Broncos LB Dre Greenlaw was suspended one game without pay for "unsportsmanlike conduct" toward an official after Denver's historic 33-32 comeback win against the New York Giants
19:40 ET, 20 Oct 2025Updated 19:40 ET, 20 Oct 2025
Dre Greenlaw warms up on the field before Broncos-49ers
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Dre Greenlaw was suspended for his actions toward a referee
The Denver Broncos didn't even have time to celebrate one of the wildest comebacks in franchise history before the league office called. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was suspended without pay for one game for what the NFL described as "unsportsmanlike conduct toward a game official" after Sunday's 33-32 win over the New York Giants in his very first game this season and with the team.
The explosion happened after Wil Lutz's 39-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired at Empower Field, sealing a win which ended an astonishing NFL streak. As the Broncos crowd shook a stadium of 75,788 fans, Greenlaw chased down referee Brad Allen, shouting and gesturing as the officiating crew tried to leave the field.
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Meanwhile, Sean Payton aimed a not-so-subtle dig at Russell Wilson after the game.
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Cameras caught teammates pulling Greenlaw back toward the locker-room tunnel. The league later cited a violation of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(b), which prohibits "the use of abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures to opponents, teammates, officials, or representatives of the League."
The penalty results in Greenlaw losing one week's salary from his three-year, $31.5 million contract signed in March. He will also be ineligible to return until October 27, which is after Denver’s Week 8 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Under the collective-bargaining agreement, he has three business days to appeal. The suspension capped a night that had already rewritten the record book.
Denver's 33 fourth-quarter points were the most in NFL history by any team shut out through the first three quarters. Bo Nix became the first player ever to throw two touchdown passes and run for two more in a single fourth quarter, turning a 26-0 deficit into a finish straight out of a sports documentary.
Greenlaw had played 21 defensive snaps, recording six tackles (five assisted, one solo).
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His only direct involvement in a penalty came on the Giants' first possession, when a 15-yard completion to Daniel Bellinger was offset by a declined offside flag against linebacker Jonathon Cooper. The 28-year-old linebacker had missed the preseason and the first six regular-season games while rehabbing a thigh injury.
Denver signed him in March after five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he built a reputation as one of the league’s most efficient tacklers and a key voice in one of the NFL’s top defenses.
His best year came in 2022, when he posted 127 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one fumble-return touchdown across fifteen starts.
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Across his career, Greenlaw has logged 455 tackles, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, and six sacks, averaging more than eighty-five tackles per year since entering the league in 2019.
The suspension comes as the Broncos sit 5-2 and atop the AFC West with a top defense ranked in the league’s top five for points and yards allowed.
Coordinator Vance Joseph relies on physical, downhill linebacking to make up for an offense still adjusting behind Nix. With Greenlaw out, Justin Strnad is the only healthy player at the position while Garret Wallow remains on IR after the team's 13-11 victory over the New York Jets.