2004 San Diego Chargers
The 2004 San Diego Chargers went 12–4, finishing 1st in the AFC West, and lost in the Wild Card round. They scored 446 points and allowed 313.
- Record
- 12–4
- Home
- 7–1
- Road & neutral
- 5–3
- Points
- 446–313
- AFC West
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost Wild Card
Where the season ranked
They scored 446 points, the third-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 313, the 11th-fewest. Their point differential was +133.
How the season unfolded
The Chargers started 2–2 and were 5–3 after eight games. They went 3–1 over the final four weeks to finish 12–4.
Their longest winning streak was eight games, from Week 7 to Week 15.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 42–14 over the Oakland Raiders in Week 8 (October 31, 2004).
Their heaviest loss was 23–13 to the Denver Broncos in Week 3 (September 26, 2004).
They scored a season-high 43 points against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9 (November 7, 2004), winning 43–17.
They shut out the Cleveland Browns (Week 15).
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 6–3.
They played two games that went to overtime and went 0–2 in them.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 5–1 against the AFC West, sweeping the Raiders and the Chiefs and splitting with the Broncos.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 1–4 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Wild Card round, they lost to the New York Jets 20–17 at home.
Before and after
That was an eight-win improvement on 2003, when they went 4–12.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance in any season from 1999 on.
In 2005, they went 9–7 and missed the playoffs.
2004 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 12, 2004 | at Houston Texans | W 27–20 |
| Week 2 | Sep 19, 2004 | vs New York Jets | L 28–34 |
| Week 3 | Sep 26, 2004 | at Denver Broncos | L 13–23 |
| Week 4 | Oct 3, 2004 | vs Tennessee Titans | W 38–17 |
| Week 5 | Oct 10, 2004 | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | W 34–21 |
| Week 6 | Oct 17, 2004 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 20–21 |
| Week 7 | Oct 24, 2004 | at Carolina Panthers | W 17–6 |
| Week 8 | Oct 31, 2004 | vs Oakland Raiders | W 42–14 |
| Week 9 | Nov 7, 2004 | vs New Orleans Saints | W 43–17 |
| Week 11 | Nov 21, 2004 | at Oakland Raiders | W 23–17 |
| Week 12 | Nov 28, 2004 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–31 |
| Week 13 | Dec 5, 2004 | vs Denver Broncos | W 20–17 |
| Week 14 | Dec 12, 2004 | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–24 |
| Week 15 | Dec 19, 2004 | at Cleveland Browns | W 21–0 |
| Week 16 | Dec 26, 2004 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 31–34 (OT) |
| Week 17 | Jan 2, 2005 | vs Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–17 |
| Wild Card | Jan 8, 2005 | vs New York Jets | L 17–20 (OT) |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2004 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.