Sean Payton says Broncos trying to ‘finish,’ not run up score

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton defended his team’s efforts and his own playcalling Monday and denied he was trying to run up the score in Sunday’s 28-14 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos were ahead 28-7 in the fourth quarter when they attempted a fake field goal — on what would have been a 60-yard attempt by Wil Lutz. Later in the quarter, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton completed a fourth-down pass to fullback Michael Burton to keep a drive going.

Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn approached Payton on the field after the game for a brief, heated exchange, and he could be seen on video telling Payton that the Broncos were trying to “run up the score.”

Horn on Monday said the fourth-quarter trick plays were “disrespectful.”

“It wasn’t necessarily directed at him,” Horn said about yelling toward the Denver sideline while standing near Payton. “I just felt like personally … I ain’t gonna speak for nobody else — they had a fake field goal and a double screen pass in the fourth quarter on fourth down — and they had every right to do that.

“But I’m allowed to have my opinion on that, too. I felt it was disrespectful. So after the game, I was going back and forth with the players and Coach Payton kind of just got in the middle of it. But it was no banter back and forth between us.”

Panthers coach Dave Canales said the fake field goal attempt “was their decision to make” as the Broncos tried to “clock out the game.”

Other Carolina players publicly expressed similar frustration with the playcalls as well.

“I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,” Payton said Monday as he was being asked about the Panthers’ reactions. “Listen, I said it [Sunday] night; we’re trying to finish the game the right way. We’re not trying to run up the score on anyone. It’s the National Football League. I’ve been in games with a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost, so we’re trying to finish. … Play better.”

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, punter Riley Dixon, who is Denver’s holder on extra point and field goal attempts, threw a pass on a fake 60-yard field goal attempt to tight end Lucas Krull for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-8.

Lutz’s career-long field goal was a 60-yarder in 2022.

With 4:29 remaining, on a fourth-and-2 at Carolina’s 43-yard line, Sutton threw a pass to Burton that ended up being a 28-yard completion to keep the drive going. Three plays later, Sutton fumbled on the Panthers’ 1-yard line, ending the drive.

Payton said Monday that the playcalls were part of his attempts to get the Broncos, who have not been to the playoffs since their Super Bowl 50 win, to close out games effectively.

“I want them to take on a winning personality,” Payton said. “I want them to understand what wins games in our league. I say this all the time: ‘Confidence is born only from demonstrated ability.’ Now, do I feel like we’re a more confident team today in October than we were when we started the season? Absolutely.

“… That has nothing to do with the earlier question [of] were we trying to score. Has nothing to do with that. … We’re trying to win a football game. We’re trying to extend a drive. I’m throwing the ball to my fullback — Burton — all right, not necessarily expecting a touchdown. We’re trying to close a game out. It wasn’t 50, 60 or 70 [points]. I didn’t look at that at all; I looked at it as trying to win a football game and trying to learn to close out a game.”

Denver (5-3) has its best record after eight games since it was 6-2 in 2016.

Payton has routinely pointed any issues in losses in the Broncos’ direction. After a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins last season — the most points surrendered in a game in franchise history — Payton called it “embarrassing” and “not acceptable.” He deflected any questions about the Dolphins’ efforts that day, saying that “we have to watch that tape” and that it “will be tough for a lot of players, tough for us as coaches.”

ESPN’s David Newton contributed to this report.