2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season

2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head coach	Bill Cowher
General manager	Kevin Colbert
Owner	The Rooney family
Home field	Heinz Field
Results
Record	15–1
Division place	1st AFC North
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Jets) 20–17 Lost AFC Championship (Patriots) 27–41
Pro Bowlers	9 G Alan Faneca ILB James Farrior C Jeff Hartings OLB Joey Porter DE Aaron Smith OT Marvel Smith WR Hines Ward RB Jerome Bettis SS Troy Polamalu
AP All-Pros	6 Alan Faneca (1st team) James Farrior (1st team) Jeff Hartings (1st team) Troy Polamalu (2nd team) Joey Porter (2nd team) Hines Ward (2nd team)
Team MVP	James Farrior
Team ROY	Ben Roethlisberger
← 2003 Steelers seasons 2005 →

Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 7 3 11 21 • Steelers 7 7 7 3 24 Date: Sunday, September 12 Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 60,147 Game weather: 78°F (Sunny) Referee: Walt Anderson TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, and Bonnie Bernstein

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 0 0 13 13 • Ravens 7 6 7 10 30 Date: Sunday, September 19 Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 69,895 Referee: Walt Coleman TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Randy Cross

Pittsburgh Steelers at Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total • Steelers 3 0 3 7 13 Dolphins 0 0 0 3 3 Date: Sunday, September 26 Location: Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 72,225 Referee: Bill Leavy TV announcers (CBS - Local): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 7 3 7 0 17 • Steelers 7 7 0 14 28 Date: Sunday, October 3 Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 62,402 Game weather: 63°F (Sunny) Referee: Terry McAulay TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total Browns 10 3 3 7 23 • Steelers 14 13 7 0 34 Date: Sunday, October 10 Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 63,609 Game weather: 54°F (Cloudy) Referee: Gerald Austin TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker

Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys

1 2 3 4 Total • Steelers 7 3 0 14 24 Cowboys 7 3 10 0 20 Date: Sunday, October 17 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,162 Referee: Mike Carey TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, and Bonnie Bernstein Source: ESPN

Scoring summary 1 9:14 Cowboys Richie Anderson 21-yard run (Billy Cundiff kick) Cowboys 7–0 1 5:22 Steelers Plaxico Burress 5-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick) Tie 7–7 2 4:27 Steelers Jeff Reed 51-yard field goal Steelers 10–7 2 :15 Cowboys Billy Cundiff 47-yard field goal Tie 10–10 3 5:38 Cowboys Billy Cundiff 39-yard field goal Cowboys 13–10 3 2:57 Cowboys Keyshawn Johnson 22-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Billy Cundiff kick) Cowboys 20–10 4 11:48 Steelers Jerame Tuman 7-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick) Cowboys 20–17 4 :30 Steelers Jerome Bettis 2-yard run (Jeff Reed kick) Steelers 24–20

Scoring summary
1	9:14	Cowboys	Richie Anderson 21-yard run (Billy Cundiff kick)	Cowboys 7–0
1	5:22	Steelers	Plaxico Burress 5-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick)	Tie 7–7
2	4:27	Steelers	Jeff Reed 51-yard field goal	Steelers 10–7
2	:15	Cowboys	Billy Cundiff 47-yard field goal	Tie 10–10
3	5:38	Cowboys	Billy Cundiff 39-yard field goal	Cowboys 13–10
3	2:57	Cowboys	Keyshawn Johnson 22-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Billy Cundiff kick)	Cowboys 20–10
4	11:48	Steelers	Jerame Tuman 7-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick)	Cowboys 20–17
4	:30	Steelers	Jerome Bettis 2-yard run (Jeff Reed kick)	Steelers 24–20

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 3 7 3 7 20 • Steelers 21 3 10 0 34 Date: Sunday, October 31 Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 4:15 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,737 Game weather: 63°F (Sunny) Referee: Walt Coleman TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, and Bonnie Bernstein

Philadelphia Eagles at Pittsburgh Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 3 0 0 3 • Steelers 14 7 3 3 27 Date: Sunday, November 7 Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,975 Game weather: 66°F (Sunny) Referee: Bill Carollo TV announcers (Fox): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth, and Pam Oliver Source: ESPN

Scoring summary 1 8:56 Steelers Hines Ward 16-yard run (Jeff Reed kick) Steelers 7–0 1 2:27 Steelers Hines Ward 20-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick) Steelers 14–0 2 10:51 Steelers Jay Riemersma 2-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed kick) Steelers 21–0 2 6:14 Eagles David Akers 33-yard field goal Steelers 21–3 3 2:36 Steelers Jeff Reed 42-yard field goal Steelers 24–3 4 7:58 Steelers Jeff Reed 31-yard field goal Steelers 27–3

The 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 72nd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.

The team looked to come back after a disappointing 6–10 season the year before, which saw the team go through the entire season without winning consecutive games.

The team finished with a 15–1 record, topping the 14–2 team record from 1978 and joined the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 1985 Chicago Bears, and the 1998 Minnesota Vikings as the only teams in NFL history to that point since the league adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978 to finish with such a record. This also made the Steelers the first AFC team to achieve a 15–1 record. Along the way, the Steelers ended the New England Patriots NFL-record 21-game winning streak in Week 8, then defeated the Philadelphia Eagles the following week to hand the NFL's last two undefeated teams their first losses in back-to-back weeks, both at home.

The season was highlighted by the surprising emergence of rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the team's top pick in that year's draft. Originally intended to sit behind veteran Tommy Maddox the entire season, plans abruptly changed when Maddox was hurt in the team's Week 2 loss to Baltimore. Surrounded by talent, "Big Ben" went an NFL-record 13–0 as a rookie starting quarterback, shattering the old NFL record (and coincidentally, also the team record) of 6–0 to start an NFL career set by Mike Kruczek filling in for an injured Terry Bradshaw in 1976.

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