Sean Payton Flagged for Unsportsmanlike Conduct After Colliding With Ref on Sideline

Karl Rasmussen | Nov 16, 2025

Broncos coach Sean Payton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a collision with down judge Derick Bowers. / Screenshot via CBS Sports on X

Sean Payton was a little bit too fixated with what was going on on the field during the Broncos’ clash against the Chiefs on Sunday, and he ended up getting run over by a referee as a result.

During the third quarter, Payton was standing on the sideline when down judge Derick Bowers ran straight into him. Both Payton and Bowers were knocked to the field. Bowers threw a flag, penalizing Payton for unsportsmanlike conduct in what was a bizarre scene.

Sean Payton was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty for this collision pic.twitter.com/xVupwHzmfA

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Payton was standing in the white stripe along the sideline, which is meant to be kept clear for officials. He drifted a bit too far from his sideline and ended up in the path of Bowers, who was running downfield while focused on the live play.

Per NFL rules, a collision with a referee in the white area along the sideline is an automatic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It’s because of that rule that Rams coach Sean McVay has someone on the sideline who is responsible for preventing him from stepping into the white area, by quite literally pulling him back. Payton certainly could’ve used that type of assistance on Sunday, and he ended up taking the brunt of what looked like quite a painful hit.

Payton’s isn’t the only unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for that type of inadvertent collision with a referee that we’ve seen this year. During a Cowboys preseason game, CeeDee Lamb collided with an official along the sideline and was hit with a penalty, despite not even being active in the game.

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