Every 2004 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 2004 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 | 49-24 | Denver Broncos | January 9, 2005 |
| Wild Card Round | New York Jets | 20-17 | San Diego Chargers | January 8, 2005 |
| Wild Card Round | Minnesota Vikings | 31-17 | Green Bay Packers | January 9, 2005 |
| Wild Card Round | St. Louis Rams | 27-20 | Seattle Seahawks | January 8, 2005 |
| Divisional Round | Pittsburgh Steelers | 20-17 | New York Jets | January 15, 2005 |
| Divisional Round | New England Patriots | 20-3 | Indianapolis Colts | January 16, 2005 |
| Divisional Round | Philadelphia Eagles | 27-14 | Minnesota Vikings | January 16, 2005 |
| Divisional Round | Atlanta Falcons | 47-17 | St. Louis Rams | January 15, 2005 |
| Conference Championship | New England Patriots | 41-27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | January 23, 2005 |
| Conference Championship | Philadelphia Eagles | 27-10 | Atlanta Falcons | January 23, 2005 |
| Super Bowl | New England Patriots | 24-21 | Philadelphia Eagles | February 6, 2005 |
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