Quarterback Cam Newton didn’t practice for the first time with the Carolina Panthers this season until Nov. 12. But in his first start, the former Auburn All-American went all the way under center, completed 21-of-27 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and ran 10 times for 46 yards and a touchdown in a 27-21 loss to the Washington Football Team on Nov. 21.
That made it easy to forget how little work he’d had with Carolina’s offensive. But in the Panthers’ 33-10 defeat by the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Newton looked more like a player with seven practices’ worth of preparation.
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Newton completed 5-of-21 passes for 92 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and ran three times for 5 yards and one touchdown in Miami. His completion rate of 23.8 percent was the lowest for any player with at least 20 passes in an NFL game since Joey Harrington went 5-for-22 in a 16-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 12, 2004, when snow flurries and wind gusts to 35 mph affected play at Lambeau Field.
Newton completed a 64-yard pass and ran 1-yard for a touchdown on Carolina’s second possession. The Panthers’ next two possessions ended with interceptions.
“We lost footing early,” Newton said. “And we have to find ways to get back on track. That’s what it came down to. Nothing that they did was out of the ordinary. It wasn’t like we weren’t prepared. It just comes down to execution.”
Newton was replaced in the fourth quarter by P.J. Walker with Miami leading 30-10. Walker got sacked four times and threw an interception.
“I’m not making any changes or anything like that right now,” Carolina coach Matt Rhule said. “… We weren’t protecting the quarterback worthwhile at all. Didn’t seem fair to keep Cam in there getting hit. PJ, give him a chance to play, and at the same time Cam just hasn’t had a lot of experience in that (two-minute offense) part of the game that unfortunately we were in.”
The Panthers have a bye in Week 13 of the NFL’s 2021 season and don’t play again until they host the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 12.
“I would take this time to really dive into the whole offense,” Newton said. “I think today it really got exposed because of the situation and not having a full grasp. But it’s not nobody to blame more so than just the situation that I came into, so having this week to kind of self-scout, so to speak, and really dive into the root of what this offense is about, and that’s what I plan on doing.”
Newton was among the 17 former Auburn players who got on the field on the 12th Sunday of the NFL’s 102nd season.
Four other former Auburn players were involved in the Carolina-Miami game:
· Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown made two tackles. Brown had started all 11 of Carolina’s games this season, but he did not start Sunday’s contest.
· Dolphins cornerback Javaris Davis made two tackles and broke up a pass in his NFL debut. The Dolphins elevated Davis from their practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Panthers guard Mike Horton is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) played but did not register any stats.
In the other Sunday games:
Cincinnati Bengals 41, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
· C.J. Uzomah started at tight end for the Bengals. Uzomah caught three passes for 9 yards.
New York Jets 21, Houston Texans 14
· Jets defensive end Carl Lawson is on injured reserve.
· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood is on injured reserve.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38, Indianapolis Colts 31
· Buccaneers inside linebacker K.J. Britt (Oxford) made a tackle on special teams.
· Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis is on injured reserve.
· Jamel Dean (Auburn) started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Dean made one tackle.
· Braden Smith started at right offensive tackle for the Colts.
Atlanta Falcons 21, Jacksonville Jaguars 14
· Falcons linebacker Daren Bates is on injured reserve.
· Falcons defensive lineman Marlon Davidson (Greenville) recovered a fumble for the first time in his NFL career. Davidson’s fumble recovery came at the Jacksonville 29-yard line with 7:44 left in the first half. Atlanta turned the short field into a touchdown for a 14-0 lead.
· Jaguars safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made four tackles and registered a quarterback hit on defense and made another tackle on special teams.
· Falcons long snapper Josh Harris handled the snaps on five punts and three extra points.
· Jaguars Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) played but did not register any stats.
New England Patriots 36, Tennessee Titans 13
· Patriots defensive lineman Byron Cowart is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and not eligible to play.
· Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones is on injured reserve.
· Patriots linebacker Brandon King (Thompson) played but did not register any stats.
· Patriots quarterback Jarrett Stidham was a game-day inactive.
New York Giants 13, Philadelphia Eagles 7
· Jack Driscoll started at right guard for the Eagles. Driscoll left the game in the second half because of an ankle injury.
· Eagles punter Arryn Siposs averaged 43.3 yards, with a 40.3-yard net, on three punts. Siposs had a 42-yard punt that was returned 9 yards to the New York 36-yard line, a 46-yarder that went out of bounds at the New York 13 and a 42-yarder that resulted in a fair catch at the New York 9.
· Darius Slayton started at wide receiver for the Giants. Slayton caught three passes for 40 yards and had a rushing attempt that lost 13 yards. On New York’s only touchdown drive, Slayton caught a 17-yard pass that put the Giants on the Philadelphia 9-yard line.
Denver Broncos 28, Los Angeles Chargers 13
· Broncos wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
San Francisco 34, Minnesota Vikings 26
· Forty-Niners defensive end Dee Ford (St. Clair County) is on injured reserve.
Baltimore Ravens 16, Cleveland Browns 10
· Josh Bynes started at middle linebacker for the Ravens. Bynes made two tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage
· Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz was designated as a game-day inactive. The rookie has missed back-to-back games because of a concussion.
Week 12 kicked off with three Thanksgiving games. The Chicago Bears defeated the Detroit Lions 16-14, the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Dallas Cowboys 36-33 in overtime and the Buffalo Bills defeated the New Orleans Saints 31-6.
Week 12 concludes with the Seattle Seahawks-Washington Football Team game at 7:15 p.m. CST Monday at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. ESPN 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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