In 2004, division winners in the AFC were New England in the East, Pittsburgh in the North, Indianapolis in the South, and San Diego in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to New York and Denver. In the NFC, it was Philadelphia in the East, Green Bay in the North, Atlanta in the South, and Seattle in the West, with the Wild-Cards going to Minnesota and St. Louis. In the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs, it was the Colts all over the Broncos 49-24, while the Jets would go to overtime to upset the Chargers 20-17. In the NFC it was the Rams upsetting the Seahawks 27-20, while the Vikings would do the same to the Packers 31-17. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Patriots used a dominating defense to throttle the Colts 20-3, while the Steelers would need to go to overtime to get by the Jets 20-17. In the NFC, the Falcons would overwhelm the Rams 47-17, while the Eagles would take care of the Vikings 27-14. In the
Conference Championship games, it was the Patriots rolling over the Steelers in the AFC, and the Eagles doing the same to the Falcons 27-10 in the NFC, setting up the match-up for Super Bowl XXXIX. The game was played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium (now known as EverBank Field) in Jacksonville, Florida, the first time the Super Bowl was played in that city. The Patriots defeated the Eagles by the score of 24–21. The game was close throughout, with the teams battling to a 14–14 tie by the end of the third quarter.  The Patriots then scored 10 points in the 4th quarter with Corey Dillon's 2-yard touchdown run and Adam Vinatieri's 22-yard field goal. The Eagles then cut their deficit to 24–21, with quarterback Donovan McNabb's 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Greg Lewis, with 1:48 remained in the game but could not sustain the comeback. Overall, New England forced four turnovers, while Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch was named Super Bowl MVP for recording 133 receiving yards and tied the Super Bowl record with 11 catches.  Because he recorded 10 catches during the previous year's Super Bowl, he also set the record for the most combined receptions in 2 consecutive Super Bowls (21). Branch was the third offensive player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors without scoring a touchdown or throwing a touchdown pass. The other two players were Joe Namath in Super Bowl III and Fred Biletnikoff in Super Bowl XI.