2004 St. Louis Rams season


The 2004 [NFL season|2004 season] was the St. Louis Rams' 67th in the National Football League and their tenth in St. Louis. For the first time since 1997 Kurt Warner was not on the opening day roster.
Although the Rams’ record was good enough to qualify for the postseason, they did so without posting a winning record. Statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the 2004 Rams were, play-for-play, the worst team to make the playoffs in the site's rating history. This was also the last time the Rams made the playoffs in St. Louis; as the team would next make the playoffs in 2017 [Los Angeles Rams season|2017], in second season after the franchise returned to Los Angeles.
The season is memorable for the Rams drafting running back Steven Jackson with the 24th pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. During the season, the Rams relied less on Marshall Faulk, who was slowed by age and injuries, forcing Jackson to garner a bulk of the carries. He finished the season with 673 rushing yards despite seeing limited action.
The Rams, in the playoffs, defeated their rival Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round, but their 10th season in St. Louis ended in a 47–17 blowout to the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round. The Rams would not make the playoffs again until 2017 when they moved back to Los Angeles.
For the first time this season, the Rams completed a 2–0 regular season sweep of the rival Seahawks. They would not accomplish this again until 2015.

Regular season

Week 1

Playoffs

RoundDateOpponent ResultRecordVenueAttendance
Wildcardat Seattle Seahawks W 27–201–0Qwest Field65,397
Divisionalat Atlanta Falcons L 17–471–1Georgia Dome70,709

Wild Card