2009 Denver Broncos season The 2009 Denver Broncos season was their 40th season in the NFL and 50th season overall . The Broncos matched their 8 – 8 regular season record from 2008 but did not make the playoffs . The Broncos welcomed many new defensive players signed during free agency , including veteran Eagles safety Brian Dawkins . This was their first season without head coach Mike Shanahan since 1994 , as he was fired on December 30 , 2008 . On January 12 , 2009 , Denver hired the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots , Josh McDaniels , to be their new head coach . At the time of his hiring , McDaniels was the youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports and the fifth - youngest NFL head coach ever , although less than a week later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers named the even - younger Raheem Morris as their head coach . Offseason . 2009 draft class . After finishing the 2008 season with a 8 – 8 record , the Broncos hold the 12th selection in the 2009 NFL Draft . On April 2 Denver acquired the Chicago Bears ' first and third round draft picks in a trade for quarterback Jay Cutler ( see below ) . Jay Cutler controversy . After head coach Josh McDaniels was hired , rumors eventually surfaced that a there was a three - way trade involving McDaniels ' former team the New England Patriots and a third potential team ( Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) that would have sent Denver quarterback Jay Cutler to the Lions or Buccaneers and Denver would receive Matt Cassel , who worked with McDaniels last season , from New England . After the trade talks surfaced , Cutler was angered and infuriated by the rumors because he didn ' t think he was going to be traded , and he refused to talk with either McDaniels or General Manager Brian Xanders after both had denied the rumors . Several teams became interested in trading for Cutler after it was apparent he was upset about this situation , though McDaniels confirmed that " We are not trading Jay Cutler - Period . " McDaniels insisted that Cutler is their quarterback . Broncos fans and critics were mixed over the incident . Some say that Cutler , who has posted superb statistics over his career but has never led the Broncos to the playoffs , shouldn ' t be complaining and " whining " over trade rumors despite his superstar status . On the other hand , others are quick to dismissed McDaniels and Xanders for mishandling the situation and starting the rumors in the first place , as well as questioning why somebody would trade a player of Cutler ' s caliber who was meant to succeed former quarterback John Elway as the team ' s premier quarterback . On March 11 , 2009 , Cutler and McDaniels agreed to meet for the first time since the incident . After having a conference call between them , sources said that the two sides drifted further apart , although the team refused to comment . Cutler eventually requested to be traded some time afterward , feeling that the " trust " between the organization and himself were all but gone , and missed one of Denver ' s voluntary training camps . On April 2 , 2009 , Denver traded Cutler , along with their 5th round pick ( 140th overall ) in the 2009 NFL Draft , to the Chicago Bears in exchange for their 1st round and 3rd round ( 18th and 84th overall respectively ) picks in 2009 , their 1st round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft , and quarterback Kyle Orton . On June 12 , 2009 , the Broncos named Orton as their starting quarterback . This ends speculation of a competition between Orton and Chris Simms . However , within three days , WR Brandon Marshall wanted out of Denver and demanded a trade . Regular season . Schedule . LEGEND : Game summaries . Week 1 : at Cincinnati Bengals . The game began with little action . Denver and Cincinnati both traded possessions to begin the game . However , on the Bengals ' second possession they were able to drive deep into Denver territory , reaching the 11 - yard line before setting up for a short field goal . However , the field goal snap was fumbled . After the flubbed field goal , both teams entered a period of offensive ineptness – Denver had four consecutive one - and - done drives , while Cincinnati was forced to punt , then had a promising drive end with a Carson Palmer interception after Denver cornerback Champ Bailey tipped the ball into the air and Wesley Woodyard recovered the interception . Denver was finally able to put together a drive at the end of the first half that finished with a Matt Prater 48 - yard field goal as time ran out . Despite being out - gained in all offensive indicators , Denver took a 3 – 0 lead into halftime due to Cincinnati mistakes , including the fumbled field goal , interception , and multiple dropped passes . During the third quarter , neither team was able to sustain an offensive drive – Cincinnati punted 3 times , while Denver punted 2 times . However , Denver ' s defense showed improvement , including one Cincinnati drive that ended after two consecutive sacks of Carson Palmer . Denver was able to put together another field goal drive at the end of the third quarter , with Matt Prater this time kicking a 50 - yard field goal to put the Broncos on top 6 – 0 . The fourth quarter continued in much the same vein . Denver made it into field goal range again before a 5 - yard penalty and 7 - yard sack forced them to punt it away again . However , Cincinnati was able to put together their first sustained drive of the entire game during the second half of the quarter – the Bengals gained 90 yards on 11 plays over 5 : 40 . This culminated with a 1 - yard Cedric Benson touchdown run that avoided a Bengals shutout and put them on top for the first time . Denver regained control of the ball at their own 13 - yard line with 38 seconds remaining . After an incomplete pass , Kyle Orton attempted a pass to Brandon Marshall with 28 seconds remaining . The ball was tipped into the air by Bengals defensive back Leon Hall and into the hands of Denver wide receiver Brandon Stokley , who then took it untouched 87 yards to the end zone with 11 seconds remaining . Records showed that this was the longest play from scrimmage in NFL history with less than 1 minute remaining in the game . The play was referred to by some as " The Immaculate Deflection " after The Immaculate Reception . Denver took a 12 – 7 lead but failed a two - point conversion . A desperation hail mary pass by Carson Palmer was intercepted in the end zone with 5 seconds to play by Denver tight end Tony Scheffler . Week 2 : vs . Cleveland Browns . Coming off their last - second victory over the Bengals , the Broncos would play their Week 2 home opener against the Cleveland Browns . In the first quarter , Denver would trail early as Browns kicker Phil Dawson got a 22 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Broncos took the lead as quarterback Kyle Orton completed a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Scheffler . Cleveland would creep close as Dawson made a 47 - yard field goal , but Denver would answer as kicker Matt Prater got a 23 - yard field goal in the second quarter and a 38 - yard field goal in the third quarter . In the fourth , the Broncos pulled away as fullback Peyton Hillis got a 2 - yard touchdown run and running back Correll Buckhalter got a 45 - yard touchdown run . With the win , Denver improved to 2 – 0 . Week 3 : at Oakland Raiders . After Oakland began the game with a 3 - and - out , Denver sustained a long drive deep into Oakland territory . However , the Raiders orchestrated a successful goal - line stand , forcing Denver to turn the ball over on downs after a fourth - and - goal from the 1 - yard line was stopped . Two plays later , however , Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell was intercepted by Denver safety Renaldo Hill after throwing from his own end zone . The Broncos then drove 23 yards in 6 plays , scoring on a 2 - yard Kyle Orton pass to Brandon Marshall . The next Raiders drive lasted just 3 plays after Russell was intercepted again , this time by Broncos cornerback Andre Goodman . This led to a 48 - yard field goal by Broncos kicker Matt Prater , giving them a 10 – 0 lead going into the 2nd quarter . Oakland ' s first drive of the second quarter was also their most successful . They went 56 yards in over 8 minutes , leading to a 48 - yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal . Denver then drove 76 yards , although Oakland again held Denver out of the end zone , leading to a 21 - yard Prater field goal and giving the Broncos a 13 – 3 lead going into halftime . Denver then opened the half with another scoring drive , this time going 80 yards in 8 plays and scoring on a 7 - yard run by rookie running back Knowshon Moreno . It was the first touchdown of Moreno ' s NFL career . Oakland was forced to punt on their next drive . However , on Denver ' s first play from scrimmage , running back Correll Buckhalter fumbled the ball at their own 16 - yard line , giving Oakland the ball in Denver territory for just the 3rd time on the day . However , 2 plays later , Raiders running back Darren McFadden fumbled the ball for the second time on the day ( the first time was recovered by Oakland ) , giving Denver the ball back at their own 11 . They then drove 88 yards in 16 plays and over 8 minutes , although the Raiders again held them out of the end zone , leading to a Prater 24 - yard field goal . The Broncos won the game primarily on the strength of their running game and the defense . Correll Buckhalter ran 14 times for 108 yards , while rookie Knowshown Moreno ran 21 times for 90 yards . Overall , the Broncos had 215 yards rushing on the day . The defense held the Raiders to just 137 total yards and 9 first downs , caused 2 interceptions and 1 fumble , and also sacked JaMarcus Russell 3 times , 2 of them by star defensive end Elvis Dumervil ( who had 4 in the previous game against the Cleveland Browns ) . Russell had just 61 yards passing on 21 attempts with 2 interceptions , giving him a quarterback rating of 22 . 6 . Kyle Orton had 157 yards passing on 23 attempts with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions , giving him a respectable 92 . 1 rating . With the win , Denver improved to 3 – 0 . Week 4 : vs . Dallas Cowboys . Coming off their divisional road win over the Raiders , the Broncos went home for a Week 4 interconference duel with the Dallas Cowboys . Denver would struggle out of the gates in the first quarter , as Cowboys kicker Nick Folk got a 49 - yard field goal and running back Marion Barber would acquire a 1 - yard touchdown run . The Broncos would start to gain some momentum in the second quarter with quarterback Kyle Orton ' s 9 - yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Knowshon Moreno . After a scoreless third quarter , Denver would take command of the game in the fourth quarter . The Broncos would get a 28 - yard field goal from kicker Matt Prater , followed by Orton ' s 51 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Marshall . Afterwards , the defense would manage to hold off a late Dallas drive that actually made it to their 1 - yard line . With the win , the Broncos would acquire their first 4 – 0 start since 2003 . Week 5 : vs . New England Patriots . Coming off of a home win against the Cowboys , the Broncos stayed at home , donned their throwback uniforms , and prepared for a Week 5 AFL Legacy game with the New England Patriots . This would mark the highly - anticipated match - up between Denver head coach Josh McDaniels and New England ' s head coach Bill Belichick . The Broncos would trail in the first quarter as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady hooked up with wide receiver Wes Welker on an 8 - yard touchdown pass , followed by kicker Stephen Gostkowski getting a 53 - yard field goal . Denver would answer in the second quarter as quarterback Kyle Orton connected with wide receiver Brandon Marshall on an 11 - yard touchdown pass , but New England would close out the half with Brady ' s 7 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Benjamin Watson . The Broncos would tie the game in the second half as kicker Matt Prater nailed a 24 - yard field goal in the third quarter , followed by Orton finding Marshall again on an 11 - yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter . In overtime , Denver won possession and never relinquished possession as Prater booted the game - winning 41 - yard field goal . With the win , the Broncos improved to 5 – 0 for the first time since the team ' s Super Bowl run of 1998 . Week 6 : at San Diego Chargers . Coming off an impressive home win over the Patriots , the Broncos flew to Qualcomm Stadium , donned their throwbacks again , and played a Week 6 AFL Legacy game with the San Diego Chargers on Monday night . Even though the Chargers kicked off the first quarter with a 20 - yard field goal from kicker Nate Kaeding , the Broncos immediately struck back with wide receiver Eddie Royal returned the kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown . San Diego would then close out the opening period with quarterback Philip Rivers hooking up with wide receiver Vincent Jackson on a 3 - yard touchdown pass . Denver would take the lead in the second quarter with kicker Matt Prater making a 34 - yard field goal , followed by Royal returning a punt 71 yards for a touchdown . Afterwards , the Chargers closed out the half with Kaeding nailing a 44 - yard field goal and running back Darren Sproles returning a punt 77 yards for a touchdown . Even though San Diego increased their lead in the third quarter with Kaeding ' s 50 - yard field goal , the Broncos regained it with quarterback Kyle Orton completing a 19 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Scheffler . In the fourth quarter , Denver closed out the game with Prater ' s 29 - yard field goal and Orton ' s 5 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokley . With the win , the Broncos went into their bye week at 6 – 0 , which is the franchise ' s best start since their Super Bowl season of 1998 . Week 8 : at Baltimore Ravens . Coming off their bye week , the Broncos flew to M & T Bank Stadium for a Week 8 duel with the Baltimore Ravens . Denver would trail in the first quarter as Ravens kicker Steven Hauschka nailed a 43 - yard field goal in the first quarter , followed by a 35 - yard field goal in the second quarter . In the third quarter , the Broncos ' deficit immediately climbed as cornerback Lardarius Webb returned the second half ' s opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown . Denver would answer with a 1 - yard touchdown run from rookie running back Knowshon Moreno , Baltimore came right back with Haushchka booting a 31 - yard field goal . Afterwards , the Ravens would pull away in the fourth quarter with quarterback Joe Flacco ' s 20 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Derrick Mason and running back Ray Rice getting a 7 - yard touchdown run . With the loss , the Broncos fell to 6 – 1 . Week 9 : vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . Hoping to rebound from their road loss to the Ravens , the Broncos went home for a Week 9 Monday night duel with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers . Denver would begin the first quarter with kicker Matt Prater making a 40 - yard field goal , yet the Steelers responded in the second quarter with safety Tyrone Carter returning an interception 48 yards for a touchdown . The Broncos would regain the lead in the third quarter as defensive end Kenny Peterson forced a fumble during his sack of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger . It allowed rookie linebacker Robert Ayers to return the fumble 54 yards for a touchdown . However , Pittsburgh came right back with Roethlisberger ' s 3 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hines Ward . Afterwards , the Steelers would pull away in the fourth quarter as Roethlisberger completed a 25 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace and a 3 - yard touchdown pass to Ward . Making an appearance during the game was American Nordic combined skier Johnny Spillane , a Steamboat Springs , Colorado native , who would go onto win three silver medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver three months later . With the loss , Denver fell to 6 – 2 . Week 10 : at Washington Redskins . Trying to snap a two - game losing streak , the Broncos flew to FedEx Field for a Week 10 interconference duel with the Washington Redskins . In the first quarter , Denver struck first as quarterback Kyle Orton found wide receiver Brandon Marshall on a 40 - yard touchdown pass . The Redskins would respond as quarterback Jason Campbell completed a 2 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Todd Yoder , yet the Broncos would answer with Orton going right back to Marshall again on a 75 - yard touchdown pass . Washington would tie the game again in the second quarter with a trick play as punter Hunter Smith completed a 35 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Mike Sellers . Denver would close out the half with a 24 - yard field goal from kicker Matt Prater but on the previous play Orton ( 11 / 18 for 193 yards , 2 TDs ) left the game with an ankle injury . This injury would prove costly not only in this game but the next for the Broncos . Chris Simms replaced Orton at quarterback but was unable to get anything going on offense for the Broncos , going a dismal 3 / 21 for 13 yards with 1 INT . After a scoreless third quarter , the Redskins would take the lead in the fourth quarter with a 1 - yard touchdown run from running back Ladell Betts and a 35 - yard field goal from kicker Shaun Suisham . With their third - straight loss , the Broncos fell to 6 – 3 . Week 11 : vs . San Diego Chargers . In the first half , the Chargers got off to a great start when QB Philip Rivers got a 2 - yard touchdown pass to WR Legedu Naanee . Then kicker Nate Kaeding hit a 28 and a 47 - yard field goal . In the third quarter the Broncos scored their only points of the game when kicker Matt Prater got a 23 - yard field goal , yet the Chargers replied and started to rally with RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting a 1 - yard touchdown run , and in the fourth quarter Kaeding making a 28 then a 19 - yard field goal , and finally FB Mike Tolbert ran 8 yards to the end zone for a touchdown ( With PAT kick blocked ) . With the fourth straight loss , the Broncos fell to a 6 – 4 record as the Chargers improved to a 7 – 3 record and took the divisional lead . Week 12 : vs . New York Giants . Trying to avoid a five - game losing streak , the Broncos went home for a Week 12 Interconference Duel against the New York Giants . In the first quarter the Broncos got on the board with kicker Matt Prater making a 26 - yard field goal and then a 32 - yard field goal in the second quarter . The Broncos kept on top with RB Knowshon Moreno making a 1 - yard touchdown run . After that Matt Prater made a 47 - yard field goal to end the half . In the third quarter the Giants replied with kicker Lawrence Tynes nailing a 39 then a 52 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter Denver increased their lead with QB Kyle Orton making a 17 - yard touchdown pass to WR Brandon Stokley , and Prater making a 24 - yard field goal . With the win , the Broncos improved to 7 – 4 . Week 14 : at Indianapolis Colts . Coming off a two game winning streak , the Broncos headed to Lucas Oil Stadium to play the undefeated Colts . In the first half , the Colts jumped out to a 21 – 0 lead . Denver finally scored when Kyle Orton found Brandon Marshall in the end zone going to the locker rooms trailing 21 – 7 . For most of the second half , the Colts offense sputtered . In a long drive , Orton found Marshall for his second touchdown , however , the two point conversion was no good , making the score 21 – 16 . Then the Colts offense got things going late in the fourth . After a long drive , Manning found Dallas Clark in the end zone for his third touchdown of the day , putting the Colts on top 28 – 16 with under three minutes left in the game . On a long fourth down , Orton found Marshall who lateraled the ball to a lineman who was tackled short of the first down . With the win , the Colts broke an NFL record with 23 straight wins . Though despite the loss , Broncos WR Brandon Marshall had a record of his own with 21 catches beating Terrell Owens ' record . Week 17 : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . Going into week 17 , Denver could have made the playoffs if they won in these scenarios - 1 ) A New York Jets loss and either a loss by the Baltimore Ravens or the Pittsburgh Steelers OR 2 ) A New York Jets loss and a win by the Houston Texans OR 3 ) A Baltimore Ravens loss and a Pittsburgh Steelers loss or a Houston Texans win . Also , Denver could have made the playoffs even with a loss to Kansas City in these scenarios - 1 ) Losses by Pittsburgh , Baltimore , Houston , and the Jacksonville Jaguars OR 2 ) Losses by Pittsburgh , Baltimore , Houston , and New York OR 3 ) Losses by Pittsburgh , Baltimore , Jacksonville , and New York OR 4 ) Losses by Pittsburgh , Houston , Jacksonville , and New York OR 5 ) Losses by New York , Baltimore , Houston , Jacksonville , and the Miami Dolphins In the days prior to the game , Coach Josh McDaniels got into an injury - related dispute with receiver Brandon Marshall and deactivated Marshall . In the game , Chiefs ' running back Jamaal Charles had a franchise record 259 yards rushing yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns ( Including runs of 52 and 56 yards ) . Kyle Orton , who had thrown only 9 interceptions all year , threw 3 : 2 to Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson , both returned for scores , and another in the end zone to Brandon Flowers . Orton did finish with a career high 431 yards through the air on 32 / 56 passing . Jabar Gaffney , replacing the inactive Brandon Marshall , had a career - high 14 receptions for 213 yards . Both career days were empty , as the Chiefs beat the Broncos , ending their season . The Broncos became the seventh team since the 1970 AFL - NFL merger to miss the playoffs after a 6 – 0 start . Final standings . < noinclude >