Sean Payton Addresses Riley Moss‘s League-Leading Pass Interference Penalties Before ‘Sunday Night Football’
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton addressed the high number of pass interference penalties drawn by cornerback Riley Moss ahead of the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football. Moss currently leads the NFL with seven pass interference calls through 11 games, significantly more than any other player in the league, who have four.
The issue has been acknowledged by Moss himself, who stated, “I can’t be in that position as much as I have been,” prior to the team’s bye week. Payton, during a conference call, attributed the penalties to a combination of factors, including technique and the defensive coverage needed when star cornerback Pat Surtain has been unavailable due to injury.
“With Riley, sometimes it’s technique, sometimes it’s the traffic opposite of a real good corner,” Payton explained. “Now Pat hasn’t been healthy [recently], but there are some things that I’m sure [Moss will] want to clean up. Then there are a few calls where we look at and it’s tough to try to clean up or correct something if you don’t agree with it.”
Though, Payton emphasized that Moss’s struggles with penalties are not isolated, noting the Broncos as a whole are struggling with discipline. Denver currently leads the NFL with 93 penalties conceded through 11 games, resulting in 883 penalty yards allowed – the most in the league.
“but the penalty thing is not just one player, though,” Payton said. ”The penalty thing is by far when you look at the totality of it, and you do your homework on it, and you look offensively and defensively, that’s something that we as a collective have to get better at.” Payton’s comments signal a team-wide focus on reducing penalties as the Broncos push for a playoff berth.
