Broncos' Sean Payton Tells Panthers to Be 'Better' amid Criticism of Running Up Score

A number of players on the Carolina Panthers weren't happy that the Denver Broncos appeared to be trying to run up the score at the end of Sunday's 28-14 win for the Broncos.

Jaycee Horn appeared to send a message toward Denver head coach Sean Payton on the field after the game, while Sam Franklin said he felt Denver was trying to "embarrass" the Panthers by running trick plays while winning big:

Payton, unsurprisingly, remained defiant.

"We're trying to finish the game the right way," he told reporters. We're not trying to run up."

As for Carolina's frustrations, Payton added: "Play better."

A few plays in particular stood out. One was a fake field goal. Another was the decision to call a wide receiver pass on fourth down while already leading by 21 points in the fourth quarter.

For Payton, those types of decisions are likely about setting a new culture in Denver.

"I want them to take on winning personality, (knowing) what wins in our league," he told reporters on Monday. "I say this all the time, confidence is born from demonstrated ability. Do I feel like we are a more confident team in October than we were when the season started? I do."

The outside perspective, however, was that it was an interesting decision to call those particular plays with the game in hand.

"It wasn't 50, 60, 70," Payton said of the lead while defending against the allegations of running up the score. "... I just looked at us as trying to close out a football game."

Either way, the Broncos are now surprisingly 5-3 on the season, though none of the wins have come against teams who currently have winning records. That's about to change, with matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons in the next three weeks.

It's hard to imagine the Broncos being in a position to run up the score against any of those opponents.