It had been a tumultuous past couple of weeks for Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. In recent weeks, Macdonald admitted to collecting publicly shared clips from Broncos training camp, using his knowledge of the plays against Payton and Denver in 2024.
After he learned that Seattle had videos from Broncos practice, Payton accused Macdonald and Seattle of cheating, thinking they had planted a fan to record plays. The Seahawks explained that they merely collected videos that fans had shared on social media.
Macdonald issued an apology to Payton after his hot-mic account of Payton's cheating accusations was published earlier this season.
After the Broncos' 17-14 overtime victory over the Seahawks, Payton and Macdonald met at midfield for the usual coaches' handshake. It seemed like the two had gotten over the argument, spending several seconds shaking hands, exchanging words, and maybe even cracking the hint of a smile.
The two Super Bowl-winning coaches continue to have mutual respect for each other, despite their disagreements.
Respect between head coaches postgame 🤝#TNFonPrimepic.twitter.com/sVzhSbf7gs
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 16, 2026
Sean Payton and Mike Macdonald postgame. pic.twitter.com/2dQv1uUvWc
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) October 16, 2026
It was nowhere near as icy as the Green Bay Packers' Matt Lafleur and Chicago Bears' Ben Johnson's very quick handshake on Oct. 11.
This type of game leaves one wondering: will these two teams meet again? Time, and wins and losses, will dictate that outcome. For now, both teams are set to go on a well-deserved, 10-day break before playing their next games in Week 7.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Watch Sean Payton’s exchange with Mike Macdonald after Broncos beat Seahawks