2009 NFL Season 

Eastern Conference 

 In the Atlantic Division in 2009, the Miami Dolphins and the Jacksonville Jaguars were in a tight race. Eventually the Dolphins would pull ahead, and finish the season at 10-6, with a division title. In second, the Jacksonville Jaguars, at 8-8, missed the post season, even though they started at 6-2. In third, the Baltimore Bombers posted a 7-9 record, the fourth place Washington Redskins would end up 6-10 and in last the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 5-11. With their division title, Miami won the right to host the Eastern Conference Final, skipping the first round. 

 In the North Division, the New York Giants-Bay State Patriots rivalry reached its apogee. In the regular season, the Giants won both games with the Patriots, winning 31-24 at home, and 34-13 in Foxboro. As such, even though both teams finished at 10-6, the Giants won the right to host the Eastern Conference Playoff, while the Bay State Patriots would win the right to travel to Giants Stadium for the playoff. In third place, the Philadelphia Eagles finished at 9-7, just behind the Giants and Patriots. The Pittsburgh Steelers,  the defending NFL champions, underperformed posting a 7-9 record, while in last place, the Cleveland Browns continued to be mired in failure, finishing at 3-13.

 In the 2009 Eastern Conference Playoff, the New York Giants hosted the Bay State Patriots. This would be their third meeting of the season, and the Giants were favorites going into the game. However, any football fan should tell you that you never count out Tom Brady. In the end, the spectators got a barn burner. All game, the Eli Manning-Tom Brady rivalry shined. Both quarterbacks did their best to beat their opponents having a 31-31 tie game at the two minute warning. The Patriots had the ball, and while Brady drove down the field, he was unable to score a touchdown, settling for a field goal. With just over a minute left to play, the Giants got the ball and engineered a drive of their own. With 27 seconds left in the game, and with the Giants without a time out, Eli Manning threw a pick in the red zone, that ended the game, and gave the Patriots their first victory against the Giants all year.  

In the 2009 Eastern Conference Final, the Miami Dolphins hosted the Bay State Patriots. Though it had cooled in recent years, thanks to the fact they no longer played in the same division, the Miami-Bay State rivalry had once been one of the premier rivalries in the game, going back to when both teams played in the Continental Football League. In the regular season, the Dolphins, led by Chad Henne, demolished the Patriots 36-10 in Foxboro. The Final would be a far better game. Though the Patriots took a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, the Dolphins stormed back, to make the score, 27-24. At the end, both teams would score field goals, and the Bay State Patriots would advance to the NFL Title for the first time since 2003.

 Western Conference 

In the Central Division, the narrative all year, was the return of Brett Favre to the NFL. Though he had retired following the Packers victory in the NFL Title in 2007, had had come out of retirement and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. His former team, the Green Bay Packers, were now led by the young and dynamic Aaron Rodgers. Both teams played out of their minds all season. In their regular season matchups, the Packers lost at home to Vikings, 23-21, while in Minnesota, Green Bay won 27-14. In third place, the Indianapolis Colts had a good season, posting a 10-6 record. In fourth place,the Chicago Bears finished at 5-11, while the Detroit Lions had a horrible season, going 0-16. With the winless season, it was the second time in two seasons that a team went winless, last year being the Cleveland Browns. It is also noteworthy to note, that the Lions went 1-31 in two seasons. With their division title, the Minnesota Vikings won the right to host the Western Conference Final, while the Packers would travel to Atlanta to play in the Western Conference Playoff.  

In the South Division, their was a close race between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints. Though there was only a difference of one game in the regular season standings, the Falcons finished at 11-5, where as the Saints finished at 10-6. With the division title, the Atlanta Falcons won the right to host the Western Conference Playoff. In third place and fourth place, the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Apollos both posted a 9-7 record, with the Apollos having their first season with a winning record. In last place, the Dallas Texans ended up at 5-11.

  In the Western Conference Playoff, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the Green Bay Packers. During the regular season, the two met in week three, when the Packers won at home, 30-9. In the playoff matchup, the Falcons scored on the first drive taking a 7-0 lead, and had a 9-0 lead early in the Second Quarter. However, the Packers would storm back, winning the Playoff, 16-9. With the victory, the Packers won the right to travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings.  In the Western Conference Final, the Minnesota Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers. Meeting for a third time, the Packers and Vikings had split their series in the regular season, and the game was touted as one of the best games of the year. At first the game was close, with the Vikings leading 7-3 at the end of the first half. However, the Packers would take advantage of two picks thrown by Favre, and would win the game, 20-7. With their victory, and the victory of the Bay State Patriots, the Green Bay Packers, as the third seed, would host the fellow third seed Patriots in the NFL Title.  

In the NFL Title, the Green Bay Packers hosted the Bay State Patriots. The two didn't meet in the regular season, and many expected a close and exciting game. The Packers, led by Aaron Rodgers, took an early 14 point lead, and soon left the Patriots in the dust. All game, the Packers defense harassed Tom Brady, recording five sacks against him. The only points the Patriots would get, was a field goal in garbage time, which made the score, 21-3.  

 2009 PCFL Season

 In first place in 2009, the Denver Broncos, at 10-2, finished in first place, and won the right to host the 2009 Pacific Bowl. In second place, just behind the Broncos, were the 8-4 San Diego Chargers, who though tied with the defending champion Arizona Cardinals, finished ahead on tiebreakers. With the 8-4 records, both would make the postseason. In fourth place, the San Francisco 49ers posted a lackluster 5-7 record, while the fifth place Oakland Raiders ended up at 4-8, while at 3-9 were the Seattle Seahawks and Saint Louis Rams, who both had poor seasons.  

 In the 2009 Playoff, the San Diego Chargers hosted the Arizona Cardinals. In the regular season, the two met in week 7 in San Diego, where a close game ended on a field goal to give the Cardinals the victory, 27-24. In week 15 in Arizona, San Diego blew them out of the water, winning 47-21. In the PCFL Playoff for 2009, the Chargers won the game 37-15, giving the Chargers, led by Quarterback Phillip Rivers, the right to travel to Denver to compete for a Pacific Bowl title. In the Pacific Bowl, the Denver Broncos hosted the San Diego Chargers. In week four, the Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver 33-14, while in week 12, the Chargers lost at home, 17-13. With their third matchup, the game was close all throughout, ending in tight victory, 30-24.

Last edited by Enigmajones (3/16/2022 6:06 pm)