The Panthers gained 284 yards of offense against Denver, much of it on a 98-yard drive that closed the game.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — The Carolina Panthers scored twice in Sunday’s 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos.
One of those scoring plays on Carolina’s first drive. The second came during the team’s final practice. Denver led 28-7 for most of the second half and controlled most of the game.
Despite this, Broncos head coach Sean Payton wasn’t too happy with his team’s defensive performance against the 1-7 Panthers. He hannounces some fierce words for Carolina after the match.
“That’s not a good offense we played,” Payton said. “It’s just the truth… We’re going to see much better teams.”
The Broncos couldn’t score in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Payton continued to shoot for the scoreboard on offense even going up three scores in the fourth quarter. Denver turned the ball over on downs after faking a field goal and then came within a yard of a score before receiver Courtland Sutton fumbled.
Payton’s aggression in the final minutes was not well received by some Panthers players. Cornerback Jaycee Horn confronted Payton after the match for “trying to run up the score”. Safety Demani Richardson was also seen in the area saying something to Payton.
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Panthers fans know Payton all too well. He held an 18-13 record against Carolina during his 15 seasons as head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Although Payton wasn’t exuberant about his team’s 14-point win over the Panthers, Carolina head coach Dave Canales said he was proud of his team for the way it finished the match.
The Panthers gained 98 yards on their final drive to score a touchdown with a pass from quarterback Bryce Young to receiver Jalen Coker.
Young threw for 224 yards and threw two touchdowns with two interceptions. It was Young’s best statistical game of the season and one of the best games of his career thus far.
Young began replacing Andy Dalton, who was injured in a car accident earlier this week. Canales did not commit to changing starting quarterbacks after the game, but said the team would continue to evaluate Dalton’s recovery from a sprained thumb.
The Panthers moved the ball relatively well on a few drives against the Broncos, but nine straight drives without any points proved to be the team’s downfall. Carolina went 5 of 14 on third downs, compared to the Broncos’ 11 of 17 rate.
Carolina’s next game is against the Saints on Sunday, November 3.
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