ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton on Monday defended his team’s efforts and his own style of play, denying that he tried to run up the score in Sunday’s 28-14 win over the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos were leading 28-7 in the fourth quarter when they attempted a fake field goal – a 60-yard attempt by Wil Lutz. Later in the quarter, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton completed a fourth-down pass to fullback Michael Burton to keep the drive going.

Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn approached Payton on the field after the game for a brief, heated exchange, and a video showed him telling Payton that the Broncos were trying to “run up the score.”

Panthers coach Dave Canales said the fake field goal attempt was “their decision” as the Broncos tried to “end the game.”

Other Carolina players also publicly expressed frustration with the playcalls.

“I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,” Payton said Monday when asked about the Panthers’ reaction. “Listen, I said it (Sunday) night: We’re trying to finish the game the right way, 28 points up in the fourth quarter and losing, so we’re trying to finish…Play better.”

With just over 10 minutes left in the game, punter Riley Dixon, Denver’s defending champion in extra points and field goal attempts, threw a pass on a fake 60-yard field goal attempt to set up Lucas Krull for a 3-1. Yard gain on fourth-and-8.

Lutz’s total career field goal was a 60-yarder in 2022.

With 4:29 left, on a fourth-and-2 play at the Carolina 43-yard line, Sutton threw a pass to Burton that ended in a 28-yard completion to keep the drive going. Three plays later, Sutton fumbled at the Panthers’ 1-yard line, ending the drive.

Payton said Monday that the playcalls were part of his attempts to get the Broncos, who have not been to the playoffs since their Super Bowl 50 win, to finish games effectively.

“I want them to adopt a winning personality,” Payton said. “I want them to understand what wins games in our league. I always say this: ‘Confidence only comes from proven ability.’ Do I feel like we are a more confident team today in October than we were at the start of the season? Absolutely?

“… This has nothing to do with the previous question about whether we tried to score. Has nothing to do with it. … We’re trying to win a football game. We’re trying to extend a drive.” I throw the ball to my fullback – Burton – not necessarily expecting a touchdown. It wasn’t 50, 60 or 70 points. I don’t look at it at all; I saw it as trying to win a football game and learning to finish a game.

Denver (5-3) has its best record after eight games since 6-2 in 2016.

Payton has regularly pointed out loss issues heading toward the Broncos. After a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins last season – the most points dropped in a game in franchise history – Payton called it “embarrassing” and “unacceptable.” He dismissed any questions about the Dolphins’ performance that day, saying that “we need to watch that tape” and that “it’s going to be tough for a lot of players, tough for us as coaches.”