Sean Payton confronted by Carolina Panthers' Jaycee Horn over 'trying to run the score up'

Maybe it was Jaycee Horn who put Sean Payton in such a foul mood despite his team’s two touchdown victory.

An angry Horn approached Payton during the postgame handshake event and accused the Broncos’ head coach of “trying to run the score up.” Other Carolina Panther players made similar comments in the visiting, and losing, locker room.

“I coached his father,’’ Payton said, referring to Joe Horn. “So I was yelling back at him. 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, he’s a good player.”

The issue was two trick plays the Broncos ran in the fourth quarter while up 28-7. The first was a fake, 60-yard field goal with about 10 minutes remaining and the ball at the Carolina 42 yard line. Maybe having Riley Dixon drop one of his punts inside the 10 would have been the expected call. But the field position dictated trying to keep the ball and run more clock.

The second was a double pass with about 5 minutes remaining. Again, it was 28-7 and again it was fourth down and was at the same spot, give or take, at the Carolina 43. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw a lateral pass left to receiver Courtland Sutton who then threw across the field to wide-open fullback Michael Burton for a 28-yard gain.

OK, so that was a surprise. But on the fourth-and-2 situation, would it have been cleared by the unwritten sportsmanlike rules if Payton tried to run for the first down? Absolutely.

As for running up the score, consider this: Nix was 21 of 27 for 220 yards and two touchdowns in first half. He was only 7 of 10 for 64 yards with a touchdown in the second half.

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