Sean Payton not in a great mood after Broncos blast the Panthers

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton was not in a great mood after his team’s 28-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Denver was up 28-7 when Courtland Sutton fumbled what could’ve been a late touchdown on the one-yard line. Instead of a 35-7 blowout, the Panthers marched down and scored a true garbage time TD in the final seconds.

The score looked a lot closer than the game actually was, but Payton didn’t seem to be smiling much in his postgame press conference.

“There’s a handful of things when you look at the tape, that I’m sure we’ll see tomorrow. That we’re going to have to clean up and correct,” Payton said. “We can’t keep turning the ball over, that’s frustrating. And I didn’t like how it finished.”

The other wide receiver fumble came out of the hands of Lil’Jordan Humphrey early in the first quarter. Carolina turned that into points and actually had an early 7-0 lead on the Broncos.

“We’re still not playing our best football. But again, like I said at the onset, I’m pleased we got the win,” Payton said. “Two wide receiver fumbles, it just is what it is, it bothers you.”

Payton knows Denver will have to clean up some of the mistakes as they face better opponents. And with a two-game road trip against the Ravens and Chiefs looming, that’ll happen quickly.

Reporters could tell Payton was not real thrilled, and one even asked him if he’ll sleep alright tonight. That turned into Payton admitting the Panthers aren’t very good.

“I’ll sleep fine. Look, we have a big game this week against a much better team. Alright, against a much better team,” Payton said.

Payton also appeared to get into some sort of verbal spat with Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn in the final seconds of the game and postgame. That could’ve contributed to his surly demeanor.

Sean Payton was confronted on the field postgame by Carolina's Jaycee Horn, who said he was "trying to run the score up."#9sports #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/PZMvHZk2dh

— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) October 27, 2024

Payton was asked about it with the final question of the press conference and said he enjoyed coaching Horn’s father, wide receiver Joe Horn in New Orleans, and that Jaycee is a good player.

Regardless, when you win by two touchdowns in the NFL, that should make a head coach happy. But Sean Payton is instead choosing to focus on what the Broncos need to clean up. And that makes him a darn good football coach, currently leading Denver to a 5-3 record.

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