Panthers QB Cam Newton
RE: Important to win going into playoffs?
“It was extremely big for us to get back on track. To get the positive energy flowing again – coming off an unexpected loss, we can’t let that happen any more. With that all behind us it’s irrelevant about our record now going into the playoffs. We’ve got to be focused, honed in and have to be fast starters.”
RE: Devin Funchess’ development
“His confidence has been shooting through the roof and this is just an appetizer of things to come. He’s a person that wants to get better. He knows he’s capable of being a top tier player in this league and the expectation has been set since day one. With Benji (Kelvin Benjamin) going down, he has still been trying to learn on the fly and in Week 17 it’s fun to watch and see him grow.”
RE: Were you surprised that you were still in during the fourth quarter?
“It doesn’t matter.”
RE: You’ve already reached a couple of Steve Young’s records. Did you try to emulate him growing up?
“Absolutely. I used to watch Steve Young, the games we did see with him playing in San Francisco. Him, Garrison Hearst, Terrell Owens and those guys – Steve was always a guy I idolized. I got an opportunity to meet him a couple of times and for me to be in the same talks with him – it’s just a blessing. You just hope watching, you know I couldn’t throw left handed, but I tried to mimic his style as much as possible. With him throwing left handed and (Michael) Vick throwing left handed I didn’t think I was ambidextrous so I’ll keep that left-handedness to him.”
RE: MVP chants?
“It’s something that’s very individualistic and for me to dwell on that would be selfish of me. I don’t think a lot of guys get a lot of credit. Guys like CAP stepping up today. Greg Olsen creating big matchups for the defense. I believe multiple times I was looking at the defense seeing three people covering him making my life just extremely easy. Getting guys like Fun and Jericho freed up. There are a lot of guys that have selfless approaches that make me glorified to a degree. I don’t want to dwell on that right now. It’s for the birds. My focus right now is to find ways to get prepared to get better with this bye week and find out who we play in the coming weeks.”