The 2004 season was the Houston Texans' third in the National Football League, all of which they had spent under head coach Dom Capers. The team finished 7–9, two games better than the previous season, and came third in the AFC South, the first time they had not finished bottom. The Texans also earned their first victory over the Tennessee Titans, the franchise previously known as the Oilers, who had left Houston after the 1996 season.
Quarterback David Carr, who missed four games the previous season, started all 16 games in 2004. Carr finished 2004 as his best season with Houston, finishing 285-of-466 for 3,531 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Carr's 466 attempts, 3,531 passing yards, and 16 passing touchdowns would all be career highs for him. Additionally, this was the first season Carr finished with more touchdowns than interceptions.
Offseason NFL draft
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Dallas Cowboys W 18–0 1–0 Reliant Stadium Recap 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–38 1–1 Heinz Field Recap 3 at Denver Broncos L 17–31 1–2 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 9–17 1–3 Reliant Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 12 San Diego Chargers L 20–27 0–1 Reliant Stadium Recap 2 September 19 at Detroit Lions L 16–28 0–2 Ford Field Recap 3 September 26 at Kansas City Chiefs W 24–21 1–2 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 4 October 3 Oakland Raiders W 30–17 2–2 Reliant Stadium Recap 5 October 10 Minnesota Vikings L 28–34 2–3 Reliant Stadium Recap 6 October 17 at Tennessee Titans W 20–10 3–3 The Coliseum Recap 7Bye 8 October 31 Jacksonville Jaguars W 20–6 4–3 Reliant Stadium Recap 9 November 7 at Denver Broncos L 13–31 4–4 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap 10 November 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–49 4–5 RCA Dome Recap 11 November 21 Green Bay Packers L 13–16 4–6 Reliant Stadium Recap 12 November 28 Tennessee Titans W 31–21 5–6 Reliant Stadium Recap 13 December 5 at New York Jets L 7–29 5–7 Giants Stadium Recap 14 December 12 Indianapolis Colts L 14–23 5–8 Reliant Stadium Recap 15 December 19 at Chicago Bears W 24–5 6–8 Soldier Field Recap 16 December 26 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–0 7–8 Alltel Stadium Recap 17 January 2 Cleveland Browns L 14–22 7–9 Reliant Stadium RecapNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 2: at Detroit Lions
Week 3: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 4: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 5: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 6: at Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Texans improved to 3–3. This was the Texans' first win over the Tennessee Titans, who previously played in Houston as the Oilers from 1960 to 1996.
Week 8: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 9: at Denver Broncos
Week 10: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 12: vs. Tennessee Titans
With the win, the Texans improved to 5–6, snapped their three game losing streak, and swept the Titans for the first time in franchise history.
Week 13: at New York Jets
Week 14: vs. Indianapolis Colts
With the loss to Indianapolis the Texans were eliminated from playoff contention at 5-8.
Week 15: at Chicago Bears
Week 16: at Jacksonville Jaguars
This was the first shutout win in Texans history.
Week 17: vs. Cleveland Browns
Looking to secure their first non-losing season, the 7–8 Texans hosted the 3–12 Browns in the regular season finale of the 2004 season. Despite only committing one turnover, Houston's offense struggled and only gained 238 yards of total offense compared to Cleveland's 364. The Texans scored a touchdown with 1:23 left to trail 14–22 and attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Browns who would run out the clock to win the game.
Standings Division
Conference
Statistics Team CategoryTotal yardsYards per gameNFL rank Passing offense 3,246 202.9 18th Rushing offense 1,882 117.6 12th Total offense 5,128 320.5 18th Passing defense 3,615 225.9 24th Rushing defense 1,843 115.2 13th Total defense 5,458 341.1 23rd
Individual CategoryPlayerTotal Offense Passing yards David Carr 3,531 Passing touchdowns David Carr 16 Rushing yards Domanick Williams 1,188 Rushing touchdowns Domanick Williams 13 Receiving yards Andre Johnson 1,142 Receiving touchdowns Andre Johnson 6 Defense Tackles Jamie Sharper 96 Sacks Kailee Wong 5.5 Interceptions Dunta Robinson 6 Source:
References