CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Dave Canales didn't have any updates on his quarterback situation Monday but saw a number of things in Sunday's loss to the Broncos that needed to be cleaned up regardless of who was under center.

As it pertains to the injured Andy Dalton, Canales said they still wanted to wait a few days to determine whether he would be available, which would inform their decision-making on whether he'd return or Bryce Young would start again.

"These are really important days, the next few, really getting all the way out there to Wednesday to play some live snaps and to do that," Canales said. "So I'll give you guys more information about that, but we really have to look at Andy, where he's at, and in the next couple of days to make a sound decision."

Either way, Canales mentioned "the pre-snap operation" as one of the things he wanted to clean up and focus on this week. The Panthers were penalized twice for delay of game, and there was a timeout they had to take, which he said fell on the coaches not getting a substitution called in a timely manner.

"I think it just comes back to continuing to push the urgency and practice to make sure that we're up at the line of scrimmage, we have our play clock going the whole time," Canales said. "So just making sure that we're being really strict about that and getting our protections, getting the alignment, you know, coming out of the huddle. And, of course, this young group of receivers that we have just continuing to push the urgency of getting lined up. They took a step in improvement in that regard. But with Bryce being in there, that was something that we got to continue to just address and really just focus in on this week."

With so many changes — from quarterbacks in and out of the lineup, no Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen, to all the other challenges — Canales was keeping his eyes on the correctable errors.

"The timeout we took was a substitution confusion," he said. "So the staff, we're taking that one just in terms of the guys that we wanted to have out there. There were a couple of other ones where I got the call in, not in a great amount of time, but it was still within a reasonable amount of time.

"And then at that point, it's Bryce just taking it fluidly calling the formation, getting out there, getting the motions, the protections, all the things that come with, just playing the position. So those are the things that we're going to really hone in on this week."

Communication is a two-way street

As the Panthers coaches continue to polish their pre-snap communication, those on the field are working on their part as well. Once the play call comes in, the quarterback is relying it to a receiving corps that has seen new faces each week, and an offensive line that lost the starting center in Week 5. Brady Christensen, who replaced Austin Corbett as starter, knows the communication on the field needs to be addressed as much as that off the field.

"It's a work in progress, always. The communication is a huge part of the game each, each and given Sunday. So just getting that communication down and working on it," Christensen said. "And then up front, getting the right calls, getting the right—running to the line of scrimmage, making the quick calls, making the right points, doing all those things. It starts with everyone, and everyone needs to be better at that so we're not, you know, racing against the clock."

And just as teams work on their playbook during the week, the pre-snap communication has to be an area of focus as well. Typically, it comes with time, as chemistry is built. But sitting at 1-7, with nine games to play, Christensen pointed out: "Reps is the best way to get better, but at the same time, we ain't got a lot of time. I always say during the week, you know, communicate every aspect of it. What do you see in there? How are you feeling with this? Always just communicate.

"And then on Sunday, you know, in my opinion is you don't have to over communicate. You can keep it simple and do exactly what you need to do to be able to play fast and get all the right calls and play a sound assignment."

Jaycee Horn explains interaction with Payton

Football is an emotional sport, begetting emotional moments. Cornerback Jaycee Horn found himself in one towards the end of the Panthers 28-14 loss to the Broncos on Sunday. As Denver lined up in victory formation, cameras caught Horn jawing towards the Broncos sideline. Denver head coach Sean Payton was seen responding in kind. After the final kneel down, Payton jogged onto the field for the handshake, but instead of going directly to Dave Canales, he approached Horn, and the two exchanged a few additional words, before walking away.

The initial exchange, Horn explained on Monday, was not with Payton, but rather Broncos players.

"It was necessarily directed at him," Horn said. "Before they had kneeled the ball, I was going back and forth with their players on the sideline…and coach Payton just kind of got in the middle of it, but it was no, like it wasn't no banter back and forth between us for real."

It wasn't a secret what Horn was upset about.

"I just felt like personally, I'm not going to speak for anybody else, I think they had like a fake field goal and then like a double screen pass in the fourth quarter on fourth down."

With just over 10 minutes to go in the fourth-quarter and up 21 points, the Broncos elected to fake a 60-yard field goal. The defense sniffed it out, stopping Lucas Krull five yards short of the yard to gain, but the aggressiveness in a three-possession game was noted.

Then, with less than five minutes to go in the game, and at that time leading by 14 points, the Broncos elected to throw a double-pass on fourth-and-2, with Courtland Sutton completing a 28-yard pass. The Broncos marched into the red zone after the completion, before Trevin Wallace forced a fumble on Sutton, with Shy Tuttle recovering his second.

Both times, the defense was able to make a stand. But both times, the play-call from the Broncos sideline stuck out to Horn.

"They got the right to win, win in style however they want to win because that is the truth, it is up to us to stop them. And we did that at the end of the game, we forced a turnover. Trevin made a good play. So, yeah, they can win in whatever style they want," Horn noted.

"But, you know, I'm allowed to have my opinion on that too and I just, I felt it was disrespectful."