Sean Payton’s Postgame Smoking Scare Takes An Awkward Turn After Denver Broncos Reporter Reveals What He Was Holding

Sean Payton thought a reporter was smoking. It was a pencil© Image via: X/@NFL_DovKleiman

Sean Payton has sat through countless postgame press conferences, but Sunday brought a surprise. Moments after the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 26-21, the head coach stopped mid-session and asked a reporter to stop smoking. The reporter had no cigarette. He had a pencil in his mouth. Payton noticed within seconds, apologized on the spot, and laughed at himself. The win lifted Denver to 7-2 and stretched an NFL record, since the Broncos have now won 16 straight games decided by one score. Here is what he said.

What Sean Payton Said After Mixing Up the Pencil

"Could we not smoke in here? Please?" Payton said, before realizing he'd made a mistake. "Oh, you're not smoking. You got a pencil. I'm sorry. I thought you were smoking. I owe you," he added, laughing.

Then he gave his reason. "I had a flashback, thinking, who's smoking a cigarette? All right. I'm sorry."

The reaction makes sense once you know his history. Payton lost his mother, Jean Jeanne Payton, to lung cancer. A habit most people ignore clearly lands differently for him.

Sean Payton asked a reporter to stop smoking a cigarette during the press conference ...it was a pencil https://t.co/CcsvpHAd4S

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) November 8, 2026

He also has a record of owning small slips. In October, a reporter told him he had come across as rude in an earlier exchange. Payton did not get defensive. "I did not mean it. Yes, I did not mean that. No, I was just freaking tired and cranky."

Denver Broncos Enter the Bye Week On A Five-Game Winning Streak

The Broncos earned this break the hard way. They trailed in the fourth quarter against Carolina and rallied again, which is becoming their signature.

Last season, Denver went 14-3, won the AFC West, and took the top seed in the AFC. This year looked shakier early on. Then Payton took over play-calling from Davis Webb, and the Broncos have won five straight.

Payton plans to rest his healthy players during the bye and keep them away from the building. He pulled the idea from a conversation with Andy Reid.

"I told you guys this. I went two or three years practicing on Wednesdays and Thursdays and then we were okay. I called Andy one year in Philly, he was 9-0 after the bye and I was waiting for something. He just said, 'I get [the players] out of here and I see them next Monday.' Ever since we've done that, we've been pretty good after the bye as well."

Players receiving treatment will keep working with the medical staff. Preparation for the Las Vegas Raiders starts after that. "They'll rest. The guys getting treatment [will continue]. And then at some point, we'll get a jump start on Vegas."

Denver's next game is against the Raiders, with Payton's lineup rested and the play-calling in his hands.