The 2004 Buffalo Bills season was their 45th in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. The team improved upon their
previous season's output of 6–10, finishing 9–7. However, this was the fifth straight season in which the team missed the playoffs.
Buffalo needed a win in the final game of the season against the
Pittsburgh Steelers to qualify for the playoffs. However, despite the Steelers playing their third-stringers (which, notably, included
Willie Parker
William Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former football running back who played for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for North Carolina, he ...
, who would have his breakout performance in the game), Buffalo lost and subsequently missed the playoffs. It was the only winning season that Buffalo had in the 2000s (
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
–
2009) and would be the Bills' last winning season until 2014.
According to
Football Outsiders, who has tracked every play in the NFL since the early 1990s, the 2004 Bills were statistically the best NFL team (in their record-keeping history) to have failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The Bills set an
NFL record by returning six kickoffs for touchdowns in 2004.
Their match with
the Miami Dolphins in Week 6 is the only time in the NFL since
1968 that the last two winless teams have met each other.
As of 2023, the only remaining active members of the 2004 Buffalo Bills are offensive lineman
Jason Peters
Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free ag ...
, wide receiver
Jonathan Smith, and offensive lineman Lawrence Smith, although Jonathan Smith is a free agent who hasn't played an NFL game in 16 years, and Lawrence Smith hasn't played an NFL game in 18 years.
Offseason
Free Agency
The Bills failed to re-sign guard
Ruben Brown
Ruben Parnell Brown (born February 13, 1972) is a former American football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 14th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college footba ...
and cornerback
Antoine Winfield Sr. Both would end up signing with
NFC North
The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough r ...
teams, with Brown signing with the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
and Winfield signing with the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
.
To replace the departed players, the Bills signed former
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
guard
Chris Villarrial
Chris Villarrial (born June 9, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He played professionally as an offensive guard with the Chicago Bea ...
and former
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
cornerback
Troy Vincent
Troy Darnell Vincent (born June 8, 1970) is a former American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Dolphins as the 7th ...
.
NFL Draft
The Bills drafted future starters
Lee Evans from
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and
J. P. Losman
Jonathan Paul Losman (born March 12, 1981) is an American football coach and former quarterback. Losman played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at UCLA and Tu ...
from
Tulane
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
in the first round of the 2004 Draft. Buffalo also signed undrafted
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
Jason Peters
Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free ag ...
from
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
and converted him into a
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
offensive tackle. Buffalo traded their 2004 second round pick and
2005 first round pick to move into position to draft Losman.
Roster
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1
Standings
References
Buffalo Bills seasons
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
Buff
Buff or BUFF may refer to:
People
* Buff (surname), a list of people
* Buff (nickname), a list of people
* Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955)
* Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...
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