Throwback Thursday: The forgettable time Denver Broncos started 6-0, 2009

Prepare yourselves, Denver Broncos fans, for a painful memory.

Josh McDaniels. OK, there. We got the name out early – of the coach which embarrassed the historic franchise in multiple ways – and won’t have to say it again.

“McDummy” was the head coach in the Mile High City, his first year after taking over for Mike Shanahan, who was let go the year before.

And, despite McD’s youth and inexperience as a head coach, he got the Broncos off to a 6-0 start in 2009.

The first game of his regime was a sense of what was to come; during those 28 games, no one knew what to expect out of the Broncos. With Denver trailing 6-7 in Cincinnati and 30 seconds on the clock, Kyle Orton tossed up a prayer Brandon Marshall which bounced to Brandon Stokley. The ball miraculously tipped off a Bengals corner and floated into Stokley’s hands. He trotted into the end zone and the Broncos won 12-7.

Game two meant a 27-6 beat-down of another Ohio team, the Cleveland Browns. Tony Scheffler, Peyton Hillis and Correll Buckhalter all scored touchdowns while Matt Prater made two field goals; how about those for some throwback names? Week three meant another blowout, this time of the Raiders in Oakland, 23-3. Buchkhalter carried for 108 yards while Knowshon Moreno had 90 of his own.

Then came some nail-biters.

The Dallas Cowboys came to Denver and took the 10-0 first quarter lead. Orton then connected with Knowshon Moreno for a 9-yard passing touchdown in the second, and after neither team could score in the third, the Broncos scored 10 in the final quarter to win 17-10. Orton’s 51-yard TD to Marshall with 1:56 to go won the team the game.

In Week five, the New England Patriots came to new Mile High Stadium for an epic which would need extra time to decide. Wes Welker caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady to take the 7-0 lead, and Steven Gostkowski’s 53-yard field goal made it 10-0 Patriots. Marshall, who scored 10 touchdowns in 2009, caught one from Orton with 4:31 left in the first half. But Brady led a last-minute drive capped with a touchdown to Ben Watson and New England went into the break up 17-7.

Denver fought back; Matt Prater made a 24-yard field goal in the third and Marshall received another touchdown – both 11 yards – to tie the game with 5:21 to play. Denver got the ball to start overtime and Orton led them down the field for the game-winning 41-yard field goal by Prater; 20-17 Broncos win. Interestingly, temperature at kickoff was 30 degrees on Oct. 11. A far cry from the temperatures the 2015 Broncos have enjoyed.

Finally, the Week six game was in San Diego against the Chargers. It was a classic back-and-forth battle between the two AFC West rivals and the Bolts led 20-17 at halftime. They pushed that lead to 23-17 just after the break, but then Scheffler caught a 19-yard TD from Orton and Denver was ahead 24-23 late in the third quarter. Prater added on a 29-yard field goal and then the Broncos finished off the 34-23 win with an Orton to Stokley touchdown.

Here’s where the parallels to this season start.

Both teams played and beat the Raiders and Browns in their first six games. And each team needed an overtime to decide a contest. Also, the Broncos bye in 2009 was Week seven, where we currently are now in 2015.

Talk about back to the future!

After the bye, the 2009 Broncos lost four straight games and ended up finishing 8-8 on the season. They also lost their last four games of the year and missed the playoffs. It was the only time in franchise history Denver started 6-0 and didn’t make a Super Bowl; the current team has to decide their own fate. And, it was the 50th anniversary of the team.

Following this current bye week, the Broncos face the also 6-0 Green Bay Packers in Denver, a night Pat Bowlen will be inducted into the Ring of Fame. Denver also has to face Indianapolis, New England (5-0), San Diego (twice) and Pittsburgh in the second half of their season. The road to the playoffs won’t be easy, but there’s no way this team finishes 8-8.

This season, the leadership of Gary Kubiak is far superior to McD. We saw Kubiak take over the play-calling late in the Broncos victory over the Browns last week, and he’s had them better prepared all year, starting by resting veterans in training camp. Beyond that, even with his on-field struggles, Peyton Manning is a wonderful leader and this year’s defense is the best in the NFL.

Overall, 2015 is much more talented in every aspect and the leadership structure, starting from the top with John Elway, has the 2015 Broncos ready to compete for a Super Bowl.

12-4 sounds just about right for the regular season. 3-0 in the postseason? We’ll have to wait and see.