Black and Blue Review
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In Carolina’s Week 9 loss to the Saints, Newton set career lows in completions (10), completion percentage (35.7) and passer rating (39.4). During Sunday’s rematch, he was 21-of-33 for 226 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had a season-best 114.0 passer rating.
“The eye-popping thing is the efficiency,” Newton said when asked what he did differently in his two games against the Saints. “There were no forced passes, just taking what the defense gives me, and that’s what I’m coached to do each and every week.”
After nearly every loss the last couple months, Newton pledged to play better. It took seven games, but he finally backed up that promise, and he did it in style.
It was his fourth career game with at least 200 passing yards, multiple touchdown passes, 80+ rushing yards and a touchdown run. His four such games are the most in NFL history. Only two other players have accomplished the feat multiple times: Michael Vick (2) and Russell Wilson (2).
“It’s not about telling; it’s about proving in this league,” Newton said. “Production is the number one source of criticism. When you don’t produce, that’s when people analyze and critique things that you’re not doing. But when you do, it makes everyone’s life easier.”
It was just the second time this season the line didn’t give up a sack. That also happened in Week 6, but the Bengals did have four quarterback hits that day.
The line also opened up plenty of room for a ground game that racked up 271 yards, the third-most in team history. The Panthers have gained 449 rushing yards over their last two games, a stark improvement for a key part of the offense that had sputtered nearly the entire season.
So what’s changed?
“If there is anything, I think the play of our inside guys. Our center and our two guards have been really physical at the point of attack,” coach Ron Rivera answered. “Getting Mike Tolbert back, and being able to have a true fullback, I think helps. And Mike Remmers coming in and solidifying the right side as of now for us. And then Byron Bell has been playing solid.”
“It’s taken a while, unfortunately, because of the mixing and matching, but I think they’re giving us an opportunity.”
In their first 12 games, they scored just 30 points in the opening quarter. During their six-game losing streak, they had one first-quarter touchdown (Philadelphia). Only once this season had they scored a touchdown on their opening drive (Cincinnati).
But after they won the coin toss Sunday, Rivera had the Panthers receive the opening kickoff. What followed was perhaps their most-impressive drive of the season: seven plays, 80 yards, touchdown.
Newton had a hand in all 80 yards, rushing for 24 yards and connecting on all five of his passes, including a nine-yard touchdown to receiver Kelvin Benjamin.
“I thought that was the biggest difference,” Benjamin said. “When you look at our season so far, we’ve moved the ball well but then all we end up with are field goals. So I think, today, that play was the kind of momentum we needed to get us going on both sides of the ball.”
On the Saints’ second play from scrimmage, running back Mark Ingram caught a pass in the flat, and cornerback Josh Norman pounced.
“I wanted to be outside leverage on him and force him back in to my sharks. When I did that I knew I wanted to hold on, and my hand got in there a little bit and hit the ball, and it came out, and I was ecstatic,” Norman explained. “That was a play that I felt we needed to give the ball back to the offense. And once they got going, shoot, we just settled in and kept playing ball.”
The offense managed just a field goal after Norman’s takeaway, but on the Saints’ next play, another rookie made his mark.
Bené Benwikere, who was making his first start at outside cornerback, lunged ahead of receiver Joseph Morgan to pick off a deep ball from quarterback Drew Brees.
“I was the new guy out there, so I knew they were going to come my way. Understanding that, I read the progression,” Benwikere said. “Luckily enough the ball was coming my way, saw it, and I was able to step in front of it.”
Six plays later, the Panthers turned Benwikere’s first-career interception into a touchdown, and the Saints never recovered from a quick 17-0 deficit.
Reaction to the first-quarter fight
Newton:
“There’s a lot of testosterone on that field at one time, so it’s bound to happen any time you get a whole bunch of alphas, so to speak. Somebody has to have that bend mentality, and I don’t think anybody had that bend mentality today.”
Brandon Williams, Panthers TE:
“I went to go help Cam out, then guys swinging at me, pushing at me, … I feel like I was looking out for my team, sticking up for my team, and I know they’d do the same for me, so I don’t regret that, … I felt like I was defending myself and just trying to help my guy out. Maybe a penalty, or something like that, but I wasn’t expecting to get thrown out.”
Rivera:
“I like to see it get heated, but not like that. I was a little disappointed in [Williams], felt he had to come in and protect his quarterback, and I appreciate that 100 percent, and I told him that. But you hate to see it, you really do hate to see it.”
Trai Turner, Panthers G:
“You can’t let nobody mess with your quarterback, no matter who it is, no matter when it is.”
Curtis Lofton, Saints LB:
“[Newton] was getting in our guys face and I don’t take kindly to that. I saw it as disrespect so I did what I thought I had to do.”
During the bye week, Rivera tried to get his team to look at the big picture, and there was talk of a five-game playoff. Considering how things turned out in Minnesota, that approach didn’t work.
So when asked if he would start looking at playoff possibilities again, Rivera wisely refused to go there.
“Just the Bucs. Just Tampa Bay. Just Tampa Bay,” Rivera said, referring to the Panthers’ next opponent.
Rivera’s quarterback appears back on point with the ‘one-game-at-a-time’ mentality as well.
Asked if he felt the Panthers could win their final three games, Newton quickly responded:
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s looking way too far for me. And I think that’s what got us in this position right now.”