The National Football League playoffs for the 2003 season began on January 3, 2004. The postseason tournament concluded with the New England Patriots defeating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII, 32–29, on February 1, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Beginning with the 2003–04 season, the NFL changed the selection procedures regarding officials for playoff games. The league suspended the prior practice of 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. The "all-star" crews were later resumed, beginning with the 2005–06 Conference Championships.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXXVIII.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
|-
! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
|-
| Tennessee Titans || 20–17 || Baltimore Ravens || January 3, 2004 || 4:30 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 10–29 || Carolina Panthers || January 3, 2004 || 8:00 p.m. || ABC
|-
| Seattle Seahawks || 27–33 || Green Bay Packers || January 4, 2004 || 1:00 p.m. || Fox
|-
| Denver Broncos || 10–41 || Indianapolis Colts || January 4, 2004 || 4:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Carolina Panthers || 29–23 || St. Louis Rams || January 10, 2004 || 4:30 p.m. || Fox
|-
| Tennessee Titans || 14–17 || New England Patriots || January 10, 2004 || 8:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Indianapolis Colts || 38–31 || Kansas City Chiefs || January 11, 2004 || 1:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Green Bay Packers || 17–20 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 11, 2004 || 4:30 p.m. || Fox
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Indianapolis Colts || 14–24 || New England Patriots || January 18, 2004 || 3:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Carolina Panthers || 14–3 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 18, 2004 || 6:30 p.m. || Fox
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XXXVIII<br><small>Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas</small>
|-
| Carolina Panthers || 29–32 || New England Patriots || February 1, 2004 || 6:30 p.m. || CBS
|}
Wild Card playoffs
Saturday, January 3, 2004
AFC: Tennessee Titans 20, Baltimore Ravens 17
thumb|Tennessee's team is welcomed on to the field against [[2003 Houston Texans season|Houston in week 6 of the 2003 season]]
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 tackle Orlando Brown Sr. forced the Ravens to punt and enabled the Titans to start their final drive from their own 37-yard line. Titans quarterback Steve McNair threw three interceptions. Meanwhile, the Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, the league's regular season rushing leader, was limited to 35 yards on 14 carries.
On the Titans' opening drive of the game, McNair completed passes to Drew Bennett and Frank Wycheck for gains of 17 and 14 yards, while Eddie George rushed five times for 25 yards on a 10-play, 67-yard drive. Running back Chris Brown finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 7–0 lead. The Ravens were forced to punt on their ensuing drive, but three plays later, safety Ed Reed tipped a pass from McNair into the arms of cornerback Will Demps, who returned it 56 yards for a touchdown.
Early in the second quarter, a 15-yard punt return from Titans wide receiver Derrick Mason gave his team the ball at the Ravens 35-yard line. McNair then led them to the 17-yard line, but Reed intercepted a pass from him and returned it 23 yards to the 29. After an exchange of punts, Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright completed four passes for 56 yards and rushed for 11, setting up a 43-yard field goal by Matt Stover giving the Ravens a 10–7 halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter, McNair's 49-yard touchdown pass to Justin McCareins gave the Titans a 14–10 lead. Then in the fourth quarter, Titans cornerback Samari Rolle intercepted a pass from Wright at the Ravens' 30-yard line, setting up a 45-yard field goal from Anderson. But Wright led the Ravens back, completing five passes for 80 yards on their ensuing drive. Tight end Todd Heap caught three of Wright's passes for 55 yards, and finished the drive with a leaping 35-yard catch in the back of the end zone to tie the game.
After an exchange of punts, the Titans took the ball on their own 37-yard line and drove 35 yards to Ravens' 28-yard line where Anderson's 46-yard field goal with 33 seconds left gave them the win. This would be the Titans' last playoff win until 2017.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Titans and Ravens. The Ravens won the only previous meeting.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|+
|-
!Baltimore leads 1–0 in all-time playoff games
|-
|
|}
NFC: Carolina Panthers 29, Dallas Cowboys 10
The Cowboys' turnaround season under head coach Bill Parcells came to a crashing halt. The Panthers outgained the Cowboys in total yards 380–204 and held the ball for 34:23. Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter threw for only 154 yards and an interception, while being sacked three times. Meanwhile, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 273 yards and a touchdown to Steve Smith, who had five receptions for 135 yards and added 22 return yards on special teams. Stephen Davis ran for 104 yards and another touchdown, while Muhsin Muhammad caught four passes for 103 yards. John Kasay kicked five field goals for the Panthers.
On the Panthers' third play of the game, Delhomme completed a 70-yard pass to Smith on the Cowboys' 1-yard line, setting up Kasay's first field goal. Later in the first quarter, Toby Gowin's 31-yard punt gave the Panthers the ball at the Cowboys' 41-yard line, and the Panthers scored another field goal to take a 6–0 lead. On the Cowboys' ensuing drive, Carter completed a 28-yard pass to Joey Galloway and Troy Hambrick ran for 16 yards, giving the Cowboys a first down at the Panthers' 20-yard line. But two plays later, fullback Richie Anderson fumbled the ball and Panthers safety Mike Minter recovered it.
Later in the second quarter, Gowin once again gave the Panthers great field position with a 17-yard punt to the Panthers' 49-yard line, and this time they managed to get the ball into the end zone with a 23-yard touchdown run by Davis, giving the Panthers a 13–0 lead. Carter managed to respond on the Cowboys' ensuing drive, completing an 18-yard pass to Galloway, a 21-yard pass to Terry Glenn, and a 12-yard pass to Anderson. Billy Cundiff finished the drive with a 37-yard field goal to cut the score to 13–3 with 1:03 left in the second quarter. But after the ensuing kickoff, Delhomme's 57-yard completion to Muhammad set up Kasay's third field goal on the last play of the half.
The Panthers continued to dominate the game in the second half. Smith returned a Gowin punt seven yards to the Panthers' 37-yard line. Then after a 24-yard reception by Muhammad, he caught a 7-yard pass and capped the drive with a 32-yard touchdown catch. Later on, he returned a punt to his own 40-yard line, setting up a 38-yard drive that ended with Kasay's fourth field goal, increasing the Panthers lead to 26–3.
Cowboys receiver Michael Bates returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Panthers 47-yard line, sparking a desperate rally. Carter then completed six consecutive passes and finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 26–10. The Cowboys' defense managed to force a punt on the Panthers' next drive, but two plays later, Julius Peppers intercepted a screen pass from Carter and returned it 34 yards to the Cowboys' 11-yard line. Four plays later, Kasay kicked his fifth field goal with 3:04 left in the game to close out the scoring.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Panthers. The Panthers won the only previous meeting."
After forcing a punt, the Seahawks scored on their opening drive, with Hasselbeck completing two passes to Koren Robinson for 25 yards and Shaun Alexander rushing for 22 on the way to a 30-yard field goal by Josh Brown. In the second quarter, Tom Rouen's 38-yard punt gave the Packers the ball at midfield. Packers quarterback Brett Favre then completed a 29-yard pass to fullback William Henderson to set up a 31-yard field goal from Ryan Longwell. The Seahawks came back with a 51-yard drive, featuring a 28-yard reception by Bobby Engram, and scored another Brown field goal to retake the lead. But on the first play of the Packers' ensuing drive, Favre completed a 44-yard pass to Javon Walker. Then after a 13-yard run from Ahman Green, Favre threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bubba Franks. The Seahawks were forced to punt from their own 7 on their next drive, and receiver Antonio Chatman returned the ball six yards to the Seahawks' 39-yard line. Two plays later, Favre's 23-yard completion to Donald Driver set up Longwell's 27-yard field goal with 41 seconds left in the half, giving the Packers a 13–6 lead.
The Seahawks took the second half kickoff and stormed down the field, driving 74 yards in 10 plays. Hasselbeck started out the drive with a 25-yard pass to Darrell Jackson, followed it up with a 15-yard completion to Itula Mili, and later completed a 14-yard pass to Mili. Alexander finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to tie the game. Then after forcing a punt, Hasselbeck completed five of seven passes for 72 yards, including a 33-yard pass to Robinson, and Alexander scored with another 1-yard touchdown run to give the Seahawks a 20–13 lead. Packers fullback Nick Luchey returned the ensuing kickoff 12 yards to his own 40-yard line, and Favre subsequently led the Packers 60 yards in 11 plays, taking over seven minutes off the clock. At the end of the drive, Green's 1-yard touchdown run tied the game with 9:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks went three and out on their next drive, and Chatman returned Rouen's punt 21 yards to the Seahawks' 49-yard line. Favre once again led the Packers on another long scoring drive, moving the ball 49 yards in 12 plays and consuming 6:51 off the clock. Green finished the drive with another 1-yard touchdown run, and Longwell's extra point gave the Packers a 27–20 lead with 2:39 left in regulation. But Hasslbeck responded by completing three of five passes for 59 yards, including a 34-yard pass to Engram, on the way to Alexander's third 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Favre's 27-yard completion to Walker on the Packers ensuing drive gave them a chance to win, but Longwell missed a 47-yard field goal attempt on the last play of regulation, and it went into overtime.
After the Seahawks won the overtime coin flip, Hasselbeck inadvertently spoke into the referee's microphone, "We want the ball and we're gonna score!" After both teams went 3 and out on their first drives of the extra period, the Seahawks drove to their own 45-yard line before Harris intercepted Hasselbeck's pass and returned it 52 yards for the winning touchdown.
Favre completed 26 of 38 passes for 319 yards (his second highest post season total) and a touchdown. This was his 14th consecutive playoff game with a touchdown pass, a playoff record. Walker caught five passes for 111 yards. This would be the final game for John Randle in his Hall of Fame career.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Seahawks and Packers.
The Rams took the ball back and drove into Panthers territory, however an errant Bulger pass was intercepted by Panthers cornerback Ricky Manning. On the first play of the second overtime period, Delhomme needed only ten seconds to throw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Smith to win the game. It marked the first double-overtime game and longest NFL game since the 1986 playoffs.
Delhomme completed 16 of 26 passes for 290 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Smith caught six passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Bulger threw for 332 yards, but was intercepted three times. Bruce caught seven passes for 116 yards. Panthers kick returner Rod Smart returned five kickoffs for 123 yards, while Harris returned five for 124. Rams defensive end Brian Young had two sacks.
This turned out to be the last hurrah for The Greatest Show on Turf, as the Rams would head into a steady decline over the next several seasons. It was also the last playoff game for the Rams in St. Louis before returning to Los Angeles in 2016 and their last home playoff game overall until 2017.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Panthers and Rams.
Manning started off the day leading the Colts 70 yards and finished the opening drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Stokley. The Chiefs responded with a 73-yard drive, with Holmes gaining 44 yards on five carries before Morten Andersen kicked a 22-yard field goal to cut the score to 7–3. The Colts stormed right back, driving 76 yards in six plays. Manning completed a 38-yard pass to Marvin Harrison on the drive, and James finished it with an 11-yard touchdown run. But then the Chiefs came back, driving 77 yards in 12 plays, converting three third downs, and finishing the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Green to Hall in the second quarter.
After that, Manning led the Colts 71 yards and scored with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Tom Lopienski, giving them a 21–10 lead. Once again, the Chiefs drove deep into Colts territory, but this time they failed to score. First, Tony Gonzalez's 27-yard touchdown catch was called back by a pass interference penalty, and then Andersen missed a 31-yard field goal attempt.
The end of the first half briefly interrupted the barrage of scoring, but it quickly resumed in the second. On the second play of the half, Holmes' 48-yard run moved the ball to the Colts' 22-yard line. But on the next play, Colts cornerback David Macklin stripped the ball from Holmes and recovered it. After that, the Colts drove to the Chiefs' 22-yard line before the Chiefs' first key defensive play of the game, defensive tackle Shawn Barber tackling James for a 5-yard loss on third down, forced them to settle for a Mike Vanderjagt field goal, increasing their lead to 24–10. But the Chiefs were not about to go down. Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to his own 44-yard line. Then Holmes made up for his earlier mistake by carrying the ball on six of the eight plays of the Chiefs' possession, gaining 44 yards and finishing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Not to be outdone, Manning responded with five consecutive completions for 57 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Wayne to put the Colts back up by 14 points. But this margin turned out to be short lived; Hall returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.
But once again, the Chiefs' defense had no ability to stop the Colts. Manning led them on a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with James' 1-yard touchdown run with 10:38 left in the game. The Chiefs responded with a touchdown of their own, but it took too long. By the time Holmes finished the 17-play, 76-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, only 4:16 remained in the game. The Colts then put the game away by running the clock down to eight seconds on their ensuing drive. This game is known among Chiefs fans in the pantheon of great Chiefs playoff losses as "The No Punt Game".
This was the second postseason meeting between the Colts and Chiefs. The Colts won the only prior meeting.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Colts and Patriots.