2004 Arena Football League season
The 2004 Arena Football League season was the 18th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVIII. The AFL reduced its playoff teams from the top 12 teams in the league making the playoffs to the top eight teams in the league making the playoffs.
Standings
| Team | Overall | Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Losses | Percentage | Wins | Losses | Percentage | |
| National Conference | ||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| New York Dragons* | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Carolina Cobras | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Dallas Desperados | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Columbus Destroyers | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Philadelphia Soul | 5 | 11 | 0.312 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Southern Division | ||||||
| New Orleans VooDoo | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Orlando Predators | 10 | 6 | 0.625 | 4 | 4 | 0.500 |
| Tampa Bay Storm | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Austin Wranglers | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Georgia Force | 7 | 9 | 0.438 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| American Conference | ||||||
| Central Division | ||||||
| Chicago Rush | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 6 | 2 | 0.750 |
| Colorado Crush | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Indiana Firebirds | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
| Detroit Fury | 5 | 11 | 0.312 | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Grand Rapids Rampage | 1 | 15 | 0.062 | 1 | 7 | 0.125 |
| Western Division | ||||||
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 11 | 5 | 0.687 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Los Angeles Avengers | 9 | 7 | 0.562 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Las Vegas Gladiators | 8 | 8 | 0.500 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
- Green indicates clinched playoff berth
- Purple indicates division champion
- Grey indicates best regular season record
* New York Dragons won the Eastern Division, but did not make the playoffs as only the top 8 teams qualified. The AFL reverted to the old rule in the following season in that Division Champions get an automatic bid to the playoffs for the following season.
Playoffs
All games televised by NBC
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | ArenaBowl XVIII | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona 11–5 | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Los Angeles 9–7 | 42 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona 12–5 | 45 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Colorado 12–5 | 41 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New Orleans 11–5 | 44 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Colorado 11–5 | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona 13–5 | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | San Jose 13–5 | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | San Jose 11–5 | 56 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Tampa Bay 9–7 | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | San Jose 12–5 | 49 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago 12–5 | 35 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago 11–5 | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Orlando 10–6 | 49 | ||||||||||||