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The NFL playoffs following the 2003 NFL season led up to Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Beginning with the 2003-04 season, the NFL changed the rules regarding officials for playoffs games. The league stopped assembling "all star" officiating crews of highly-rated individual officials. Instead, the league began using the entire crews that were highest rated during the regular season, preserving familiarity and cohesiveness in the officiating.

Wild Card playoffs

Saturday January 3 2004

AFC: Tennessee Titans 20, Baltimore Ravens 17

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

In a defensive struggle, Gary Anderson kicked the winning 46-yard field goal for the Titans with 29 seconds left. The winning kick was set up after a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Ravens offensive lineman Orlando Brown forced Baltimore to punt and enabled Tennessee to start its final drive from its own 37-yard line. Titans quarterback Steve McNair threw three interceptions, one of which was returned 58-yards by Will Demps for a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, the league's regular season rushing leader, was limited to 35 yards on 14 carries. Todd Heap scored another touchdown for Baltimore, while Chris Brown and Justin McCareins scored for Tennessee.

  • Scoring
    • TEN - Brown 6 run (Anderson kick)
    • BAL - Demps 56 interception return (Stover kick)
    • BAL - FG Stover 43
    • TEN - McCareins 49 pass from McNair (Anderson kick)
    • TEN - FG Anderson 45
    • BAL - Heap 35 pass from Wright (Stover kick)
    • TEN - FG Anderson 46

NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, Dallas Cowboys 10

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

The Cowboys' turnaround season under coach Bill Parcells came to a crashing halt. Quarterback Quincy Carter threw for only 154 yards and an interception, while being sacked 3 times. Carter scored the Cowboys' only touchdown of the game. Meanwhile, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 273 yards and a touchdown to Steve Smith. Stephen Davis ran for 104 yards and another touchdown. John Kasay kicked five field goals for Carolina.

  • Scoring
    • CAR - FG Kasay 18
    • CAR - FG Kasay 38
    • CAR - Davis 23 run (Kasay kick)
    • DAL - FG Cundiff 37
    • CAR - FG Kasay 19
    • CAR - Smith 32 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick)
    • CAR - FG Kasay 32
    • DAL - Carter 9 run (Cundiff kick)
    • CAR - FG Kasay 34

Sunday January 4 2004

NFC: Green Bay Packers 33, Seattle Seahawks 27 (OT)

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Packers defensive back Al Harris returned an interception 52 yards for the game winning touchdown 4:25 into overtime. The game was sent into overtime on Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander's third touchdown of the day. Ahman Green scored two touchdowns for Green Bay, and Bubba Franks caught a 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The game is memorable for Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's ironic comment after winning the coin toss for the start of overtime, telling the referee, the crowd at Lambeau Field and the national television audience, "We'll take the ball and we're going to score." *

  • Scoring
    • SEA - FG Brown 30
    • GB - FG Longwell 31
    • SEA - FG Brown 35
    • GB - Franks 23 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
    • GB - FG Longwell 27
    • SEA - Alexander 1 run (Brown kick)
    • SEA - Alexander 1 run (Brown kick)
    • GB - Green 1 run (R.Longwell kick)
    • GB - Green 1 run (R.Longwell kick)
    • SEA - Alexander 1 run (Brown kick)
    • GB - Harris 52 interception return

AFC: Indianapolis Colts 41, Denver Broncos 10

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning completed 22 of 26 passes for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns, giving him a perfect passer rating of 158.3 as the Colts crushed the Broncos. Manning passed for four touchdowns in the first half alone, including one to Marvin Harrison where he got up and scored after falling down untouched. Both Harrison and Brandon Stokley scored two touchdowns for Indianapolis, and Reggie Wayne added the fifth. Rod Smith scored a late touchdown for Denver.

  • Scoring
    • IND - Stokley 31 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • DEN - FG Elam 49
    • IND - Harrison 46 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND - Harrison 23 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND - Stokley 87 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND - FG Vanderjagt 27
    • IND - Wayne 7 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND - FG Vanderjagt 20
    • DEN - Smith 7 pass from Plummer (Elam kick)

Byes

Divisional playoffs

Saturday January 10 2004

NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, St. Louis Rams 23 (2OT)

at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

The Panthers stunned the favored Rams in double-overtime in a thrilling finish to a game that featured big swings in momentum. St. Louis built up a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter, but wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad's touchdown on a fumble recovery gave Carolina a 7-6 advantage. Both teams spent the rest of the second and the third quarter trading field goals. But in the fourth period, Brad Hoover's 7-yard rushing touchdown gave the Panthers a 23-12 lead. However, the Rams rallied back with a touchdown, a successful two-point conversion, and a field goal to send the game into overtime. Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime period, but Jake Delhomme threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith on the first play of the second overtime period to win the game.

  • Scoring
    • STL - FG Wilkins 20
    • STL - FG Wilkins 26
    • CAR - Muhammad fumble recovery in end zone (J.Kasay kick)
    • STL - FG Wilkins 24
    • CAR - FG Kasay 45
    • STL - FG Wilkins 51
    • CAR - FG Kasay 52
    • CAR - FG Kasay 34
    • CAR - Hoover 7 run (Kasay kick)
    • STL - Faulk 1 run (Looker pass from Bulger)
    • STL - FG Wilkins 33
    • CAR - Smith 69 pass from Delhomme

AFC: New England Patriots 17, Tennessee Titans 14

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

In one of the coldest games in NFL history, with temperatures reaching 4 °F (-15 °C), the Patriots survived both the cold and quarterback Steve McNair. Bethel Johnson opened the scoring with an opening drive 41-yard touchdown reception from Tom Brady. Chris Brown later evened the score for the Titans, then the Pats' Antowain Smith and the Titans' Derrick Mason swapped touchdowns. With 4:06 remaining in the game, the Patriots took the lead on kicker Adam Vinatieri's 46-yard field goal to take the lead. The Titans tried to rally, but McNair's fourth down pass to Drew Bennett fell incomplete on the Titans final drive of the game, clinching the win for New England.

  • Scoring
    • NE - Johnson 41 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick)
    • TEN - Brown 5 run (Anderson kick)
    • NE - Smith 1 run (Vinatieri kick)
    • TEN - Mason 11 pass from McNair (Anderson kick)
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 46

Sunday January 11 2004

AFC: Indianapolis Colts 38, Kansas City Chiefs 31

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

This offensive shootout became the first puntless game in NFL playoff history. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns (to Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley and Tom Lopienski), while Edgerrin James ran for a career postseason high 125 yards and two scores. On the Kansas City side, Dante Hall caught a touchdown and returned a kickoff for another; and Priest Holmes, who set the regular-season rushing touchdown record in 2003, rushed for 176 yards, caught 5 passes for 32 yards, and scored twice. Holmes' third-quarter fumble, which set up a Colts' field goal, turned out to be one of the Chiefs' downfalls. Kansas City defensive coordinator Greg Robinson resigned the following week in disgust.

  • Scoring
    • IND - Stokley 29 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC - FG Andersen 22
    • IND - James 11 run (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC - Hall 9 pass from Green (Andersen kick)
    • IND - Lopienski 2 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • IND - FG Vanderjagt 45
    • KC - Holmes 1 run (Andersen kick)
    • IND - Wayne 19 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC - Hall 92 kickoff return (Andersen kick)
    • IND - James 1 run (Vanderjagt kick)
    • KC - Holmes 1 run (Andersen kick)

NFC: Philadelphia Eagles 20, Green Bay Packers 17 (OT)

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Facing fourth down and 26 yards to go, with 1:12 left in the fourth quarter and the Packers leading 17-14, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb completed a 28-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell on a famous play now known as "4th and 26". The play set up David Akers' 37-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Akers then kicked a 31-yard field goal in the extra period to give the Eagles the victory.

  • Scoring
    • GB - Ferguson 40 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
    • GB - Ferguson 17 pass from Favre (Longwell kick)
    • PHI - Staley 7 pass from McNabb (Akers kick)
    • PHI - Pinkston 12 pass from McNabb (Akers kick)
    • GB - FG Longwell 21
    • PHI - FG Akers 37
    • PHI - FG Akers 31

Conference Championships

Sunday January 18 2004

AFC: New England Patriots 24, Indianapolis Colts 14

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The weather was on the Patriots' side, as there was snow on the field in the second and third quarters of the game. New England's defense dominated the Colts, only allowing 14 points, intercepting 4 passes from Manning (3 of them by Ty Law), and forcing a safety. Although New England's offense fared no better and only scored one touchdown, Vinatieri's 5 field goals made up for the difference as the Patriots won, 24-14, to advance to their second Super Bowl appearance in 3 seasons.

  • Scoring
    • NE - Givens 7 pass from Brady (Vinatieri kick)
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 31
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 25
    • NE - Safety, Snow fumbled out of end zone
    • IND - James 2 run (Vanderjagt kick)
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 27
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 21
    • IND - Pollard 7 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick)
    • NE - FG Vinatieri 34

NFC: Carolina Panthers 14, Philadelphia Eagles 3

at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Carolina's defense shut down the Eagles offense, only allowing a field goal and holding Donovan McNabb to just 10 of 22 completions for 100 yards. Rookie cornerback Ricky Manning, Jr. also intercepted McNabb 3 times. McNabb also sustained a lower-rib injury early in the game but stayed in until the second half. Although Carolina's offense only scored 14 points, it was more than enough for the team to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl with a 14-3 win. For the Eagles, it was the third straight NFC Championship Game loss.

  • Scoring
    • CAR - Muhammad 24 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick)
    • PHI - FG Akers 41
    • CAR - Foster 1 run (Kasay kick)

Super Bowl

New England Patriots (AFC) 32, Carolina Panthers (NFC) 29 at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas

Bracket

References

National Football League playoffs

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "NFL playoffs, 2003-04".

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