2009 NFL season

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was on August 9, 2009 at 8:00 pm EDT on NBC. The Tennessee Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills 21–18, and both wore "throwback" jerseys celebrating the two franchises' AFL origins.[9] It was the first time since 1970 that the teams have not been from opposing conferences; also, both Bills owner Ralph Wilson, a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, and Titans owner Bud Adams have owned their teams continuously since the AFL's inception in 1960, making them the longest-tenured team owners in the league. Both teams made their first Hall of Fame Game appearance since the 1980s (Buffalo last played in Canton in 1989, Tennessee in 1985 as the former Houston Oilers).

The rest of the pre-season matchups were announced March 30, 2009. Highlights, among others, included a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals on ESPN.[10]

• China Bowl: The China Bowl, a proposed pre-season game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, would have taken place in Beijing, China. It had been postponed from the 2007 season to 2009, but after the 2008 economic crisis, the Patriots closed their Chinese operations and the game was cancelled.[20]
• The NFL moved the September 27 game between the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets at Giants Stadium from 4:15 pm EDT to 1:00 pm EDT, in response to a request from Jets owner Woody Johnson to change the time to accommodate the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday that began at sundown that evening. This marked a rare occasion when the Jets and Giants played at the same time (the Giants played at Tampa Bay).[21] In general, both New York City teams are not scheduled to play at the same time. The Jets game aired on CBS (WCBS-TV in New York), while the Giants game aired on Fox (WNYW-TV).
• The Jets and Giants played again at the same time on November 1. The Jets hosted the Miami Dolphins at Giants Stadium, while the Giants played at Philadelphia. The Giants–Eagles game was originally scheduled for 4:15 pm EST, but moved forward to 1:00 pm EST in order to avoid ending too close to the start of the Phillies hosting Game 4 of the 2009 World Series that evening at Citizens Bank Park, which is directly across Pattison Avenue from Lincoln Financial Field. The Vikings–Packers game, originally scheduled for 1:00 pm EST that same day, was moved to 4:15 pm EST.[22]
• The Bears–Vikings and Cardinals–Titans games on November 29 were rescheduled from 1:00 pm EST to 4:15 pm EST.
• By way of Flex Scheduling, the Vikings–Cardinals game on December 6 was moved to the 8:20 pm EST slot to replace the Patriots–Dolphins matchup.
• The Rams–Titans game on December 13 was rescheduled from 1:00 pm EST to 4:05 pm EST.
• The Packers–Steelers game on December 20 was rescheduled from 1:00 pm EST to 4:15 pm EST. That same day, a major east coast blizzard forced the Bears–Ravens and 49ers–Eagles games to be pushed back from 1:00 pm EST to 4:15 pm EST on only two days notice, to allow more time for cleaning up the stadiums after the blizzard.[23]
• The Broncos–Eagles game on December 27 was moved from 1:00 pm EST to 4:15 pm EST.
• For week 17, the Eagles–Cowboys game was switched to 4:15 pm EST, while the Bengals–Jets game was selected as the final Sunday Night Football game.

* Indicates overtime victory

The NFC's Dallas Cowboys also celebrated their fiftieth season in 2009. After the NFL had rebuffed Lamar Hunt's overtures to place an NFL team in Dallas, saying they had no plans to expand, the league granted the Cowboys a franchise in 1960 in reaction to Hunt's AFL Dallas Texans. The NFL's Cowboys franchise started out in 1960 with a record of no wins, eleven losses and one tie, but has since gone on to appear in eight Super Bowls (the only other teams to appear in eight was the Pittsburgh Steelers on February 6, 2011, the New England Patriots on February 1, 2015), and the Denver Broncos on February 7, 2016, winning five of them, tied for second with the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots, behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ironically, the Texans' franchise, which left Dallas to become the Kansas City Chiefs, won Super Bowl IV, two years before the Cowboys won their first. Though there was never an actual game between the Dallas Texans and the Cowboys, the 2009 "throwback" game played against Kansas City (Dallas Texans) and the Dallas Cowboys was played as "The Game that Never Was." The [Dallas] Cowboys won the game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, 26–20 in overtime. Interestingly, the visiting Cowboys wore home throwback jerseys, so both teams wore home uniforms.

All four members of the NFC North celebrated significant anniversaries.

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, two of the oldest teams of the NFL remaining in the league, marked their 90th seasons in 2009. While the Packers did not join the NFL until 1921, the team marks its founding with the team's creation in 1919. The first Sunday Night Football game of the season featured the two teams, pitted in "The League's Oldest Rivalry."

Likewise, the Minnesota Vikings celebrated their being in existence for 50 years. The team traces its existence to the founding of the AFL in 1959, but although they participated in that league's inaugural draft, they were instead lured to the NFL before playing a game. (The Oakland Raiders replaced Minnesota in the AFL.) The Minnesota team, not named the Vikings until after they joined the NFL and did not take any of their drafted players with them, were granted their own expansion draft by the NFL and did not play until 1961. As such, the Vikings were only in their 49th season, and will celebrate their 50th NFL season in 2010, while the Detroit Lions will be in its 80th season in the NFL, and their 76th in Detroit. Last season, Detroit reintroduced its throwback jersey, while Minnesota continues using theirs. None of the teams held significant celebrations in 2009.

After one season with the New York Jets, Brett Favre retired again from football on February 11, 2009 and was released on April 28, 2009, making him a free agent. On May 4, 2009, rumors began nationwide on the Internet, radio and t.v. outlets about him coming out of retirement again and possibly joining the Minnesota Vikings, his division arch-rival when he was with the Green Bay Packers, also meeting with Vikings head coach Brad Childress that week. On May 11, in an indication of Favre's possible return, it was reported he was scheduled to have a procedure on his torn biceps tendon on his throwing arm he injured when he was with the Jets and it was either a surgical or non-surgical process but wasn't confirmed throughout May. On June 15, 2009, he revealed he had surgery on his right torn biceps tendon and considered on playing again. On July 15, 2009, he informed the Vikings that he would make his decision of coming out of retirement or not by July 30, 2009, the day Vikings training camp started. On July 28, 2009, two days early before training camp, he informed the Vikings that he would remain retired. On August 18, 2009, it was reported that Favre got on a private jet and was heading to Minnesota to join the Vikings. It was later confirmed and he officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He was signed to a two-year, $25 million deal with an option for 2010 for $13 million.[31] On December 6, 2009, Favre played in his 283rd consecutive game, breaking Jim Marshall's long-standing record. The Vikings finished their season with a record of 12–4 and made the playoffs as the number two seed. Favre was voted to the 2010 Pro Bowl, but did not participate and was replaced by Tony Romo.

Free agent quarterback Michael Vick was reinstated on July 27, 2009 after finishing his 2-year prison term and on August 13, 2009, he signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles also with an option in 2010 for 5 million.[32] Vick finished the season with one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. He helped the Eagles to an 11–5 record and the NFC's number six seed.

After disagreements between Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos management, on March 15, 2009, Cutler requested a trade from the team. On April 2, 2009, Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears from the Broncos along with a fifth-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. In return, the Broncos acquired quarterback Kyle Orton along with the Bears' first and third-round selections in 2009 also the first round pick in 2010. Later in the season on October 20, 2009, the Bears signed Cutler to a two-year, $30 million contract extension up to 2013.

The Indianapolis Colts started the season 14–0, and the New Orleans Saints started the season 13–0, the first time that two teams went that deep into the season without suffering a loss. The Colts also set the record for consecutive regular season wins over multiple seasons, running their mark to 23 before losing in Week 16 to the New York Jets.[33]

On August 17, 2009 Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable was accused of punching assistant coach Randy Hanson in the face and fracturing his jaw. The incident allegedly took place on August 5 during the Raiders training camp, held in Napa. On October 22, 2009, the Napa district attorney announced that no charges would be filed against Cable.[34] The Raiders finished their season with a record of 5–11.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry died on December 17, 2009. He was placed on the injured reserved list four weeks before the accident. He suffered from injuries after falling from the back of his pick-up truck in Charlotte, North Carolina the previous day.[35]

Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died on January 17, 2010, a few weeks after the Bears season had ended. He died in Greenwood, South Carolina from cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart.[36]

On January 24, 2010, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game in overtime by a score of 31–28. The win secured their berth in Super Bowl XLIV, the franchise's first ever Super Bowl.

Later on February 7, the Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl by a score of 31–17. Quarterback Drew Brees was named the MVP.

• The Atlanta Falcons accomplished their first back to back winning seasons in franchise history. They still hold the record among all major American sports leagues for the longest streak of seasons without consecutive winning seasons. The streak lasted for 43 years from 1966.
• The New Orleans Saints won their first 13 games in the NFC of the regular season, breaking the record of 12 straight by the 1985 Chicago Bears who also won the Super Bowl.
• The Indianapolis Colts won their 23rd consecutive regular season game with a 35–31 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on December 16, 2009. The previous week, the Colts had broken the previous record (21-games) held by the 2003–2004 New England Patriots. They lost the following week to the New York Jets after resting many of their starters with a 15–10 lead in the third quarter of that game.[37]
• The Denver Broncos became the third team since 1970 to miss the NFL playoffs after a 6–0 start. The other two teams to miss the playoffs since the AFL/NFL merger were the 1978 Washington Redskins and the 2003 Minnesota Vikings.[38]
• The Tennessee Titans started the season losing their first six games, then, led by second-string quarterback Vince Young, won their next five games, the first NFL team to have such a turnaround.[39]
• The Pittsburgh Steelers became the first team since the 1987 New York Giants to lose five consecutive games in the season after winning the Super Bowl.
• Two teams tied an NFL record for most kickoff returns for touchdowns in a single game, with two: the Miami Dolphins (November 1, vs. the New York Jets) and the Cleveland Browns (December 20, vs. the Kansas City Chiefs).

The St. Louis Rams finish as the NFL's tenth 1–15 or 0–16 team, giving them a record from 2007 to 2009 of six wins and forty-two losses. Since a regular schedule began in 1936, only two teams have achieved a comparably bad record over three seasons:

1. the wartime Cardinals going 1–29 between 1943 and 1945 if one includes Card-Pitt, and 4–27 if one only includes Cardinals seasons.
2. the 2015 to 2017 Cleveland Browns, who went 4–44 over three seasons

The New Orleans Saints became the first team in NFL history to lose their last three regular season games and then go on to the Super Bowl and win.

For the first time since the 1993 season, the AFC's and NFC's top seeds, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints respectively, played one another in the Super Bowl, where the Saints defeated the Colts, 31–17.

In a Week 6 game against the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in the second quarter, an NFL record. The Patriots led the Titans 45–0 at halftime, also a league record, before winning the game 59–0, tied for the league's largest shutout margin since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger.[40]

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart of the Carolina Panthers became the first teammates in NFL history to rush for 1,100 yards in the same season. Williams rushed for 1,117 yards, and Stewart ran for 1,133 yards.

In Week 2, the Arizona Cardinals’ Kurt Warner set a new NFL record for completion percentage, completing 92.3% of his passes (24 completions in 26 attempts) in a 31–17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The previous record had been set by Vinny Testaverde in 1993. If postseason games are included, the record holder is Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who completed 26 of 28 attempts on January 12, 2008, also against the Jaguars.

In Week 13, the Denver Broncos' Brandon Marshall caught a record 21 catches in a losing effort against the Indianapolis Colts. (The record was previously held by the San Francisco 49ers' Terrell Owens, who had 20 catches in a 2001 game.)

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in each of his first two seasons as a starter. (Rodgers, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, and Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams are the only quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 in their first season as a starter. Warner, however, passed for only 3,429 in 2000. Rodgers passed for 4,038 in 2008 and 4,434 in 2009.)[41]

On January 3, 2010, Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans became the sixth rusher in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Johnson also broke the all-purpose yards from scrimmage record previously held by Marshall Faulk.

In a Week 15 game against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 20, 2009, the Cleveland Browns’ Joshua Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, giving him eight for his career, and setting a new league record. Cribbs also became one of only two players to score two 100-plus yard touchdowns in the same game. (The feat was first accomplished by Ted Ginn, Jr. of the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 of the 2009 season.)

For the opening game of their new stadium, the Dallas Cowboys distributed 105,121 tickets, setting an NFL record for attendance in a single game. The old mark of 103,467 occurred in October 2005 at a 49ers-Cardinals game at Azteca Stadium in Mexico.

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints set an NFL record for completion percentage in a season. Brees was 363 of 514, a completion percentage of 70.6. (The record of 70.55% had previously been set in the strike-shortened 1982 season by Ken Anderson of the Cincinnati Bengals. Brees sat out the last game of the 2009 season since New Orleans had secured home-field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.)

On January 10, 2010, the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 51–45 for a combined total of 96 points, setting a new NFL playoff record for total combined points scored.[42] This game has been given the nicknames "The Shootout", and the "Nobody Stopping Nobody Game".[43]

On January 24, 2010, the NFC and AFC championship games averaged 52.9 million viewers, making it the most-viewed conference championship day since the two games in 1982 averaged 60.2 million viewers. Fox's telecast of the Saints’ 31–28 overtime win over the Vikings earned a 30.6 fast-national Nielsen rating (57.9 million viewers), marking Fox's biggest audience ever for an NFC championship game. It was also the second largest all-time audience for any conference title telecast, trailing only the 1982 49ers-Cowboys game (68.7 million viewers on CBS).[44]

Excluding Super Bowl telecasts, the Saints-Vikings game was the most-viewed television program since the "Seinfeld" finale in 1998. Meanwhile, CBS earned a 26.3 fast-national rating (46.9 million viewers) for the Colts–Jets AFC championship game in the early window, marking the largest audience for an AFC title game since NBC earned 47.5 million viewers for Patriots–Dolphins in 1986.[44]

Super Bowl XLIV surpassed the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H, as the most viewed program in history. It was watched by 153.4 million people.[45] Compelling story lines included the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina, as well as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's attempt at a second Super Bowl ring.

• Most points scored: New Orleans, 510
• Fewest points scored: St. Louis, 175
• Most total offensive yards: New Orleans, 6,461
• Fewest total offensive yards: Cleveland, 4,163
• Most total passing yards: Houston, 4,654
• Fewest total passing yards: Cleveland, 2,076
• Most rushing yards: New York Jets, 2,756
• Fewest rushing yards: Indianapolis, 1,294

[48]

• Fewest points allowed: New York Jets, 236
• Most points allowed: Detroit, 494
• Most total yards allowed: Detroit, 6,274
• Fewest total yards allowed: New York Jets, 4,037
• Fewest passing yards allowed: New York Jets, 2,459
• Most passing yards allowed: Detroit, 4,249
• Fewest rushing yards allowed: Green Bay, 1,333
• Most rushing yards allowed: Tampa Bay, 2,531

[49]

The following were the players of the week during the 2009 season:

The following were the players of the month during the 2009 season:

The following are the rookies of the month during the 2009 season:

Eight teams hired new head coaches prior to the start of the 2009 season, while two made their interim coaches permanent, and another moved from one team to another after being fired by a team:

The following coaches were fired during the 2009 season:

This was the fourth season under the current television contracts with the league's television partners: CBS (all AFC Sunday afternoon away games and one Thanksgiving game), Fox (all NFC Sunday afternoon away games and one Thanksgiving game), NBC (16 Sunday night games and the kickoff game), ESPN (17 Monday night games over sixteen weeks), NFL Network (eight late-season games on Thursday and Saturday nights, including one Thanksgiving game and a Christmas night game), and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket package. The current agreements with CBS, Fox and DirecTV were extended two years through the 2013 season on May 19, 2009; NBC's contract was extended through that same season on August 19 of the same year.

CBS celebrated their 50th season of NFL coverage; CBS has covered NFL games from 1956 to 1993 and again from 1998 to the present. Ironically, CBS which was ordered by the NFL not to give American Football League scores during its NFL broadcasts of the 1960s, now covers the AFC, while Fox covers the NFC. This season was also the fortieth consecutive season that Monday Night Football has been a permanent part of the NFL schedule, though the league had played games on Monday night sporadically before this. Monday Night Football originally aired on ABC before switching to ESPN in 2006, when the two networks' sports operations were merged. The first Monday night of the regular season featured two AFL Original Eight games, a doubleheader with the Bills at the Patriots and the Chargers at the Raiders.

NFL Network continued to have coverage disputes with major cable providers. In particular, Comcast, the largest cable provider in the United States, was considering removing the network from its lineups on April 30, 2009, shortly after the draft but before the start of the preseason. Comcast was carrying the network on a digital sports tier and negotiations continued past the April 30 deadline as NFLN would continue on Comcast, which ended with a resolution on May 19 that could open the door for other major cable providers such as Cablevision and Cox to carry the network on a what would be equal to Comcast's digital classic tier, with around 10 million subscribers.[60] However, the most notable holdout, Time Warner Cable, still is nowhere near a deal.[61] Additionally, the NFL Network created a new "Red Zone Channel" starting with the season openers September 13. Comcast-owned Versus has signed a deal to carry United Football League games on Thursday nights; the tail end of the UFL schedule overlapped with the first few weeks of the Thursday night NFL package. In related news, the NFL has reached a settlement with DISH Network over the satellite provider's decision to move NFL Network to a higher tier. NFL Network has also dropped the use of the names "Run to the Playoffs" and "Saturday Night Football", opting to standardize all of its broadcasts under the "Thursday Night Football" banner. The Saturday night and Friday night games airing on the network was marketed as "Thursday Night Football Special Edition."

This was also the first NFL season after the DTV transition in the United States, which had originally been scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009 but was delayed until June 12, 2009. Hawaiʻi made the digital switchover on January 15, 2009.[62] (Low-power translators will still be allowed to broadcast in analog until at least 2012, and cable providers will continue to distribute analog signals for the foreseeable future.)

After fifty seasons as a player, coach, broadcaster and video game maven, John Madden retired on April 16 from his position on Sunday Night Football. Cris Collinsworth moved from NFL Network to NBC to assume Madden's in-game analyst role with Al Michaels; Matt Millen replaced Collinsworth on NFL Network. In addition, Tony Kornheiser left MNF and former Raiders and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden replaced him.

In radio, it was reported that the league was exploring ending its contract with Westwood One or sharing games with another network due to Westwood One's financial problems. The Sports USA Radio Network, ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio were mentioned as possible partners; Fox Sports Radio was notably excluded from consideration. Sports USA currently carries Sunday afternoon games by agreement with individual teams, while ESPN carries the NBA and Major League Baseball, the latter causing a potential schedule conflict between Sunday Night Football and Sunday Night Baseball, plus the MLB Playoffs. Sunday night, Monday night, Thanksgiving and all other Thursday and Saturday games are covered by the contract.[63] Of the offers, Westwood One was the high bidder (and reportedly the only one offering guaranteed money), ESPN requested a longer-term deal, the Sporting News offered a revenue-sharing plan in lieu of rights fees, and Sports USA was described as a "long shot."[64] After a restructuring shored up the company's financial situation, Westwood One in March 2009 earned a two-year extension for all of the night games, paying US$33,000,000 for the two-year deal.[65]

In addition to the official feature game package, three networks will carry nationwide radio broadcasts of Sunday afternoon games. The newest such network is Compass Media Networks, which has signed deals with eight teams. Sports USA and Westwood One will carry games from the other 24 teams. Dial Global, which previously backed Sports USA's coverage in 2008, will instead handle Compass's package for 2009.