Following the Denver Broncos' 28-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8, Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn confronted Broncos head coach Sean Payton on the field and accused him of trying to run up the score on the Panthers, who fell to 1-7 after the loss. Horn's displeasure stemmed from Payton's play-calling in the fourth quarter, at which point the game was already well in Denver's control and well out of reach for Carolina.
Despite being up 28-7 by the fourth quarter, the Broncos ran two trick plays, the first being an unsuccessful fake field goal that saw Denver pass to tight end Lucas Krull but fail to reach the line to gain. Then, the Broncos ran a double pass on fourth-and-2, with quarterback Bo Nix throwing a short pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton before Sutton threw down the field to Michael Burton for a first down.
Horn, the Panthers' star corner, was displeased and let Payton know it, directly accusing him of "trying to run the score up" in video captured by 9News.
Payton, the longtime coach of the New Orleans Saints prior to joining the Broncos, had been a longtime Panthers villain as the two teams waged a fierce rivalry against each other for NFC South supremacy in the 2010s. Interestingly, Horn is the son of former Pro Bowl wide receiver and Saints Hall of Famer Joe Horn, who Payton coached in his first season in New Orleans in 2006.
Having a day to hear the backlash, Payton had a subtle message on the accusations. Payton wants his team to finish games, with having a backhanded compliment to the Panthers.
"I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know," Payton said Monday, via ESPN. "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."
Payton responded first after the game Sunday, which was a different tune.
"I coached his father, and so I was yelling back at him," Payton told reporters of Horn. "I don't know what the exchange was, but his father I enjoyed coaching. He was frustrated, I think he was yelling at one of our other players. I like him. I think he's a good player."
Horn was not available to reporters after the game, but he was not alone in feeling like Payton and Denver were trying to rub Carolina's noses in it.
"We're all competitors at the end of the day. We just felt like it was something that could've been avoided," Panthers safety Sam Franklin told reporters. "You shouldn't have to run the score up even though you're already winning. It's five minutes left, you guys are doing trick plays still trying to score, basically just trying to embarrass us."
If the Broncos truly did not respect the woebegone Panthers, their contempt was poorly hidden in both their play-calling and in Payton's post-game remarks, in which he gave an honest assessment of Carolina's performance while evaluating the way his defense had played on their way to improving to 5-3.
"I said this, it's not a good offense we played. It's just the truth," Payton said. "So we expected that, and we're going to see a lot better teams."