Sean Payton confronted by Panthers player over late play call

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn was not happy Sunday about a late play call made by Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.

The Broncos held a commanding 28-7 lead over the Panthers with just over 10 minutes to play at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo.

Facing 4th-and-8 at the Panthers’ 42, the Broncos lined up for a 60-yard field goal. But it all turned out to be a ruse as punter Riley Dixon lofted a pass to tight end Lucas Krull for a 3-yard gain. Denver’s trick play resulted in a turnover on downs.

Even though the Panthers were able to snuff out the Broncos’ fake field goal play, Horn still felt that it was disrespectful. Horn confronted Payton after the game and called him out for “trying to run up the score” in what ended up as a 28-14 Broncos win.

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 the exchange after the game. The Broncos coach said that he “didn’t know what the exchange was” but added that he used to coach Jaycee Horn’s father Joe Horn. Payton then called Jaycee a “good player” before leaving the podium.

The Panthers took an early 7-0 lead to start the game but were outscored 21-0 in the second quarter and never recovered.

Payton is no stranger to getting heated with players. The Super Bowl-winning coach went viral earlier this month for his fiery sideline exchange with Broncos rookie Bo Nix.