Oct 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) reacts as he walks off the field after a victory against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

As a young, up-and-coming team, the Denver Broncos needed a statement win to announce their arrival to the rest of the NFL.

The Broncos got just that as second-year quarterback Bo Nix led a stunning comeback victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Denver got the win by scoring 15 points in a roughly five-minute span in the fourth quarter that was punctuated by a gutsy two-point conversion to receiver Troy Franklin. These kinds of wins, for all intents and purposes, are the kinds of victories that can galvanize magical seasons.

While it's still too early to say what the Broncos' win over the Eagles will mean for their entire 2025 campaign, it's apparent that Denver's Sunday success meant a lot to the players and coaches. How do I know this?

The Broncos' locker room was filled with smoke while head coach Sean Payton delivered his postgame speech, as captured by CBS. Which begs the question: Uh, why was it so smoky exactly?

We don't need to jump to the craziest conclusions. Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer would later confirm that the smoke was from a machine Denver apparently uses after wins:

Something tells me that this won't nearly be the last we see of the Broncos' smoke machine this season.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why was Broncos' locker room so smoky after win over Eagles?

Reporting by Robert Zeglinski, For The Win / For The Win

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