GOOD NEWS
Cam Newton has not thrown an interception in the first two weeks of the regular season for the first time in his four-year career. He currently has the 8th-best passer rating (99.4) of NFL starting quarterbacks, one spot behind Andrew Luck and one spot ahead of Drew Brees. He’s completed 46 of his 69 passes for 531 yards and two touchdowns.
“He was 24-for-35, 250 yards, one touchdown and a quarterback rating of 98.5. If you tell me that’s what he’s going to average that throughout the year, I’d take that every day of the week.” – Ron Rivera on Monday, after the Panthers 37-19 loss to the Steelers
BAD NEWS
Despite missing a game, Newton has been sacked seven times, the 6th-highest total in the league. He’s averaging 3 carries for 13 rushing yards per game. Before he had offseason ankle surgery, followed by cracked ribs in the preseason, Newton averaged 7.58 carries for 42.3 yards per game through 48 games.
“We’re going to keep watching and monitoring him and keep working to where we can work him into more of the running game, and pick and choose our spots. It’s one of the best things he does. He’s really good at it. Just because he’s a little bit beat-up doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to eliminate him running the football. But we also have to be smart about it.” — offensive coordinator Mike Shula, when asked if Newton’s injuries were the reason for his steep drop in rushing attempts