Every 2003 NFL playoff game, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
New England Patriots won the 2003 title from a regular season record of 14-2. 12 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every game below is taken from the nflverse open data project; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Round | Indianapolis Colts | 41-10 | Denver Broncos | January 4, 2004 |
| Wild Card Round | Tennessee Titans | 20-17 | Baltimore Ravens | January 3, 2004 |
| Wild Card Round | Carolina Panthers | 29-10 | Dallas Cowboys | January 3, 2004 |
| Wild Card Round | Green Bay Packers | 33-27 | Seattle Seahawks | January 4, 2004 |
| Divisional Round | New England Patriots | 17-14 | Tennessee Titans | January 10, 2004 |
| Divisional Round | Indianapolis Colts | 38-31 | Kansas City Chiefs | January 11, 2004 |
| Divisional Round | Philadelphia Eagles | 20-17 | Green Bay Packers | January 11, 2004 |
| Divisional Round | Carolina Panthers | 29-23 | St. Louis Rams | January 10, 2004 |
| Conference Championship | New England Patriots | 24-14 | Indianapolis Colts | January 18, 2004 |
| Conference Championship | Carolina Panthers | 14-3 | Philadelphia Eagles | January 18, 2004 |
| Super Bowl | New England Patriots | 32-29 | Carolina Panthers | February 1, 2004 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.
The races that filled this bracket: AFC Wild Card NFC Wild Card