DENVER — — Sean Payton didn’t like the way the Denver Broncos started or ended their 28-14 victory over the injury-plagued Carolina Panthers. However, there was plenty to enjoy in between.

Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, and Denver’s defense strangled Bryce Young for much of the afternoon, intercepting him twice and sacking him twice.

“Everyone on the field was playing: receivers, tight ends, running backs,” Nix said. “The ball was spread over many positions and I thought that was good. Difficult in defense when there are a lot of guys involved.’

In the best game yet of his rookie season, the Broncos quarterback threw for 284 yards. He found Nate Adkins from 3 yards and Adam Trautman from 19 yards in the second quarter as the Broncos (5-3) built a 21-7 halftime lead.

However, the Broncos wide receivers lost two fumbles, both of which led to Carolina touchdowns, which made it nine straight Panthers drives without a score.

“It’s not a good offense we played. It’s just the truth,” said Payton, who irritated some Panthers, most notably cornerback Jaycee Horn, with a fake field goal attempt and a wide receiver pass with a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. “So we expected that and we are going to see much better teams.”

Like Baltimore and Kansas City in the next two weeks.

Payton said the Broncos are “still not playing our best football,” and he told his team that in “bigger games than this, some of those mistakes are going to cost us a lot of money.”

The Panthers (1-7), who listed as many as 22 players on their injury report and lost two more players on Sunday, lost for the fifth straight time.

Young was 24 for 37 for 224 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I was definitely grateful, grateful for the opportunity,” Young said. “I was grateful to play, grateful to be there with the boys. Obviously things didn’t go the way we wanted. No matter what happened, I was just blessed to be on the field today.

Young wasn’t the only Carolina player off target: the Broncos made it 28-7 after a failed Panthers fake kick from their 24 in the third quarter. Safety Sam Franklin Jr. was wide open, but punter Johnny Hekker sent the attempt on fourth and sixth.

Four plays later, Nix weaponized a 9-yard TD pass sideways to running back Jaleel McLaughlin.

Patrick Surtain II, who allowed Carolina’s first driving touchdown, intercepted Young at the Denver 11 on the Panthers’ next drive.

Courtland Sutton, who exchanged jerseys with former teammate Josey Jewell after the game, caught eight passes from Nix for 100 yards. It was his first 100-yard game since Week 2 of the 2022 season against Houston.

However, he coughed up the ball at the 1 on his final reception, just before the two-minute warning, when Trevin Wallace fumbled the ball out and Shy Tuttle recovered his second fumble of the game.

Young was tremendous in the two-minute drill, driving Carolina 98 yards in 10 plays with the payoff being a 15-yard touchdown toss to Jalen Coker with 18 seconds left.

“I’m proud of the guys for the way we finished the fight,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said. “The boys continued to play hard the entire time.”

Young was benched after Week 2 and returned as the Panthers’ starting QB when Andy Dalton sprained his right thumb in a car accident on Tuesday. Dalton didn’t practice all week because he couldn’t hold the football properly, so rookie Jack Plummer served as Young’s backup on Sunday.

Canales wasn’t ready to name his starting QB for next week.

“We will review all information,” he said. “We will look at Andy’s health in the coming days and I will make that decision and have an answer for you in the coming days.”

Things started well for Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

After Tuttle recovered Lil’Jordan Humphrey’s fumble at midfield on the game’s opening drive, Young propelled the Panthers to a 7-0 lead on rookie Xavier Legette’s six-yard touchdown catch.

Not only was that Young’s first touchdown throw of the season, but it also marked the first opening drive TD of his career.

However, the Panthers managed just one first in the remainder of the half, and the Broncos began to dominate in all phases.

“I didn’t like how it ended,” Payton said. “But it was good to win.”

Tight final observations

The TDs for Akins and Trautman were the first by Broncos tight ends this season, and they came on what the NFL celebrates as “National Tight Ends Day.”

“It’s actually kind of crazy how it happened especially on this day,” Trautman said.

“I was talking to my brother last night and he said he dreamed of me getting a touchdown,” Adkins said.

Injuries

Panthers: Young, who fell to 2-17 in his career and 0-3 this season, was without starting wide receivers Diontae Johnson (rib) and Adam Thielen (hamstring). … TE Feleipe Franks suffered a concussion in punt coverage and OLB DJ Johnson sprained his right ankle.

Next

Panthers: Host the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.

Broncos: Visit the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday.

——

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL