Boomer Esiason

Former Bengals and Jets QB, analyst

What is the biggest reason behind Cam Newton’s improvement?

“Jerry Richardson kept Ron Rivera, which was also probably the best decision Dave Gettleman made when he got the job. He didn’t fire the coach, he kept the coach and let the consistent message take hold. You can talk about Gettleman’s drafts and you can talk about all the free agency signings, but once that quarterback reaches that crescendo where Cam is, now everything is easy. Cam has developed into a top-notch quarterback who will ultimately, I believe, be the NFL MVP. I think it’s just a matter of maturity, time and consistency that’s worked well for him.”

The way you were talking earlier, it sounds like you think the Panthers are going to win Sunday?

“I do. I can’t give you the score right now because people pay me a lot of money to do that on Sunday. The problem is the past two weeks I’ve been wrong.”

Is it going to be close?

“I think that Peyton’s going to have enough to keep it close and I guess there’s a sympathetic part of me that says, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice it to have Peyton lead a final two-minute drill to get the final touchdown?’ That would be cementing a legacy. That would be the coolest thing. That would be like when Elway left.”