The 2004 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 85th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 106th overall and their 17th in Arizona. The team finished with a 6–10 record, an improvement on their 4–12 record from the previous season, and finished in third place in the NFC West, failing to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Season lows for the Cardinals included losing two games to the San Francisco 49ers, the only two games the 49ers won in 2004. The Cardinals, during Week 9, also defeated the Miami Dolphins for the first time in franchise history.