But then Plummer was sacked on third down and Elam ' s 46 - yard field goal attempt was blocked . After the botched field goal , the Colts drove 64 yards and scored with Manning fifth touchdown pass , a 7 - yard toss to Reggie Wayne . Three plays after the ensuing kickoff , Colts lineman Rob Morris recovered a fumble from Plummer on the Broncos 20 - yard line , setting up a 20 - yard field goal from Vanderjagt . Then four plays after the ensuing kickoff , Macklin recorded his second interception from Plummer and returned it 32 yards to the Broncos 49 - yard line . This time , the Colts were unable to get any points . Three plays after the interception , Broncos linebacker Reggie Hayward recovered a fumble from James on the Broncos 38 - yard line . After that , the Broncos drove 62 yards in 12 plays and scored with Plummer ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to Smith , cutting their deficit to 41 - 10 . But by then , there was only 7 minutes left in the game . Divisional playoffs . Saturday January 10 , 2004 . NFC : Carolina Panthers 29 , St . Louis Rams 23 ( 2OT ) . The Panthers stunned the favored Rams in double - overtime , the fifth longest game in NFL history , in a thrilling finish to a game that featured big swings in momentum . St . Louis built up a 6 - 0 lead early in the second quarter , but wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad ' s touchdown on a fumble recovery gave Carolina a 7 - 6 advantage . Kickers John Kasay and Jeff Wilkins spent the rest of the second and the third quarter trading field goals . But in the fourth period , Brad Hoover ' s 7 - yard rushing touchdown gave the Panthers a 23 - 12 lead . However , St . Louis rallied back . After Kasay missed a 54 - yard field goal attempt with 6 : 26 left in regulation , the Rams drove 57 yards in 15 plays and scored with Marshall Faulk ' s 1 - yard touchdown run . Marc Bulger ' s subsequent 2 - point conversion pass to Dane Looker cut the score to 23 – 20 with 2 : 39 to go . Then Wilkins recovered his own onside kick , setting up a 43 - yard drive that ended with his 33 - yard field goal . The field goal would cause some controversy , as the Rams held the ball inside the Carolina 20 yard line with less than a minute remaining , and one Time Out . But Rams Coach Mike Martz elected to play for the tie , allowing the clock to run down and kicked the tying field goal , rather than let his quick - scoring offense try for the winning Touchdown . Wilkins ' 5th field goal of the game as time expired in the 4th Quarter tied the score at 23 and sent it into Overtime . Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime period . The Panthers would march down to the Rams 22 yard line on their first drive in Overtime , and Carolina kicker John Kasay in fact made a 40 - yard field goal that would have won the game . But the Panthers were flagged for Delay of Game , and Kasay ' s attempt from 45 yards was wide right . On the Rams ensuing possession , Wilkins would attempt a 53 - yard field goal , but it fell short . The Rams held the ball late in the first overtime , and were driving into Carolina territory , however an errant Bulger pass was intercepted by Carolina cornerback Ricky Manning , Jr . On the first play of the second overtime period , Jake Delhomme threw a 69 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith to win the game . It marked the first double - overtime game and longest NFL game since the 1986 playoffs . Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme completed 16 of 26 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown , with 1 interception . Smith caught 6 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown . Bulger threw for 332 yards , but was intercepted three times . Rams receiver Isaac Bruce caught 7 passes for 116 yards . This turned out to be the last hurrah for the Greatest Show on Turf , as the Rams would head into a steady decline over the next several seasons . AFC : New England Patriots 17 , Tennessee Titans 14 . In one of the coldest games in NFL history , with temperatures reaching , the Patriots survived both the cold and NFL co - MVP Steve McNair , relying on yet another game - winning field goal from kicker Adam Vinatieri late in the fourth quarter and a key defensive stand . Tom Brady stormed out the gates with a 19 - yard completion to Kevin Faulk with his first pass attempt . A few plays later , the Titans defensive scheme confused him and caused him to burn a timeout , but it was well spent . On the next play , he threw a 41 - yard touchdown pass to Bethel Johnson . McNair struck back with a 15 - yard completion to Derrick Mason and a 24 - yard pass to running back Eddie George , moving the ball to the Patriots 22 - yard line . Roman Phifer almost ended the drive by intercepting a pass from McNair , but lineman Richard Seymour was penalized for roughing the passer and the Titans got the ball back with a first down on the New England 9 - yard line . Two plays later , Chris Brown scored a 5 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . After the ensuing kickoff , Brady completed two passes to Dedric Ward for 30 yards on a 38 - yard drive to the Titans 26 - yard line . The drive ended with no points when Vinatieri missed a 44 - yard field goal attempt , but on the next play , safety Rodney Harrison intercepted a pass from McNair and returned it 7 yards to the Patriots 43 - yard line . Brady subsequently completed four of six passes for 49 yards and rushed for 3 on the way to a 1 - yard touchdown run by Antowain Smith to retake the lead less than two minutes into the second quarter . Later in the period , the Titans drove 51 yards in nine plays to the Patriots 13 - yard line , featuring a 29 - yard completion from McNair to Mason . But New England ' s defense kept them out the end zone and blocked Gary Anderson ' s 31 - yard field goal attempt . Early in the third quarter , McNair led the Titans on a 70 - yard scoring drive , completing 5 consecutive passes for 59 yards and capping it off with an 11 - yard touchdown pass to Mason . The rest of the third quarter was scoreless , but midway through the fourth quarter , Troy Brown ' s 10 - yard punt return gave the Patriots great field position at the Titans 40 - yard line . The Patriots gained only 13 yards on their ensuing possession , but it was enough for Vinatieri to make a 46 - yard field goal , giving New England a 17 – 14 lead with 4 : 02 left in regulation . The Titans took the ensuing kickoff and drove to the Patriots 33 - yard line . But two penalties , a 10 - yard intentional grounding call and a holding penalty , pushed them back 20 yards . McNair threw an 11 - yard completion on the next play , but after that , Drew Bennett dropped a potential first down catch on fourth down and 12 , and the Titans turned the ball over on downs with 1 : 38 left . Sunday January 11 , 2004 . AFC : Indianapolis Colts 38 , Kansas City Chiefs 31 . This offensive shootout became the first punt less game in NFL playoff history . For the second game in a row , Colts punter Hunter Smith took the day off while quarterback Peyton Manning completed 22 of 30 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns ( to Reggie Wayne , Brandon Stokley and Tom Lopienski ) , while Edgerrin James ran for a career postseason high 125 yards and two scores . On the Kansas City side , Dante Hall caught a touchdown and returned 7 kickoffs for 207 yards and another score ; and Priest Holmes , who set the regular - season rushing touchdown record in 2003 , rushed for 176 yards , caught 5 passes for 32 yards , and scored twice . Kansas City ' s 33 - year old quarterback Trent Green threw for 212 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 18 yards in his first career postseason game . A touchdown pass called back by a penalty and Holmes ' third - quarter fumble , which set up a Colts ' field goal , turned out to be too much for the Chiefs to overcome . Kansas City defensive coordinator Greg Robinson resigned the following week in disgrace . " He is the master , " defensive end Eric Hicks said of Peyton Manning . " That was an amazing performance . I never would have thought a quarterback would play two games in a row like that . They took us behind the woodshed and just beat us . It was embarrassing . " Manning started off the day leading the Colts 70 yards and finished the opening drive with a 29 - yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley . Kansas City responded with a 73 - yard drive , with Holmes gaining 44 yards on five carries before Morten Andersen kicked a 22 - yard field goal to cut the score to 7 - 3 . The Colts stormed right back , driving 76 yards in six plays . Manning completed a 38 - yard pass to Marvin Harrison on the drive , and James finished it with an 11 - yard touchdown run . But then Kansas City came back , driving 77 yards in 12 plays , converting three third downs , and finishing the drive with a 9 - yard touchdown pass from Green to Hall in the second quarter . After that , Manning led the Colts 71 yards and scored with a 2 - yard touchdown pass to Tom Lopienski , giving them a 21 – 10 lead . Once again , the Chiefs drove deep into Colts territory , but this time they failed to score . First , Tony Gonzalez ' s 27 - yard touchdown catch was called back by a pass interference penalty , and then Andersen missed a 31 - yard field goal attempt . The end of the first half briefly interrupted the barrage of scoring , but it quickly resumed in the second . On the second play of the half , Holmes ' 48 - yard run moved the ball to the Colts 22 - yard line . But on the next play , Indianapolis rookie David Macklin stripped the ball from Holmes and recovered it . After that , the Colts drove to the Chiefs 22 - yard line before Kansas City ' s first key defensive play of the game , defensive tackle Shawn Barber tackling James for a 5 - yard loss on third down , forced them to settle for a Mike Vanderjagt field goal , increasing their lead to 24 - 10 . But the Chiefs were not about to go down . Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to his own 44 - yard line . Then Holmes made up for his earlier mistake by carrying the ball on 6 of the 8 plays of Kansas City ' s possession , gaining 44 yards and finishing the drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run . Not to be outdone , Manning responded with five consecutive completions for 57 yards , including a 19 - yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne to put the Colts back up by 14 points . But this margin turned out to be short lived ; Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown . But once again , the Chiefs defense had no ability to stop the Colts . Manning led them on a 10 - play , 81 - yard drive that ended with James ' 1 - yard touchdown run with 10 : 38 left in the game . The Chiefs responded with a touchdown of their own , but it took too long . But by the time Holmes finished the 17 - play , 76 yard drive with a 1 - yard touchdown run , only 4 : 16 remained in the game . The Colts then put the game away by running the clock down to 8 seconds on their ensuing drive . NFC : Philadelphia Eagles 20 , Green Bay Packers 17 ( OT ) . Ahman Green ' s franchise postseason record 156 rushing yards and an early 14 - 0 lead was not enough to lift the Packers to victory . Facing fourth down and 26 yards to go , with 1 : 12 left in the fourth quarter and the Packers leading 17 - 14 , Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb completed a 28 - yard pass to Freddie Mitchell on a famous play now known as " 4th and 26 " . The play set up David Akers ' 37 - yard field goal to send the game into overtime . In the extra period , and interception by Brian Dawkins set up another Akers field goal to win the game . Midway through the first quarter , Packers lineman Nick Barnett recovered a fumble from McNabb on the Eagles 40 - yard line , and Brett Favre threw a 40 - yard touchdown pass to Robert Ferguson on the next play . James Thrash returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to the 44 - yard line . Then McNabb made up for his mistake with a 41 - yard run to the Packers 15 . But the drive stalled at the 14 - yard line and ended with no points when Akers missed a 31 - yard field goal attempt . After the missed field goal , Green rushed three times for 31 yards before Favre threw his second touchdown pass to Ferguson , giving the Packers a 14 - 0 lead with 1 : 16 left in the first quarter . In the second quarter , McNabb led the Eagles on a scoring drive , completing five consecutive passes for 77 yards , including a 45 - yard pass to Todd Pinkston . On the last play , his 7 - yard touchdown pass to Duce Staley cut the deficit to 14 - 7 . Green Bay took the kickoff and drove 67 yards to the Eagles 1 - yard line , featuring a 33 - yard run by Green , but on fourth down , Green was stuffed by linemen Jerome McDougle and Mark Simoneau for no gain the Packers turned the ball over on downs . Late in the third quarter , the Eagles drove 88 yards in 8 plays to tie the game , despite two 10 - yard penalties against them on the drive . McNabb was responsible for all of the yards on the drive , rushing for 37 yards and completing four passes for 72 , including a 12 - yard touchdown pass to Pinkston that tied the game on the first play of the fourth quarter . Later on , Antonio Chatman ' s 10 - yard punt return gave the Packers great field position on their own 49 - yard line . On the next play , Favre threw a 44 - yard completion to Javon Walker . Philadelphia ' s defense kept Green Bay out of the end zone , but Ryan Longwell kicked a 21 - yard field goal to give them a 17 - 14 lead . After an exchange of punts , the Eagles got the ball on their own 20 - yard line with 2 : 22 left in regulation . Staley started out the drive with a 22 - yard run . Over the next three plays , McNabb was sacked for a 16 - yard loss and threw two incompletions , bringing up fourth down and 26 to go with just 1 : 16 left in the game . But he managed to overcome the situation with a 28 - yard completion to Mitchell to keep the drive alive . He then added a 3 - yard run , a 9 - yard pass to Mitchell , and a 10 - yard completion to Pinkston to get his team into field goal range , where Akers ' 37 - yard field goal sent the game into overtime . Philadelphia won the coin toss in overtime , but they were forced to punt after three plays and Chatman returned the ball 15 yards to the 42 - yard line . However , defensive back Brian Dawkins intercepted Favre ' s first pass of the ensuing drive and returned it 35 yards to the Packers 34 - yard line . An 11 - yard run by Staley and an 8 - yard reception by Pinkston then set up a 31 - yard field goal from Akers to win the game . Although he was sacked 8 times and lost a fumble , McNabb had a solid performance in the game , completing 21 of 39 passes for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns , while also rushing for 107 yards on 11 carries . His 107 rushing yards were a postseason record for a quarterback . Pinkston caught 7 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown , while Thrash returned 5 kickoffs for 125 yards . Conference championships . Sunday January 18 , 2004 . AFC Championship : New England Patriots 24 , Indianapolis Colts 14 . New England ' s defense dominated the Colts , only allowing 14 points , intercepting 4 passes from Peyton Manning ( 3 of them by Ty Law ) , recording 4 sacks ( three by Jarvis Green ) , and forcing a safety . Although New England ' s offense fared no better and only scored one touchdown , Vinatieri ' s 5 field goals made up for the difference as the Patriots won , 24 - 14 , to advance to their second Super Bowl appearance in 3 seasons . The Patriots took the opening kickoff and scored on their first drive , advancing the ball 65 yards in 13 plays . Tom Brady completed four passes to receiver David Givens for 40 yards on the drive , including a 7 - yard touchdown pass , and converted a fourth down on his own 44 - yard yard with a 2 - yard run . Manning seemed ready to counter , driving the Colts 68 yards to the New England 5 - yard line , but on third down and 3 , his pass was intercepted by Rodney Harrison in the end zone . After the interception , the Patriots drove 67 yards to the Colts 13 - yard line where Vinatieri ' s 31 - yard field goal increased their lead to 10 – 0 . The Patriots defense continued to dominate the Colts in the second quarter . On the first play after the ensuing kickoff , Law intercepted a pass from Manning and returned it 6 yards to the 41 - yard line . The Patriots then drove 52 yards and increased their lead to 13 – 0 with a second Vinatieri field goal . Brady completed three passes for 42 yards on the drive , including a 17 - yarder to Givens and a 16 - yard completion to Troy Brown on fourth down and 8 . For the first time in the entire postseason , the Colts were forced to punt on their next drive . Apparently , they were very out of practice , because the snap from center Justin Snow sailed over the head of punter Hunter Smith . The ball went into the end zone , and Smith was forced to knock it out of bounds for a safety , making the score 15 – 0 . The Colts had a great opportunity to score when rookie defense back David Macklin recovered a fumble from receiver Bethel Johnson three plays after the free kick , giving Indianapolis a first down on the Patriots 41 - yard line . But five plays later , Harrison forced a fumble while tackling Marvin Harrison , and cornerback Tyrone Poole recovered it . Trailing 15 – 0 at halftime , the Colts finally managed to build some momentum in the third quarter . First , Dominic Rhodes gave them great field position by returning the second half kickoff 35 yards to the 49 - yard line . Then running back Edgerrin James spearheaded a 52 - yard scoring drive , carrying the ball on 7 of 12 plays for 32 yards and capping it off with a 2 - yard touchdown run to cut the score to 15 - 7 . But the Patriots took over the rest of the period . After Patrick Pass returned the ensuing kickoff 21 yards to the 43 - yard line , Brady completed passes to Larry Centers for 28 yards , Brown for 17 , and Kevin Faulk for 8 , setting up Vinatieri ' s third field goal to increase their lead to 18 - 7 . Three plays after the ensuing kickoff , Indianapolis was forced to punt . Antowain Smith then rushed four times for 53 yards on New England ' s next possession , advancing the ball to the Colts 3 - yard line where Vinatieri kicked his fourth field goal . Two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Law recorded his second interception from Manning on the Colts 31 - yard line . But this time , the Patriots failed to score because defensive back Walt Harris picked off a pass from Brady in the end zone . After the turnover , the Colts drove 57 yards to the New England 31 - yard line . But then Manning threw his third interception to Law with 8 : 17 left in the fourth quarter . After forcing a punt , Manning led the Colts back , completing 8 of 9 passes for 64 yards and finishing the drive with a 7 - yard touchdown pass to Marcus Pollard with 2 : 22 left in regulation . The Colts failed to recover their ensuing onside kick attempt , but forced a punt with 2 : 01 left . However , the Patriots defense limited Manning to four consecutive incompletions , causing the Colts to turn the ball over on downs . Then after making Indianapolis use up all of their timeouts , Vinateir ' s 5th field goal increased the Patriots lead to 24 - 14 . The Colts attempted one last desperation drive , but ended up turning the ball over on downs again with 7 seconds left in the game . Brady completed 22 of 37 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown , with 1 interception . Smith rushed for 100 yards . Pollard caught 6 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown . Rhodes returned five kickoffs for 121 yards , rushed for 16 , and caught 2 passes for 17 . Colts players would later publicly complain that the game officials did not properly call illegal contact , pass interference , and defensive holding penalties on the Patriots ' defensive backs . This , and similar complaints made by other NFL teams , would prompt the NFL during the 2004 offseason to instruct all of the league ' s officials to strictly enforce these types of fouls . NFC Championship : Carolina Panthers 14 , Philadelphia Eagles 3 . Carolina ' s defense shut down the Eagles offense , only allowing a field goal and holding Donovan McNabb to just 10 of 22 completions for 100 yards . Rookie cornerback Ricky Manning , Jr . intercepted McNabb 3 times , while the Panthers defense recorded a total of five sacks . McNabb also sustained a lower - rib injury early in the game but stayed in until the second half . Although Carolina ' s offense only scored 14 points , it was more than enough for the team to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl with a 14 - 3 win . For the Eagles , it was the third straight NFC Championship Game loss . After a scoreless first quarter , the Panthers mounted the only long scoring drive of the game , advancing the ball 79 yards and scoring with Jake Delhomme ' s 24 - yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad . The Eagles responded by driving 44 yards and scoring with a 41 - yard field goal from David Akers . Philadelphia then forced a punt and drove to their own 44 - yard line , but McNabb was intercepted by Manning and the score remained 7 - 3 at halftime . The Eagles took the second half kickoff and drove to the Panthers 18 - yard line before Manning ended the drive with his second interception . Then after a punt , Manning recorded his third interception and returned it 13 yards to the Eagles 37 - yard line . Four plays later , DeShaun Foster ' s 1 - yard touchdown run increased Carolina ' s lead to 14 - 3 . In the fourth quarter , the Eagles had one last chance to come back , driving 74 yards in 11 plays to the Panthers 11 - yard line . But linebacker Dan Morgan picked off a pass from backup quarterback Koy Detmer in the end zone with 5 : 16 left in regulation . The next time Philadelphia got the ball back , they turned the ball over on downs and Carolina ran out the clock to win the game .