The 2004 season was the Detroit Lions' 75th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 71st as the Detroit Lions, their third playing home games at Ford Field, and their second under head coach Steve Mariucci. The Lions improved on their 5–11 record from the previous season after a Week 16 matchup versus the Chicago Bears, but they missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
A promising 4–2 start was followed by a five-game losing streak and a 2–8 record to finish 6–10. The team finished bottom-tier in offense and mid-tier in defense. Three Lions were named to the Pro Bowl: cornerback Dré Bly, return specialist Eddie Drummond, and defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. In their opening game, the Lions won on the road, snapping an NFL-record 24 game losing streak on the road. The Lions would hold this record until they lost 26 straight across four consecutive seasons: 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Third-year quarterback Joey Harrington led the passing game by throwing 12 interceptions – down from a league-high 22 the previous season – while setting a career high with 3,047 passing yards. In the first game of the season, 2003 second-overall pick Charles Rogers broke his collarbone, sidelining him for the rest of the season. Rookie running back Kevin Jones rushed for 1,133 yards, becoming just the third Lion to rush for over 1,000 yards in their rookie season; the first was Billy Sims, who rushed for 1,303 yards in his 1980 rookie season, and the second was franchise legend Barry Sanders, who rushed for 1,470 yards in his 1989 rookie season.
Offseason
Coaching changes After a bottom tier defensive performance the season prior, the Lions fired defensive coordinator Kurt Schottenheimer and hired former Chicago Bears head coach Dick Jauron as their new defensive coordinator. Also from Chicago, the Lions brought in Larry Brooks as their defensive line coach.
Free agency
Early in March, the Lions released running back James Stewart, former first round pick defensive tackle Luther Elliss, wide receiver Bill Schroeder, and veteran cornerback Corey Harris. Detroit released more players prior to the regular season, including tight end Mikhael Ricks, wide receiver David Kircus, running back Avon Cobourne, and fullback Stephen Trejo.
The Lions re-signed defensive end James Hall and restructured franchise all-time sack leader Robert Porcher's despite the latter contemplating retirement. They also resigned running back Shawn Bryson, guard David Loverne, quarterback Mike McMahon, wide receiver and return man Reggie Swinton, wide receiver Scotty Anderson, and linebacker Donté Curry. The Lions also re-signed kicker and franchise all-time leading scorer Jason Hanson to a four-year deal.
The Lions signed guard Damien Woody, cornerback Fernando Bryant, and quarterback Rick Mirer. Late into the season, the Lions also signed offensive tackle Sean Bubin from the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad.
NFL Draft
Detroit drafted two players in the first round: wide receiver Roy Williams and running back Kevin Jones. Williams recorded 3,884 receiving yards and 29 receiving touchdowns before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2008. Jones recorded 3,067 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns in his four seasons with the Lions. Detroit's second round selection, Teddy Lehman, spent four seasons with the Lions and recorded 2 interceptions, 148 combined tackles, and a sack. Their third round selection, Keith Smith, spent five seasons with Detroit, recording 4 interceptions, 13 passes defended, and 159 combined tackles. Linebacker Alex Lewis, their fifth round pick, spent his entire five year career with the Lions, recording one interception, two sacks, and 177 combined tackles. Sixth round pick offensive tackle Kelly Butler played only 16 games, all in 2005.
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Personnel
Staff
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Roster
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Preseason Detroit started their preseason by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Lions forced a fumble and scored on a Harrington pass to FitzSimmons to take an early 7–0 lead. The Steelers failed to get on the board when a Jeff Reed 54-yard field goal attempt came up short. After a Lions punt, the Steelers scored on a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Antwaan Randle El to tie the game. Detroit responded with a Hanson 46-yard field goal to go halftime up 10–7. They extended their lead early in the third with a Olandis Gary 1-yard touchdown. The Steelers responded with a 26-yard touchdown pass before Detroit extended their lead once again with a Chris Snyder 50-yard field goal and an Avon Cobourne 7-yard touchdown to go up 27–14. The Steelers responded with a 22-yard rushing touchdown, but would not be able to score again as the Lions won 27–21. For their second preseason game, the Lions traveled to face the Cleveland Browns. The Lions opened up the game with a Harrington 10-yard touchdown off the back of a Jeff Garcia fumble. The Browns responded with two Lee Suggs touchdown runs to go up 14–7 into halftime. The Lions looked to cut the deficit with a Chris Snyder 38-yard field goal, but he missed it wide right. But Snyder hit on a 21-yard field goal to bring the score to 14–10 heading into the fourth. A late Browns field goal and a turnover on downs solidified the 10–14 loss.
The Lions stayed in the AFC North, heading to the Baltimore Ravens for their third preseason game. Detroit opened up the scoring with a Hanson 43-yard field goal before Baltimore tied it with their own 41-yard field goal. Another Hanson field goal put the Lions up 6–3 going into halftime. The Ravens took the first play of the second half 84-yards for the score to take the 10–6 lead. Another Baltimore touchdown would hand the Lions a 6–17 loss. In their final game of the preseason, the Lions hosted the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo took up half the first quarter with a touchdown drive, which the Lions responded with a Hanson 39-yard field goal and their own long touchdown drive to go up 10–7. A Buffalo field goal responded to by a Lions field goal set the score at 13–10 heading to halftime. Buffalo took the lead on a 4-yard touchdown run. With 1:09 left in the game and set up with good field position by a 43-yard Swinton return, the Lions scored a game-winning 26-yard touchdown to win 20–17. Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance Recap 1 August 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–21 1–0 60,159 Recap 2 August 21 at Cleveland Browns L 10–17 1–1 67,771 Recap 3 August 28 at Baltimore Ravens L 6–17 1–2 69,552 Recap 4 September 2 Buffalo BillsW 20–172–257,746Recap
Regular season
Overview
The Lions started their season 4–2 before suffering a 5-game losing streak and ending their season 6–10, missing the playoffs. They suffered their fourth straight losing season and finished third in the NFC North. The offense, led by offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, was 24th in both points and yards. The passing game, headed by three-year starter Joey Harrington, was 23rd in passing yards and 20th in passing touchdowns. Harrington passed for a career-high 3,047 yards, a career-high 19 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The run game was led by rookie Kevin Jones who finished with 1,133 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, becoming just the third Lion since Billy Sims and Barry Sanders to rush for over 1,000 yards in their rookie season. The run game finished 19th in rushing yards but 30th in rushing touchdowns. The defense, led by first-year defensive coordinator and former Chicago Bears head coach Dick Jauron, finished 18th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed. Cornerback Dré Bly lead the team in interceptions with four, including a pick-six, while defensive end James Hall led the team in sacks with 11½ and linebacker Earl Holmes led the team in combined tackles with 111. Kicker Jason Hanson went 24 for 28 on field goal attempts and 28 for 28 on extra point attempts, while punter Nick Harris averaged 40.9 yards per punt.
Detroit's second-round selection in 2003, linebacker Boss Bailey, missed the entirety of the 2004 season after an injury in practice revealed torn cartilage. Bailey went on the active roster towards the end of the season, but was placed back on injured reserve after Bailey said the injury was "holding me back mentally". Wide receiver Charles Rogers, whom the Lions selected second overall in 2003, broke his collarbone during the Lions' season opener against the Chicago Bears and was lost for the season. Cornerback Dré Bly injured his knee in the same game and would not return until Week 6. Detroit also lost running back Paul Smith for the season, placing him on injured reserve. In Week 3, rookie running back Kevin Jones suffered a high-ankle sprain which sidelined him for the Week 5 game against Atlanta and lost cornerback Rod Babers for the season with a broken collarbone. During the Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Colts, return specialist Eddie Drummond fractured his shoulder blade, keeping him out for the rest of the season. Robert Porcher, who had forgone retirement in the offseason to return to Detroit, chose to retire after not suiting up for a single Detroit game. Porcher retired with a franchise-leading 95½ sacks.
Schedule In addition to their regular games with NFC North divisional rivals, the Lions played teams from the NFC East and AFC South, as well as against the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals, who had finished fourth in their respective divisions in 2003.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 12 at Chicago Bears W 20–16 1–0Soldier Field 61,535 2 September 19 Houston Texans W 28–16 2–0Ford Field 61,465 3 September 26 Philadelphia Eagles L 13–30 2–1Ford Field 62,472 4 Bye 5 October 10 at Atlanta Falcons W 17–10 3–1Georgia Dome 70,434 6 October 17 Green Bay Packers L 10–38 3–2Ford Field 62,938 7 October 24 at New York Giants W 28–13 4–2Giants Stadium 78,841 8 October 31 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–31 4–3Texas Stadium 63,616 9 November 7 Washington Redskins L 10–17 4–4Ford Field 62,657 10 November 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 17–23 4–5Alltel Stadium 66,431 11 November 21 at Minnesota Vikings L 19–22 4–6Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,156 12 November 25 Indianapolis Colts L 9–41 4–7Ford Field 63,107 13 December 5 Arizona Cardinals W 26–12 5–7Ford Field 62,262 14 December 12 at Green Bay Packers L 13–16 5–8Lambeau Field 70,497 15 December 19 Minnesota Vikings L 27–28 5–9Ford Field 62,337 16 December 26 Chicago Bears W 19–13 6–9Ford Field 61,924 17 January 2 at Tennessee Titans L 19–24 6–10The Coliseum 68,809Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries All game reports use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source. Week 1: at Chicago Bears
To begin their season, the Lions traveled to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears. The two teams punted on their opening drives before the Bears scored on a Thomas Jones 2-yard run. Following two punts, the Lions got a takeaway when a Rex Grossman deep-shot for Daryl Jones was intercepted by André Goodman. After four more punts, the Lions got on the board with a Jason Hanson 27-yard field goal to put the score at 7–3 Bears heading into halftime.