Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule said last week he would start Cam Newton at quarterback on Sunday, but he planned to play P.J. Walker at QB, too, against the Washington Football Team.
After all, even though Newton had produced touchdowns the first two times he touched the ball in the 2021 season last week, the former Auburn All-American signed with the Panthers only on Nov. 11 and took just nine snaps in Carolina’s 34-10 upset of the Arizona Cardinals, the team with the NFL’s best record.
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However, Newton went all the way under center in his return to Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. But while Newton gave Carolina first-half leads with a touchdown pass and a scoring run and tied the game with a fourth-quarter TD throw, Washington spoiled the occasion with two field goals in the final five minutes for a 27-21 victory.
“We planned on playing P.J. coming in,” Rhule said, “but it seemed like Cam was in control. It seemed like he was moving the football. I think the coaches just decided, ‘Hey, he’s hot.’ … We thought Cam was playing well, so we kept him in there.”
Carolina’s quarterback immediately upon joining the team as the first player picked in the 2011 NFL Draft, Newton played only two games in the 2019 season because of a foot injury, and the Panthers released him last year.
After spending 2020 with the New England Patriots and 10 weeks this season as a free agent, Newton returned to Carolina when an injury sidelined Panthers QB Sam Darnold.
“I feel like my chest was about to explode a couple of times,” Newton said about his welcome back to Bank of America Stadium by a capacity crowd. “But all in all, it was warming, and I just appreciate the fans for coming out and showing their support, man. These last couple of days have just been overwhelming, and my prayer was pretty much that I hope I can just keep it in the road, man. But I wanted to enjoy the moment today. It didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to or we wanted it to, but yet we can learn from it.”
Newton completed 21-of-27 passes for 189 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran for 46 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries against Washington.
The game was Newton’s 44th with at least one touchdown pass and one touchdown run – 13 more than any other player in NFL history.
In his first game in Charlotte since Sept. 12, 2019, Newton guided Carolina on its first possession on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with his 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver D.J. Moore with 9:32 left in the first quarter.
With the score tied 7-7, Newton ran 24 yards a touchdown with 5:52 left in the second half. Newton extended his NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback to 72.
After the touchdown run, Newton ran to midfield, placed the football on the Panthers logo and did his Superman celebration.
“Today was a special day for me for more reasons than one,” Newton said. “Today was my resurrection day. I’m not sure if a lot of people know Nov. 21 is a very special day for me. I took a big ‘L’ in my life, but I feel like it was a big scar that ended up being my biggest star. I was incarcerated that day when I was in the University of Florida, and this day is always significant in where I came from.
“I was just going to enjoy the moment – still am going to enjoy the moment. I think my life could be who knows where right now. … God had favor over my life, and that’s the big picture.”
On Carolina’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Newton accounted for all the yards (except a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty) on a game-tying touchdown drive with three carries for 19 yards and 4-for-4 passing for 57 yards, including a 27-yard scoring toss to running back Christian McCaffrey with 10:44 to play.
But Carolina’s next two series ended on fourth-and-3 snaps. On the first, Newton’s completion to McCaffrey came up inches short of the needed yardage. On the second, Newton got sacked.
“I thought Cam was excellent,” Rhule said. “I think he managed everything. There was maybe one communication error in the first half, but he got through the progressions. The (touchdown) throw he made to Christian was elite, I thought. For where we are, being a week into it, I thought he did a nice job.”
Newton was among the 12 former Auburn players who got on the field on the 11th Sunday of the NFL’s 102nd season.
Three other former Auburn players were involved in the Washington-Carolina game:
· Derrick Brown started at defensive tackle for Carolina. Brown made two tackles.
· Panthers guard Mike Horton is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Washington defensive tackle Gabe Wright is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
In the other Sunday games:
Indianapolis Colts 41, Buffalo Bills 15
· Braden Smith started at right offensive tackle for the Colts. Buffalo entered the game as the No. 1 defense in the NFL, but Indianapolis gashed the Bills for 264 rushing yards and posted the highest point total of 2021 against them.
Baltimore Ravens 16, Chicago Bears 13
· Angelo Blackson started at defensive tackle for the Bears. Blackson made three tackles.
· Josh Bynes started at middle linebacker for the Ravens.
Cleveland Browns 13, Detroit Lions 10
· Anthony Schwartz was designated as a game-day inactive. Schwartz did not practice last week because of a concussion.
San Francisco 49ers 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
· Forty-Niners defensive end Dee Ford (St. Clair County) is on injured reserve.
· Jaguars safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made four tackles on defense and one on special teams.
· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) made four tackles.
Miami Dolphins 24, New York Jets 17
· Dolphins defensive back Javaris Davis is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Jets defensive end Carl Lawson is on injured reserve.
· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood is on injured reserve.
Philadelphia Eagles 40, New Orleans Saints 29
· Saints defensive tackle Montravius Adams is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Jack Driscoll started at right guard for the Eagles. New Orleans entered the game as the No. 1 rushing defense in the NFL, but Philadelphia ran for 242 yards on Sunday.
· Eagles punter Arryn Siposs had a 44.2-yard average, with a 38.4-yard net, on five punts. Siposs had a 44-yard punt that was returned 8 yards to the New Orleans 34-yard line, a 40-yarder that was muffed and recovered by the Saints at the New Orleans 36, a 53-yarder that went out of bounds at the New Orleans 10, a 41-yarder that was returned 14 yards to the Philadelphia 39 and a 43-yarder that was returned 7 yards to the Philadelphia 49.
Cincinnati Bengals 32, Las Vegas Raiders 13
· Peyton Barber started at running back for the Raiders. Barber had a 3-yard run.
· Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson made all his kicks – field goals of 26 and 47 yards and one extra point.
· C.J. Uzomah started at tight end for the Bengals. Uzomah caught two passes for 9 yards.
Kansas City Chiefs 19, Dallas Cowboys 9
· Prince Tega Wanogho (Edgewood Academy) dressed for the game but did not play.
Week 11 kicked off with the New England Patriots beating the Atlanta Falcons 25-0 on Thursday night.
Week 10 concludes with the New York Giants-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at 7:15 p.m. CDT Monday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. ESPN and ESPN 2 will televise the game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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