The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 45th overall and the third under head coach Marty Schottenheimer. It was the franchise's first season involving quarterback Philip Rivers. The team improved on their 4–12 record in 2003 and finished the regular season 12–4, made the playoffs for the first time in nine years, and captured their first division title since the 1994 season. In the playoffs they lost in overtime to the New York Jets. At the end of the season Marty Schottenheimer was named NFL Coach of the Year.
Offseason Additions Subtractions WR Keenan McCardell (Buccaneers) DE Raylee Johnson (Broncos) T Roman Oben (Buccaneers) C Cory Raymer (Redskins) LB Randall Godfrey (Seahawks) G Kelvin Garmon (Browns) WR David Boston (Dolphins)
NFL draft Entering the draft, the consensus top pick was Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning. However, Manning had said prior to the draft that he did not want to play for the Chargers and would not sign with them if he was drafted. The Chargers struck a deal with the Giants before the draft that would shape the future of both franchises: the Chargers would select Manning first overall, as they had intended to, and the Giants would draft quarterback Philip Rivers of North Carolina State and then swap him and two 2005 draft picks for Manning.
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance 1 August 14 Indianapolis Colts L 17–21 0–1 Qualcomm Stadium 2 August 21 at Arizona Cardinals W 38–13 1–1 Cardinals Stadium 3 August 27 Seattle Seahawks L 20–26 1–2 Qualcomm Stadium 4 September 2 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–15 2–2 Monster Park
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 12 at Houston Texans W 27–20 1–0 Reliant Stadium Recap 2 September 19 New York Jets L 28–34 1–1 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 3 September 26 at Denver Broncos L 13–23 1–2 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap 4 October 3 Tennessee Titans W 38–17 2–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 5 October 10 Jacksonville Jaguars W 34–21 3–2 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 6 October 17 at Atlanta Falcons L 20–21 3–3 Georgia Dome Recap 7 October 24 at Carolina Panthers W 17–6 4–3 Bank of America Stadium Recap 8 October 31 Oakland Raiders W 42–14 5–3 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 9 November 7 New Orleans Saints W 43–17 6–3 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 10 Bye 11 November 21 at Oakland Raiders W 23–17 7–3 McAfee Coliseum Recap 12 November 28 at Kansas City Chiefs W 34–31 8–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 13 December 5 Denver Broncos W 20–17 9–3 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 14 December 12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31–24 10–3 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 15 December 19 at Cleveland Browns W 21–0 11–3 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 16 December 26 at Indianapolis Colts L 31–34 11–4 RCA Dome Recap 17 January 2, 2005 Kansas City Chiefs W 24–17 12–4 Qualcomm Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Houston Texans
Week 2: vs. New York Jets
Week 3: at Denver Broncos
Week 4: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 5: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 7: at Carolina Panthers
Week 8: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 9: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 11: at Oakland Raiders
Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 13: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 14: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 15: at Cleveland Browns
San Diego clinches its first division title since 1994.
Week 16: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 17: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Standings Division
Conference
Postseason
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wild Card January 8, 2005 New York Jets (5) L 17–20 0–1 Qualcomm Stadium 67,536
Game summary AFC Wild Card playoffs: vs. New York Jets Chargers lost but in 2005 missed the playoffs at 9-7.
Awards Three Chargers were named to the 2005 Pro Bowl, and four were named first or second team Associated Press (AP) All-Pros. Brees won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year with of the 48 available votes, and Schottenheimer took the Coach of the Year award with out of 48. Also, Brees and Tomlinson gained a vote each for Offensive Player of the Year, and Edwards gained a vote for Defensive Player of the Year.
Player Position Pro Bowl starter Pro Bowl reserve AP 1st team All-Pro AP 2nd team All-Pro Drew Brees Quarterback Donnie Edwards Linebacker Antonio Gates Tight end LaDainian Tomlinson Running back Jamal Williams Defensive tackle
See also 2004 NFL season
References