The 2004 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 39th overall, 35th as a member of the National Football League (NFL), and the fifth and final under head coach Dave Wannstedt, who resigned after 9 games. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates served as interim head coach for the final 7 games. The Dolphins were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 10–6, instead only going 4–12 after starting the season 0–6.2004 Miami Dolphins The team was adversely affected by the premature retirement of their star running back, Ricky Williams, and the trade of holdout defensive end Adewale Ogunleye for wide receiver Marty Booker, as well as career ending injuries to fullback Rob Konrad and defensive tackle Tim Bowens. With this season record below .500 the team would have their first losing season since 1988. Two of their games were postponed due to Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne.
The Dolphins, at 2 –11 were able to upset the defending and eventual Super Bowl champion 12–1 New England Patriots, a game of the Dolphins-Patriots rivalry known as "The Night That Courage Wore Orange", and handed the Patriots their second loss of the season. During Week 6, their match with the Buffalo Bills is the only time in the NFL since 1968 that the last two winless teams have met each other.
Offseason NFL draft
Staff
Roster
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 Tennessee Titans L 7–17 0–1 Pro Player Stadium 69,987 2 September 19 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–16 0–2 Paul Brown Stadium 65,705 3 September 26 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–13 0–3 Pro Player Stadium 72,225 4 October 3 New York Jets L 9–17 0–4 Pro Player Stadium 73,157 5 October 10 at New England Patriots L 10–24 0–5 Gillette Stadium 68,756 6 October 17 at Buffalo Bills L 13–20 0–6 Ralph Wilson Stadium 72,214 7 October 24 St. Louis Rams W 31–14 1–6 Pro Player Stadium 72,945 8 at New York Jets L 14–41 1–7 Giants Stadium 78,216 9 November 7 Arizona Cardinals L 23–24 1–8 Pro Player Stadium 72,612 10 Bye 11 November 21 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–24 1–9 Qwest Field 66,644 12 November 28 at San Francisco 49ers W 24–17 2–9 Monster Park 66,156 13 December 5 Buffalo Bills L 32–42 2–10 Pro Player Stadium 73,084 14 December 12 at Denver Broncos L 17–20 2–11 Invesco Field at Mile High 75,027 15 New England Patriots W 29–28 3–11 Pro Player Stadium 73,629 16 December 26 Cleveland Browns W 10–7 4–11 Pro Player Stadium 73,169 17 January 2 at Baltimore Ravens L 23–30 4–12 M&T Bank Stadium 69,843Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text
Season summary Week 2
The loss ended the Dolphins' nine-game winning streak against the Bengals, losing to them for the first time since the 1977 season.
"The Night That Courage Wore Orange"
On December 20, 2004, the 2–11 Dolphins faced the 12–1 defending and eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots on Monday Night Football in an upset win by a score of 29–28. Late in the fourth quarter, A. J. Feeley threw a game-winning touchdown to Derrius Thompson on 4th down and 10 shortly before Arturo Freeman caught a game-winning interception pass by Tom Brady to seal the game. Bleacher Report writer Thomas Galicia nicknamed the game "The Night That Courage Wore Orange".
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