Panthers’ Jaycee Horn confronts Sean Payton over Broncos ‘trying to run up the score’ in blowout win

Following the Denver Broncos‘ 28-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8, Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn confronted Broncos coach Sean Payton on the field in post-game and accused him of trying to run up the score on the 1-7 Panthers. Horn’s displeasure stemmed from Payton’s playcalling 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 4th 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 becoming the coach of 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.

“I coached his father, and so I was yelling back at him,” Payton told reporters. “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 for comment 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,” safety Sam Franklin told reporters. “Like, 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.”