Analysis: The Panthers asked Cam Newton to save them, then never gave him a chance
As the seconds ticked down to the Carolina Panthers’ 32-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, quarterback Cam Newton stood alone on the sideline near the 25-yard line with a black towel over his head and began to reflect.
Sunday may have been his final game at Bank of America Stadium where he played for 9 1/2 years over two stints.
“Football has been good to me,” Newton said after the game, when asked what he was thinking about. “I was able to walk away unscathed. I don’t want to sound like I’m retiring, but I’ve had some great memories.”
Newton signed a one-year deal with the Panthers on Nov. 11, returning to the team that drafted him in 2011, where he won 69 games as a starter, won the NFL MVP award and led his team to its second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
Before Newton signed, the Panthers had lost five of their past six games and were falling out of playoff contention.
Newton proclaimed in his initial press conference six weeks ago that he was here to bring the pride back to the Carolinas.
But here was Newton Sunday, 0-5 as a starter this season, frustrated that he hasn’t been able to help the Panthers win. And perhaps frustrated that he can’t do the things he once could.
“You put so much work into trying to find ways to win, and building relationships along the way, and when it doesn’t happen, like right now you feel empty,” Newton said. “You feel like, ‘Damn, are you good enough?’ ”
The Panthers (5-10) and the Buccaneers (11-4) are the polar opposites right now. The Bucs won the Super Bowl last year, and have, perhaps the league’s best quarterback in Tom Brady, who finished 18-of-30 passing for 232 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers, meanwhile, were officially eliminated from the playoffs Sunday and are still trying to figure out their quarterback situation.
“I’ll say this, the people in Tampa Bay were frustrated where they were two years ago,” Rhule said. “They are the defending champs and we are chasing that. We want to be that. I am not going to apologize that we are not there yet.”
Newton isn’t the sole reason the Panthers are losing, and he isn’t even the main reason.
The Panthers’ offensive line, which gave up seven sacks, stinks. The running game has been nonexistent since Christian McCaffrey got hurt. Rhule fired his offensive coordinator three games after Newton’s arrival. Newton came in having to learn a new playbook in the middle of the season.
And Rhule can’t decide who he wants the quarterback to be.
Rhule had Newton and quarterback Sam Darnold, who was playing in his first game since Week 9 when he injured his shoulder blade, rotate snaps against the Bucs. Newton played in the first and third quarter, while Darnold played in the second and fourth.
But the only thing this approach showed was why it doesn’t work. Darnold and Newton were never in a rhythm.
Darnold came in with 10:54 left in the second quarter to the sound of boos and threw a 63-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Shi Smith.
But after the pass, Rhule took him out in favor of Newton.
After gaining only 2 yards on the next two plays, Rhule went back to Darnold.
Darnold was then sacked. The Panthers were 0 for 2 inside the red zone.
Newton took responsibility for his struggles in the Panthers’ loss. He finished 7-of-13 for 61 yards, an interception and a 34.5 passer rating.
He also had 42 yards rushing.
Darnold wasn’t good either. He finished 15 of 32 for 190 yards and a 65.9 passer rating.
It’s understandable why Rhule played Darnold. He’ll be on the roster next year. He’s owed $18.9 million in 2022 after the Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, and Rhule wanted to see what Darnold, who was 4-5 as a starter, could do.
But rotating him in and out with Newton only complicated things and made things worse for his quarterbacks. If Rhule wanted to play Darnold, he should have played him the entire game.
“I think for us as quarterbacks, you’ve just got to go out there and do your job and execute and that’s really all we can focus on,” Darnold said.
Rhule admitted Sunday that playing two quarterbacks was not ideal, but said it’s the situation that they are in. Newton hasn’t played well, and neither has Darnold.
“Neither one of them should be happy about what is happening right now,” Rhule said. “Neither one of them. And I am sure they are not. When you sit down and you talk to Cam Newton and you sit down and you talk to Sam Darnold, especially when you talk to Cam Newton, he is a competitor and he just wants to be coached hard. And he wants to win. We have a lot to figure out just about who can do what.”
As for Newton, who will likely be searching for another team this offseason, his time in Carolina wasn’t how he predicted it to go. He planned to be in the playoffs. He planned to win.
But since joining the Panthers, that hasn’t happened.
Newton said it wasn’t the fault of the coaches. He said the players have to execute better, and he put much of the fault on himself.
“We, and I’m saying the whole Charlotte community, we deserve better,” Newton said. “Hell, I want better and if you don’t want that, if you don’t feel disgusted inside, then it is what it is.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Analysis: The Panthers asked Cam Newton to save them, then never gave him a chance."
