2004 Pittsburgh Steelers
The 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers went 15–1, finishing 1st in the AFC North, and lost the conference championship. They scored 372 points and allowed 251.
- Record
- 15–1
- Home
- 8–0
- Road & neutral
- 7–1
- Points
- 372–251
- AFC North
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost conference championship
Where the season ranked
They scored 372 points, the 11th-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 251, the fewest. Their point differential was +121.
Their 15–1 record was the best in the NFL.
How the season unfolded
The Steelers started 3–1 and were 7–1 after eight games. They won their last four games to finish 15–1.
Their longest winning streak was 14 games, from Week 3 to Week 17.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 27–3 over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9 (November 7, 2004).
Their heaviest loss was 30–13 to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 (September 19, 2004).
They scored a season-high 34 points against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 (October 10, 2004), winning 34–23.
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 6–0.
They played one overtime game and won it.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 5–1 against the AFC North, sweeping the Bengals and the Browns and splitting with the Ravens.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 3–0 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Divisional round, they beat the New York Jets 20–17 at home.
In the AFC Championship Game, they lost to the New England Patriots 41–27 at home.
Before and after
That was a nine-win improvement on 2003, when they went 6–10.
Their 15 wins are the franchise’s most in any season since 1999.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2002.
In 2005, they went 11–5 and returned to the playoffs.
2004 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 12, 2004 | vs Oakland Raiders | W 24–21 |
| Week 2 | Sep 19, 2004 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 13–30 |
| Week 3 | Sep 26, 2004 | at Miami Dolphins | W 13–3 |
| Week 4 | Oct 3, 2004 | vs Cincinnati Bengals | W 28–17 |
| Week 5 | Oct 10, 2004 | vs Cleveland Browns | W 34–23 |
| Week 6 | Oct 17, 2004 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 24–20 |
| Week 8 | Oct 31, 2004 | vs New England Patriots | W 34–20 |
| Week 9 | Nov 7, 2004 | vs Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–3 |
| Week 10 | Nov 14, 2004 | at Cleveland Browns | W 24–10 |
| Week 11 | Nov 21, 2004 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 19–14 |
| Week 12 | Nov 28, 2004 | vs Washington | W 16–7 |
| Week 13 | Dec 5, 2004 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | W 17–16 |
| Week 14 | Dec 12, 2004 | vs New York Jets | W 17–6 |
| Week 15 | Dec 18, 2004 | at New York Giants | W 33–30 |
| Week 16 | Dec 26, 2004 | vs Baltimore Ravens | W 20–7 |
| Week 17 | Jan 2, 2005 | at Buffalo Bills | W 29–24 |
| Divisional | Jan 15, 2005 | vs New York Jets | W 20–17 (OT) |
| Conference championship | Jan 23, 2005 | vs New England Patriots | L 27–41 |
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.