Sean Payton on Panthers saying he tried to run up score: It’s the NFL, play better

With the Broncos ahead by 21 points in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Panthers, Broncos head coach Sean Payton called a fake field goal and had wide receiver Courtland Sutton throw a pass to fullback Michael Burton to convert another fourth down.

Those play calls rankled some members of the Panthers and their cornerback Jaycee Horn was caught on camera saying the Broncos were trying to run up the score after Denver’s 28-14 win was in the books. Payton shrugged off a question about that on Sunday night, but had more to say on Monday when the topic came up at his press conference.

Payton said he “looked at it as trying to win a football game and trying to learn to close out a game” and suggested that the Panthers “play better” if they’d like to stop the Broncos from doing that.

“I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,” Payton said, via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. “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.”

Payton’s dismissive comments about the quality of the Panthers offense suggest there wasn’t much chance that the Broncos were going to blow their lead, but Payton still saw value in his team pushing as hard as possible for as long as possible against Carolina.