The WILDEST PLAYOFF SCENARIO in NFL HISTORY | 2009 Broncos

In 2009, the Denver Broncos entered the final week of the season with an astonishing 10 different ways to get into the playoffs. Their odds of making it were extremely high, as if just one of the 10 scenarios happened (none of which involved a tie and only one of which involved more than four teams), then they'd be in the playoffs. Instead, disaster struck. This is the story behind the 2009 Broncos, their stunning collapse, and one of the craziest playoff scenarios of all-time
Video Mentioned:
2008 Broncos: • The WORST Collapse in ...
BUY OFFICIALLY LICENSED NFL MERCHANDISE HERE: amzn.to/3B6hyE2
OFFICIAL JAGUARGATOR9 MERCHANDISE: jg9shop.com/
New listings every week! Get your official JG9 merchandise at jg9shop.com, featuring t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and much more! Includes merchandise of the JG9 logo, the JG9 Live logo, some minigames played on JG9 Live, and a shirt symbolizing your passer rating if you did nothing but spike the ball into the ground on every single play
LINK TO PATREON: / jaguargator9
Get early access to videos, your name featured in the credits, and the ability to request future video topics by joining today for as low as $3!
LINK TO TWITCH: / jaguargator9_nfl
Play live NFL trivia every Wednesday night at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific with the chance to win cash prizes! Join me every Monday night at 9 PM ET where we'll have an informal Q&A session!
Check out the video below to learn more: • WEEKLY LIVE NFL TRIVIA...
LINK TO DISCORD: / discord
LINK TO TIK TOK: vm.tiktok.com/...
See videos like this condensed down to 60 seconds by following JaguarGator9 on Tik Tok!
SUBSCRIBE TO JAGUARGATOR8: / jaguargator8
Learn more about the weird history of college football by subscribing to JaguarGator8! New videos every Monday and Friday at 6 PM ET!
HIRE JG9 ON FIVERR: www.fiverr.com...
Let JaguarGator9 create customized questions for your next NFL trivia show! Whether you want to play with a group of friends and family, or whether you want to host a trivia show for your business or company, JG9 has you covered!
#nfl #broncos #nflplayoffs #denver #denverbroncos #football #sports #highlights #nflhighlights #nflhistory #nflthrowback #2009 #playoffs
Members of the 2009 Broncos:
Brett Kern
Chris Simms
Matt Prater
Kyle Orton
Jabar Gaffney
Kenny McKinley
Matt Willis
Brandon Stokley
Brandon Marshall
Mitch Berger
Eddie Royal
Brian Dawkins
Andre’ Goodman
Peyton Hillis
Renaldo Hill
Champ Bailey
Tony Carter
Jack Williams
Ty Law
Knowshon Moreno
Correll Buckhalter
David Bruton
Darcel McBath
LaMont Jordan
Alphonso Smith
Josh Barrett
Vernon Fox
Spencer Larsen
Ben Hamilton
Andra Davis
DJ Williams
Robert Ayers
Mario Haggan
Wesley Woodyard
Casey Wiegmann
Lonie Paxton
Seth Olsen
Russ Hochstein
Chris Kuper
Ryan Harris
Chris Baker
Tyler Polumbus
Brandon Gorin
Ryan Clady
Marcus Thomas
Richard Quinn
Brandon Lloyd
Tony Scheffler
Daniel Graham
Kenny Peterson
Ronald Fields
Elvis Dumervil
Jarvis Moss
Darrell Reid
Le Kevin Smith
Ryan McBean
Vonnie Holliday
Josh McDaniels (head coach)

[@marcus813]

That's a ton of scenarios! Then again, the Broncos started 6-0, so they shouldn't have been in this position to begin with. When you're fighting for your playoff life and then lose at home to an awful team, you deserve to miss the playoffs.

[@harriettubman534]

It’s the broncos

[@freddiesimmons1394]

I find it sorta... silly in retrospect to value what order teams win games. "Momentum isn't a thing" is such a repeated thing in analytics its become a cliche

[@chrisuncleahmad]

The nutty thing about Denver is that when they started 6-0, they actually had good wins (Bengals, Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots)

[@Walkerman379]

One note on the math is that you can’t simply add the 10 probabilities because the scenarios are not mutually exclusive.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

looking at the scenarios, ya know what’s crazy? even if denver won they would’ve missed the playoffs. jets win, ravens win, no chance

[@pokepress]

I was wondering about that.

[@thebnsftracker1317]

I know right!? Still, the loss didn't help them.

[@Mr.PoliticallyIncorrect]

You should do one on the 1989 Steelers. They were 6-7 and needed a lot of help to get into the postseason, but they snuck in and nearly advanced to the AFC Championship game

[@WVUer21]

I wonder if in 20 years "That's not what he wanted to cook..." has gone beyond meme and into general lexicon.

[@stevengrvp]

10 ways wow

[@dallasraisbeck7297]

I really enjoy these historic playoffs scenarios. These videos are awesome man

[@CTubeMan]

Two other crazy facts about the last week of the season: 1. If, by some miracle, JaMarcus Russell led the Raiders to a win over the Ravens all four Wild Card Round games would be rematches of season finales. 2. One such game was the Packers-Cardinals game at 4 ET. As the Vikings were destroying the Giants, 44-7, in a game starting at 1 ET I knew that meant the Packers and Cardinals would not only be playing in the finale, but in the Wild Card Round as well. In fact, I was in a sports bar that day near a couple of Vikings fans and told them, “Congratulations, you’ve now sucked the drama out of two games.” I didn’t pay too close attention to the Packers-Cardinals game, but from what I saw the Packers weren’t playing as if they would be playing the Cardinals two weeks in a row. They won 33-7, playing some starters well into the game.

[@TheAoalec14]

That packers cardinals game was an all time classic..51-45 cardinals but it ended on a missed faxemask and Rodgers fumbled and karlos dansby returned it for 6

[@arcwiz]

@@TheAoalec14 the NFC West just seems to be the Packer's kryptonite in the playoffs

[@LogoAttitude]

@@arcwiz especially on the road; the Packers have lost 7 straight road playoff games against that division, dating back to 1998

[@chrisuncleahmad]

The crazy thing about Denver is that when they started 6-0, they had good wins (Bengals, Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots) What sunk these Broncos wasn’t the Indianapolis, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh losses- it was the L’s vs Oakland and Washington

[@eaglesfan5750]

Hey JG you should do a video on the 2008 eagles had like a 12% chance of making the playoffs going into week 17 needed bears to lose to Texans and buccaneers to lose to raiders (both major upsets) and then to beat cowboys got all 3 to go their way and made into playoffs and were a blatant missed pass interference away from making the Super Bowl

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made a video about how this season led to the NFL going to all divisional games in the last week in future seasons.

[@byff2323]

Unofficial historian: is there a video on the 2006 Chiefs needing about seven scenarios to happen to get in the playoffs… and got in?

[@CTubeMan]

@@byff2323 This is the closest I can think of: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnrNk6WaeKeDpLc

[@CTubeMan]

@@byff2323 Or this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6e5m4B9ZcecZqs

[@byff2323]

@@CTubeMan thank you

[@jasonfischer8946]

I remember back in around 2005 the Baltimore Ravens had a week 17 scenario in which they had to win and I think 6 teams had to lose so that they were all 8-8, but the Ravens would have had the conference record tie breaker. Yeah, they didn't get in because they lost and I think only 2 other teams lost.

[@NewDayNY917]

The giants also started 5-0 and went only 8-8 and missed the playoffs, losing to the broncos on thanksgiving along the way…

[@bambotronn]

2015 falcons did the exact same

[@ryanjacobson2508]

Although I would say there's a huge difference between 5-0 and 6-0. As of now there are only two teams to go 6-0 and miss the playoffs. I'm guessing there's quite a few 5-0 teams who ended up missing the playoffs.

[@kalbuskj31]

This scenario was pretty crazy... lots of common factors and groupings. So many teams had to match what the Broncos did so the SOV and SOS ended in their favor. I believe 2 spots were at-large up for grabs to create this many specific scenarios. Great work JG9!

[@jeffanderson3962]

Then the 2010 Chargers would manage to miss the playoffs despite having the #1 offense and defense. The AFC West really knew how to creatively waste opportunities.

[@phoodiegames]

On the topic of wasting opportunities, the AFC West held the 1st seed in the AFC from 1995-97 (Chiefs in ‘95 & ‘97, Broncos in ‘96), but lost in the divisional round all three years, against the Colts, Jaguars, and Broncos, respectively.

[@johncate9541]

Jon Bois did a video on that one. The '10 Chargers had to have had the worst special teams in the history of the NFL, and it cost them several games. If they had just been average on special teams, they're probably 13-3 or 14-2, but instead they went 9-7.

[@CantRead1]

Another interesting note is that the Raiders went undefeated in the division in 2010 and still missed the playoffs. The first team in modern NFL history to do so. The AFC West is a cursed and strange division.

[@stopmotionisthebestofmotio1550]

Great video like always! From a Browns fan I’ll be cheering for the Jags tomorrow night.

[@slimypickle19]

The team was only gonna go so far with Kyle Orton though. Considering the Jets & Ravens sneaked in the wild cards with 9-7 records, it's inexcusable Denver missed the playoffs entirely after 6-0.

[@sawyertuide7636]

It’s also a damning testament to Josh McDaniels Fraudulent squad? Yes, but what about the defense collapsing to a 4-12 Chiefs team in taters after the disastrous Gus Edwards reign. Or out Raidering the Raiders in Week 15?

[@thomascrowley9122]

That was quite the collapse by Denver

[@AlexanderFort]

I look forward to your eventual video on the 2022-2023 AFC playoff seeding debacle.

[@stevengrvp]

My jets have to lose in most of these scenarios

[@williambryant6175]

Ironically, a Jets win would’ve nuked 70% of the scenarios too.

[@FearoftheLord]

You tell great stories. Keep it up.

[@steelcurtain187]

This stuff is always fascinating to me

[@leogetz3570]

The Broncos also blew it in 2008, losing the last 3 games giving the divison to the Chargers at 8-8. Waiting on your "biggest collapse" video featuring the 2022 Titans......

[@Iamtezwayne]

Before the rams was out they need a crazy 1 percent to happen as follow Win out Have Seahawks lose out Have gaints or commanders lose out Saints, falcons, panthers , lions and a few other teams to not win more then 7 games. (Crazy but was possible ) Almost playoff time for the NFL Which team in the 2022 season need the craziest thing to happen to make the playoffs this year in the final week 🤔.

[@jasonfire3434]

Steelers would be this year’s unlikeliest team to clinch in week 18. Which means of course it’s going to happen lol

[@lightyagami3492]

@@jasonfire3434 Yeah the Steelers have the toughest path this time around but not super crazy when you think about the ones that have been less likely but still happened.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

@@jasonfire3434 yeah the steelers love bsing their way into playoff spots for some reason. at least we know they’ll be taken out 51-3 or something

[@joshuatayloe8616]

If we're talking getting in then I do believe Jacksonville is the only team left that has more than 1 scenario to make the playoffs. 1) Beat the Titans and win the Division, 2) Dolphins, Steelers, and Pats lose Jacksonville holds the Conference record Tie breaker. The craziest scenario this year is for the #1 seeds though, especially if the league does not replay the Cincy vs Buffalo game.

[@BroncoJosh]

What I find funny is how the Broncos treated their week 5 win over the Patriots that year like they won the Super Bowl. Aside from their win over the Chargers the next week to go to 6-0, they fell apart the rest of the season. It carried through the entire 2010 season, even through the first month and a half of the 2011 season.

[@bigk8210]

And for some reason the Raiders thought THIS man was the one to lead them instead of the coach the players admired, trusted and liked who got them to the playoffs. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@CantRead1]

That's because the coach never wanted to be a head coach and why he remains a special teams coach as of today.

[@wpjohnston0213]

Love your videos! Wanted to get your take on the current NFL situation involving Bengals and Bills only playing 16 games and all others playing 17. Also has this ever happened in the NFL before?

[@lamontbradford4630]

Bengals and Bills are playing 16 games

[@wpjohnston0213]

@@lamontbradford4630 sorry not sure why I put the Chiefs

[@emeraldaly7646]

My brain broke a little bit earlier at "Indianapolis won the south, Cincinnati won the north." Those two cities are on nearly parallel latitude (Indianapolis is actually slightly further north). What even is division alignment

[@rngfootball759]

I recall watching NFL top 10 collapses, the 09 broncos were ranked #3 behind 94 eagles and 93 dolphins. Nail in coffin for 09 broncos was losing to JaMarcus Russell I think.

[@sawyertuide7636]

Yep If that list is made more recently the Days of Our 2018 Steelers are #1 and tbh if the 93’ Dolphins are up there despite losing Dan Marino, the 95’ Raiders are there too. Also 2003 Vikings

[@Venom3254]

@@sawyertuide7636 2015/2022 Jets should be on that list

[@marquan1976]

Damn, this a brain teaser 😅

[@themarcraspajr]

LMAO 3:31 brian dawkins doing brian dawkins things

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

That was the Vikings team that got to the championship and then Brett Farve threw the ill advised pass that resulted in the Tracy Porter INT on which Paul Allen came up with his famous PBP rant "this is not Detroit man, this is the Super Bowl!"

[@redpillfreedom6692]

17:29 To be fair, the Eagles 1 year earlier needed to rely on JaMarcus Russell if they wanted to make the playoffs, and Russell actually pulled through that time.

[@switchblade6]

Having all those possibilities and still not making it into the playoffs is the most Broncos thing ever

[@nicp2344]

Are you gonna do a video of how improbable the jags winning the division will be if they win Sunday?

[@Snookbone]

ANOTHER VIDEO ABOUT CRAZY PLAYOFF SCENARIOS BUT WITH ANOTHER ADJECTIVE SO TECHNICALLY I DIDN'T LIE

[@chrisguardiano6143]

This (the collapse portion at least) is very similar to how Newcastle choked away the Premier League title during the 1995-96 season. Newcastle had an 8 point lead over Man United & a game in hand at the end of February with 11 games to go and were cruising towards their first league title since 1927. Newcastle then proceeded to lose 5 of the next 8 games including a 4-3 thriller to Liverpool which many people consider the greatest game in Premier League history. As the last two games approached, all Newcastle needed to do was win both and for Man United to lose one in order to win the title. They could still win the title if they won one of the two remaining games & Man United lost both so there was a margin for error. Neither scenario happened as Newcastle drew their final two games & Man United won their final two giving Man United the title. What makes this collapse bizarre was that their coach Kevin Keagan had an absolute meltdown on live TV before those final two games with his “I’d love it if we beat them” rant which basically guaranteed that (from his perspective) Newcastle would not choke & that Man United would. Keagan was made to eat those words & never really contended for the Premier League title again as a coach because his next stint in the Premier League was at pre 2008 takeover Man City who were mediocre at best from 2001-2005. He also had stints at Fulham (1997-99) & a disastrous run as England coach from 1999-2000 in which England failed to get out of the group stage at Euro 2000.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

Scenario #7: Jacksonville & Baltimore win their tiebreakers to advance out of their divisions: This forces a 4-way tie between the Jets, Broncos, Jaguars & Ravens. The Jaguars have a 7-5 conference record. The other three teams deadlock at 6-6. We reset the tiebreaker, but we do not have all teams facing each other in the regular season. With the head-to-head not applicable, and with the conference records identical; we have to go common opponents. Baltimore loses on this tiebreaker, but the Jets & Broncos remained deadlocked. The next tiebreaker is strength of schedule. I will not get into how it is calculated, but it is here that Denver wins the 6 seed.

[@Cmb8909]

Someone send this to Brandon Perna😂😂

[@xaviersantana2367]

The word lose sounds like the David Ortiz sound

[@daniel5046]

This is slightly misleading since the scenarios had a lot of common factors. E.g. every scenario involved either the jets or ravens losing, meaning there may have been 10 different ways for the broncos to get in but in reality all it took was two games going against them and they're out.

[@jaredmartin6257]

Feel like I need this broken down in Steiner math

[@EpicDemonHunter]

Titans started 0-6 and finished 8-8 in the same season

[@AdamJ617]

I’m only three minutes into this video, but I’m already worried about my Dolphins. Seriously.

[@sawyertuide7636]

Yours would be top #5 if you miss in worst NFL in season collapses but at least you won’t be the 2018 Steelers whom were healthy

[@toddbiesel4288]

LeBron James mode activated at 2:20.

[@alexgrissom3513]

12:38 semantic satiation

[@CyberchaoX]

It should also be noted that the Jets won their last two games against two teams with nothing to play for.

[@MarkAHoltz]

Checking over the schedule for January 23, 2010 (final week of the 2009 season): Early Games: Steelers at Dolphins, Jaguars, Texans Late Games: Broncos, Ravens Sunday Night Football: Jets OK, so let's look at the results of the early games: * Steelers WIN against Dolphins, eliminating scenarios 2, 4, and 6 through 9, but preserving scenario 10. * Jacksonville LOSE against Cleveland, preserving scenario 10, HOWEVER... * Texans WIN against Patriots, preserving scenario 3 and 5, but eliminating scenario 10. So, now we have scenarios 1, 3, and 5... Looking at those results: * Ravens WIN against the Raiders, eliminating scenarios 1 and 5 * Denver gets ELIMINATED in the playoffs after losing to the Chiefs And, had the Broncos WON, they would have been eliminated with the BLOWOUT win of the Jets over the Bengals.

[@dangeiger9796]

Even if they had won, they still would not have made the playoffs

[@Dmoney2690]

Dude these are the vids that should be monetized...you did your research and always put out a great story and video. I can't stand knowing some people are getting paid to literally do the dumbest stuff. Keep doing an amazing job!!!

[@crowtservo]

You know this was a long time ago because the Broncos beat the Chiefs…

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

Different divisions . . . *OUCH*

[@davidfreesefan23]

As a Chiefs fan, I approve.

[@Daniel-36]

The broncos could’ve gotten in the playoffs this year if every single game that occurred in the nfl ended in a tie🤷‍♀️

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

I am not even touching 8-10 . . . But it involves similar procedure.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

Scenario # 6: Ravens eliminate Steelers on second tiebreaker for interdivisional teams (they split the 2 games; but Baltimore has a better divisional record). If Jacksonville loses, Houston does not tie with Jacksonville. Why is this is important? Because with Houston having a 5-7 conference record after their season finale loss; the Ravens and the Broncos both get in, taking the two wildcard slots without a further round of tiebreakers. What if Jacksonville wins and Houston loses? Jacksonville & Houston are both in the South. Jacksonville swept Houston in their 2 games that year. This means they advance into a 3-way tie for 2 wildcard berths. Jacksonville finishes with a 7-5 conference record, ahead of Baltimore & Denver's 6-6 conference records. The Jaguars win the 5 seed. Per rule, when a 3-way tie is narrowed to a 2-way tie; we reset the tiebreakers. Baltimore beat Denver in their regular season game; so Baltimore would get the #6 seed. This is why HOU & JACK both have to lose. If only the Ravens or Steelers win, then the Jets & the winning team finish both one game ahead of the broncos.

[@misterjonesable]

Should they have made playoffs? Yeah, but each scenario required a series of things to happen that were fifty fifty bets. That’s a one in eight chance. Sure they were given ten chances but it’s not as unlikely as JG8 is trying to say. It’d be like buying a scratch ticket with one in eight odds, and being surprised that you didn’t win after ten tickets. Sure luck wasn’t on your side that daybut it’s not that horrible.

[@sparklerbc9898]

once the broncos lost what was the probability of any of the 5 remaining scenarios happening? seems like this could be more simply stated as "broncos win and they probably get in, lose and almost certainly not" and they lost.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

I know of this story.

[@edmcgeough3033]

I figure there is a video of this years titans team missing the playoffs. Go jags!

[@MichaelStrick9]

Doncos country, let's new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new NEW worst playoff scenario ever.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

Do you mean if I go second, I can make mine on my ninth; and my partner on my tenth?

[@curtisjoseph]

The Broncos wouldn't have made it even if they had won their final game because the Jets and Ravens won

[@danchrysler4284]

They can always buy their way in

[@adriankendrick4281]

Lot of scenarios for them but they shouldn't have been in the position because they started not and faded away.

[@daylenstone9871]

Josh McDaniels coached like a phony and my team played like baloney.

[@ThatGreenGuy85]

I dont see what's so crazy about this. If they lose they have a 5% chance to make the playoffs. Thry lost, and thry missed. That happens most years to someone in the last week or two of the season. Might as well do one about the 2021 Colts.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

This is not a *bad break* . . . They had to have the Jets lose in 1, 2 or 3.

[@astros7242]

I like how far he digs into history but he sensationalizes every story wish he wouldn’t do that. He makes every one seem like the best thing or the worst thing ever. Kinda like this one the real incompetence here was finishing 2-8. But he focuses way more about how they didn’t make it despite having 10 ways to get in. And even towards the end says thanks to the incompetence of losing to one of the worst teams. Actually no, had the broncos won that game they still would have missed. Starting 6-0 and finishing 2-8 yeah that’s incompetent. I believe they were the first team ever to start 6-0 and not somehow get a winning record. Though really that isn’t the amazing part as clearly that team was terrible, so the amazing part is how they hell did they start at 6-0? That is one of the craziest fluke starts I can think of as not only did they finish 2-8 but then went 4-12 the next season. As anyone can see 2-8 is a lot closer to 4-12 than 6-0.

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

STEELERS AND RAVENS GO TO TIEBREAK FIRST SINCE THEY IN SAME DIVISION

[@nathanjm000]

Don't even think they got within one outcome of making it even with a wn

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

well Jets had to lose in either 1 or 2

[@CatherineJessicaNatof]

Ravens lose & Steelers lose also in 1 and 2 individually.

[@carolinekelman2403]

Who cares, the Broncos would have gotten blown out by Cincy or New England anyway.

[@kizitokatende412]

Can u shorten these videos

[@dpjacobs28]

The “we need some context” line has to go. Need to find another way of saying it. Saying it in every video gets old bro.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

bumping this so it can be higher

[@kyle1910]

What I had for DEN, including scenarios involving tie games: DEN clinches an AFC Wild Card berth with win + NYJ loss/tie win + BAL loss/tie tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT loss tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss/tie tie + NYJ loss + PIT loss + HOU loss/tie tie + NYJ loss + PIT tie + HOU tie tie + BAL loss + PIT loss + HOU loss/tie tie + BAL loss + PIT tie + HOU tie NYJ loss + BAL loss + HOU loss + JAX loss/tie NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT loss + JAX loss/tie NYJ loss + PIT loss + HOU loss + JAX loss/tie NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT loss + JAX loss DEN clinches the AFC’s #5 playoff seed with win + NYJ loss/tie + BAL loss/tie tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT loss + HOU loss/tie tie + NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT tie + HOU tie NYJ loss + BAL loss + PIT loss + HOU loss + JAX loss/tie