2004 New England Patriots season The 2004 New England Patriots season was the 35th season for the team in the National Football League and 45th season overall . They finished with their second straight 14 – 2 record before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXIX , their third Super Bowl victory in four years . Following a Super Bowl win in 2003 , the Patriots looked to improve their running game in the offseason . Replacing Antowain Smith was longtime but disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon , who was acquired in a trade days before the 2004 NFL Draft ; Dillon would rush for a career - high 1 , 635 yards in 2004 . Winning their first six games of the season , the Patriots set the NFL record for consecutive regular season victories ( 18 ) , which was later broken by the 2006 – 2008 Patriots ( 21 ) , and consecutive regular season and playoff victories ( 21 ) before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 31 . In that game , Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law was lost for the season with a foot injury . Combined with the loss of other starting cornerback Tyrone Poole two weeks earlier , the Patriots were forced to complete the regular season and playoffs by using second - year cornerback Asante Samuel , undrafted free agent Randall Gay , and longtime Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown at cornerback , among others . With a 14 – 2 record and the second seed in the AFC playoffs , the Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts at home in the playoffs for the second - straight year , holding the Colts ' top offense to three points . The Patriots then defeated the top - seeded Pittsburgh Steelers on the road , 41 – 27 , in the AFC Championship Game . Prior to the Patriots ' matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX , Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell said he did not know the names of the Patriots ' defensive backs , which was taken as a sign of disrepsect by the Patriots ' " replacement " secondary . The Patriots would go on to defeat the Eagles 24 – 21 in their second straight Super Bowl victory and third championship in four seasons , leading to some labeling the Patriots of the era a sports dynasty . Opening training camp roster . At the time of the first public training camp practice at Gillette Stadium on July 29 , they had the NFL maximum of 80 players signed to their roster . The Patriots received seven roster exemptions for the NFL Europe allocations of Rohan Davey , Jamil Soriano , Chas Gessner , Lawrence Flugence , Scott Farley , Buck Rasmussen , and David Pruce . Additionally , the Patriots allocated safety Jason Perry and cornerback Michael Hall to NFL Europe and received roster exemptions for them , but those players were waived before the start of training camp . Finally , rookie Benjamin Watson had not yet signed a contract by the start of camp and did not count against the roster limit . Regular season results . Week 1 : vs . Indianapolis Colts . Opening the NFL season on a Thursday night for the first time ever , the Patriots fell behind their arch - enemy 17 – 13 at the half . Tom Brady answered with touchdowns to David Patten and Daniel Graham in the third . A botched punt return by Deion Branch helped set up a Brandon Stokley touchdown from Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter . In the game ' s final minute , the score still 27 – 24 Patriots , Manning drove the Colts to the Patriots redzone , but was sacked well outside the 30 by Willie McGinest . Mike Vanderjagt came on for a 48 - yard field goal try ; he taunted the Patriots bench by rubbing his fingers in a " money " motion , having connected on 42 straight field goals , but he missed wide left on this try , securing the Patriots win . Week 2 : at Arizona Cardinals . Corey Dillon had his first big game for the Patriots as he rushed for 158 yards in a 23 – 12 New England win . The win proved costly as Deion Branch was lost for seven games when he was injured in a late - second - quarter trick play that turned into a turnover . Week 4 : at Buffalo Bills . A year after being crushed 31 – 0 in Ralph Wilson Stadium the Patriots carried a winning streak that had reached 17 games ( regular season and playoff ) . The Patriots took a 10 – 3 lead late in the first quarter but Terrence McGee ran back the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for the tying touchdown . A Patriots endzone fumble then set up a 41 - yard Drew Bledsoe touchdown to Eric Moulds . The Patriots tied the game on a David Patten touchdown catch at the end of the half , then after a fourth quarter Daniel Graham score the Patriots iced the game when Bledsoe was strip - sacked and Richard Seymour ran the ball 68 yards for the score , a 31 – 17 Patriots final . Week 8 : at Pittsburgh Steelers . Known in Patriot circles as " The Halloween Massacre , " the Patriots ' 21 - game winning streak crashed to a halt at the hands of Pittsburgh ' s rookie phenom Ben Roethlisberger , who threw touchdowns to Plaxico Burress before a Deshea Townsend intercepetion return put the score at 21 – 3 Steelers after one quarter . Ty Law of the Patriots was lost for the season in this game ( and in fact would not play for the Patriots again as he would go to the New York Jets after the season ) . The Steelers rushed for 221 yards ( led by Duce Staley ' s 125 and Jerome Bettis ' 65 and a score ) and won 34 – 20 , continuing a winning streak of their own that began in Week Three but which would end at the hands of the Patriots in the postseason . Week 9 : at St . Louis Rams . This was the first meeting between the two clubs since Super Bowl XXXVI . Receiver Troy Brown was pressed into service as a defensive back and wound up playing all three sides of the ball ; he caught three passes from Tom Brady and defended three Rams passes , then in the third quarter the Patriots set up for a short field goal , but the ball was snapped to Adam Vinatieri who threw it to Brown at the left corner of the endzone . The touchdown put the Patriots up 26 – 14 and they rolled to a 40 – 22 win ; ironically Vinatieri had a better quarterback rating ( 122 . 9 ) than Brady ( 103 . 4 ) or the Rams ' Marc Bulger ( 103 . 7 ) . Week 12 : vs . Baltimore Ravens . A sloppy first half between two strong defensive teams turned into a Patriot rout in the 2nd half . Corey Dillon ran for a short TD , and a Tedy Bruschi sack of Kyle Boller led to Jarvis Green ' s recovered fumble for another score . Week 15 : at Miami Dolphins . One of the most stunning upsets of the 2004 season took place in Miami , as the Dolphins rallied from an 11 - point deficit to defeat New England . After a Dolphin TD made the score 28 – 23 , Tom Brady threw an interception and Miami scored to go ahead 29 – 28 on a pass from A . J . Feely to Derrius Thompson . Another Brady interception sealed the Patriots ' loss ; as a result of this defeat , New England would end up as the AFC ' s No . 2 playoff seed , behind the 15 – 1 Pittsburgh Steelers . Postseason results . Divisional Round vs . Indianapolis Colts . In a snowstorm , the Patriots dismantled the league ' s highest scoring team by forcing three turnovers and holding them to just 276 yards and 3 points , their lowest point total since their opening game of the 2003 season . Peyton Manning suffered his seventh loss in Foxborough , even though he had more yards passing than Brady did in the game . The Patriots limited Manning to 238 passing yards with 1 interception and no touchdowns , and Edgerrin James to just 39 rushing yards . The Patriots also held possession of the ball for 37 : 43 , including 21 : 26 in the second half and recording three long scoring drives that each took over 7 minutes off the clock . New England running back Corey Dillon , playing in his first career playoff game after suffering through 7 losing seasons as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals , rushed for 144 yards and caught 5 passes for 17 yards . Both teams defenses dominated early , as the first five possessions of the game ended in punts . But after that , the Patriots put together a 16 - play , 78 yards scoring drive that took 9 : 07 off the clock . They lost a touchdown when Dillons ' 1 - yard score was overturned by a penalty , but Adam Vinatieri kicked a 24 - yard field goal to give them a 3 – 0 lead . The next time New England got the ball , a 42 - yard run by Dillon set up another Vinatieri field goal , increasing the Patriots lead to 6 – 0 . The Colts responded with a drive to New England ' s 39 - yard line , but linebacker Tedy Bruschi ended it by forcing and recovering a fumble from running back Dominic Rhodes . After a Patriots punt , Manning led the Colts 67 yards to a Mike Vanderjagt field goal , cutting the score to 6 – 3 going into halftime . But the Patriots dominated the second half , holding the ball for nearly all the time in regulation with two long drives . After an exchange of punts , they drove 87 yards in 15 plays on a drive that consumed 8 : 16 and ended with Brady ' s 5 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens . At the end of the Colts next drive , Hunter Smith ' s 54 - yard punt pinned New England back at their own 6 - yard line . But it didn ' t stop them . The Patriots stormed down the field on a 14 - play , 94 - yard drive that ate up another 7 : 24 . Dillon rushed for 35 yards and caught a pass for 9 on the drive , including a 27 - yard run on third down and 8 , while Brady finished it with a 1 - yard touchdown run , gving the Patriots a 20 – 3 lead with just over 7 minutes left in the game . Then two plays after the ensuing kickoff , safety Rodney Harrison stripped the ball from Reggie Wayne and Bruschi recovered it , allowing his team to take more time off the clock . Indianapolis responded with a drive to the Patriots 20 - yard line , but Harrison intercepted Manning ' s pass in the end zone with 10 seconds left , as overjoyed fans taunted Manning with a sustained chant of " Cut that meat ! " in reference to a commercial their now - defeated rival had filmed . AFC Championship at Pittsburgh Steelers . The game - time temperature of made it the second - coldest game ever in Pittsburgh and the coldest ever in Steel City playoff annals . However , it was the Patriots that handed Ben Roethlisberger his first loss as a starter after a 14 - game winning streak , the longest by a rookie quarterback in NFL history , as the Steelers became the second NFL team ever to record a 15 – 1 record and fail to reach the Super Bowl . The Patriots converted four Pittsburgh turnovers into 24 points , while committing no turnovers themselves . The Patriots ' win also prevented an all - Pennsylvania Super Bowl from being played . The Steelers never recovered from their poor performance in the first quarter . Patriots defensive back Eugene Wilson intercepted Roethlisberger ' s first pass of the game on his own 48 - yard line , setting up Adam Vinatieri ' s 48 - yard field goal to take a 3 – 0 lead . Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Patriots 39 - yard line . But then running back Jerome Bettis lost a fumble while being tackled by Rosevelt Colvin and linebacker Mike Vrabel recovered it . On the next play , Tom Brady threw a 60 - yard touchdown pass to receiver Deion Branch . With 1 : 28 left in the first quarter , the Steelers cut their deficit to 10 – 3 with Jeff Reed ' s 23 - yard field goal . But after an exchange of punts , Branch caught a 45 - yard reception on Pittsburgh ' s 14 - yard line . Two plays later , Brady threw a 9 - yard touchdown pass to David Givens . Then on the Steelers ensuing drive , safety Rodney Harrison intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown , giving the Patriots a 24 – 3 halftime lead . In the second half , the teams scored three consecutive touchdowns . New England was forced to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter , and Antwaan Randle El returned the ball 9 yards to the Steelers 44 - yard line . Then on the Steelers ensuing possession , he caught two passes for 46 yards as they drove 56 yards in five plays . Bettis finished the drive with a 5 - yard touchdown run , cutting their deficit to 24 – 10 . New England responded by moving the ball 69 yards in seven plays and scoring with Corey Dillon ' s 25 - yard touchdown run . But Pittsburgh stormed right back , driving 60 yards in ten plays and scoring with Roethlisberger ' s 30 - yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward . Then after forcing a punt , Randle El returned the ball 22 yards to the Steelers 49 - yard line . On their ensuing drive , Ward ' s 26 - yard reception on the last play of the third quarter set up Reed ' s second field goal , making the score 31 – 20 with 13 : 32 left in the game . However , the Patriots took over the rest of the quarter . They responded with a 49 - yard drive that took 5 : 26 off the clock and ended with Vinatieri ' s 31 - yard field goal . Then two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Wilson intercepted another pass from Roethlisberger at New England ' s 45 - yard line . The Patriots subsequently marched down the field on another long scoring drive , taking 5 : 06 off the clock . Branch capped it off with a 23 - yard touchdown run on a reverse play , giving the Patriots a 41 – 20 lead . The Steelers responded with Roethlisberger ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress on their next drive , but by then there was only 1 : 31 left in the game . Brady completed 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns . Dillon rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown . Branch caught 4 passes for 116 yards , rushed for 37 yards , and scored two touchdowns . Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns , and rushed for 45 yards , but was intercepted 3 times . Ward caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown . Super Bowl XXXIX at Philadelphia Eagles . On the first drive of the game , Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb fumbled while being sacked by New England linebacker Willie McGinest , and the Patriots recovered the ball at Philadelphia ' s 34 yard line . Fortunately for the Eagles , coach Andy Reid ' s instant replay challenge overruled the fumble ; officials ruled that McNabb had been down by contact before the ball came out of his hands . Later in the quarter after each team had punted twice , McNabb completed a 30 - yard pass to Terrell Owens , with a roughing the passer penalty adding 9 yards , moving the ball inside the Patriots 20 yard line . However , linebacker Mike Vrabel sacked McNabb for a 16 - yard loss on the next play . On the following play , the Eagles once again appeared to turn the ball over : McNabb ' s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Patriots defensive back Asante Samuel , but it was nullified by an illegal contact penalty on linebacker Roman Phifer , moving the ball back inside the 20 and giving the Eagles a first down . However , McNabb ' s second chance was wasted as he threw an interception to safety Rodney Harrison on the next play . The Eagles defense then forced New England to a three - and - out on their ensuing possession , and Philadelphia got great field position by receiving the punt at the Patriots 45 yard line . But once again , they gave up another turnover : tight end L . J . Smith lost a fumble while being tackled by defensive back Randall Gay , and Samuel recovered the ball at the 38 . The Eagles defense once again forced New England to punt , and got the ball back at their own 19 yard line . Aided by a pair of completions from McNabb to receiver Todd Pinkston for gains of 17 and 40 yards , the Eagles drove 81 yards in 9 plays and scored on McNabb ' s 6 - yard touchdown pass to Smith , taking a 7 – 0 lead with 9 : 55 left in the second quarter . It was the first time New England trailed during the entire postseason . On their ensuing drive , the Patriots moved the ball to the Eagles 4 - yard line , mainly on plays by Corey Dillon , who caught two screen pass es for 29 yards and rushed for 25 . But quarterback Tom Brady fumbled the ball on a fake handoff and Philadelphia defender Darwin Walker recovered it . However , the Eagles could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt after 3 plays . Eagles punter Dirk Johnson ' s punt went just 29 yards , giving the Patriots the ball at Philadelphia ' s 37 yard line . The Patriots then drove 37 yards to score on Brady ' s 4 - yard pass to receiver David Givens with 1 : 10 remaining in the period , tying the game 7 – 7 by halftime . It was only the second halftime tie in Super Bowl history and the first time both of the game ' s first 2 quarters ended tied . On the opening drive of the second half , Patriots receiver Deion Branch caught 4 passes for 71 yards on a drive that ended with Brady ' s 2 - yard pass to Vrabel , who lined up at the tight end spot on the play . The Eagles later tied the game with 3 : 39 left in the third period with a 74 - yard , 10 - play drive that was capped by McNabb ' s 10 - yard touchdown pass to running back Brian Westbrook . For the first time in Super Bowl history , the game was tied going into the fourth quarter . Early in the final period , the Patriots put together a 9 - play , 66 - yard scoring drive that was keyed by 3 plays from running back Kevin Faulk , who caught 2 passes for 27 combined yards and rushed once for 12 . Dillon capped off the drive with a 2 - yard touchdown run to give the Patriots a 21 – 14 lead . Then after forcing another Eagles punt , Branch ' s 19 - yard reception and a roughing - the - passer penalty on Philadelphia defensive lineman Corey Simon set up kicker Adam Vinatieri ' s 22 - yard field goal with 8 : 43 left in the game to increase the score 24 – 14 . The Eagles responded by advancing to the New England 36 - yard line on their next drive , but it ended with no points after linebacker Tedy Bruschi intercepted a pass from McNabb at the Patriots 24 - yard line . After forcing New England to punt , Philadelphia got the ball back at their own 21 - yard line with 5 : 40 left in the game . The Eagles then drove 79 yards in 13 plays to cut their deficit to 24 – 21 with McNabb ' s 30 - yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis . However , the drive consumed 3 : 52 of the clock , and only 1 : 55 remained in the game by the time Lewis scored . Because of this , many sportswriters later criticized the Eagles for not immediately going to a no - huddle offense at the start of the possession . ( Two days after the game , some Eagles players revealed that McNabb was so sick that he had trouble calling the plays . ) The Eagles failed to recover their ensuing onside kick attempt . The Patriots then played it safe by running the ball 3 times and forcing Philadelphia to use all of its timeouts . New England punter Josh Miller then pinned the Eagles back at their own 4 - yard line with just 46 seconds left in the game . Philadelphia then tried one last desperate drive to win or tie the game . But on first down , McNabb was pressured into making a rushed pass to Westbrook at the line of scrimmage . Instead of dropping the pass to stop the clock , Westbrook made the mistake of catching the ball and was immediately tackled for no gain , keeping the clock running and forcing the Eagles to run back to the line of scrimmage for their next play with no huddle . On second down , McNabb threw an incomplete pass intended for Owens . Finally on third down , McNabb threw a pass that went just over the outstretched fingertips of Smith and into the arms of Harrison for an interception with 9 seconds left , sealing the victory for the Patriots . Awards and honors . Pro Bowl selections . Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri and special teamer Larry Izzo were both named as starters to the 2005 Pro Bowl . Quarterback Tom Brady and defensive end Richard Seymour were elected as reserves ; Seymour did not play in the game due to injury . Additionally , running back Corey Dillon and linebacker Tedy Bruschi were named as injury replacements , however , Dillon did not participate in the game due to injury .