Cam Newton Deservedly Benched by Carolina Panthers After Worst Performance in His Career

A dreadful game ends with Cam Newton on the bench. The Week 12 defeat by the Miami Dolphins was terrible for the Carolina Panthers. This is the Panthers’ 10th consecutive loss with Newton at the helm. Since 2018, the Panthers haven’t won a game with Newton starting.

Week 12 affair with the Miami Dolphins

The Panthers’ visit to the Hard Rock Stadium was shameful, as the Dolphins defeated Carolina with a 23 point difference. The result of the match was 33-10. 

Jayden Waddle performed well, which sent Cam Newton to the bench. He made nine catches for 137 yards, his season-best. Waddle also made a touchdown. It was one of the worst statistical days in the career of Cam Newton. 

Newton’s rival and Miami’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, won the battle one-sided. He completed 27 out of his 31 passes for 230 yards. Until the fourth quarter, Newton could only complete five out of his 21 passes for the Panthers. They pulled him out of the game and sent him to the bench in the fourth quarter.

Newton ended up with 92 yards passing, two interceptions, and zero touchdowns. The end rating of the quarterback was just 5.8. So far, this is Cam Newton’s worst ever rating.

P.J. Walker, the Panthers’ second quarterback, replaced Newton. There were over 10 minutes left on the clock, and the Panthers were down by 20 points. The coach Matt Rhule later told Newton that they were in a hurry and Walker had a better grip on the Two-minute play. 

“At the end of the day, we weren’t protecting the quarterback at all,” said the coach. “It wouldn’t be fair to keep Cam in there and keep getting him hit.” Five times The Panthers got sacked, and Cam Newton only once. However, he got hit many times throughout the game. After only completing five out of his 21 passes, Newton refuses to blame his performance. 

Cam Newton on being switched out

Cam Newton said he understood the reasons behind the substitution. “I was fine with that,” said Newton. “At the end of the day, it’s still about being a professional. At that particular point, I had more than enough opportunities to keep the game in the balance. There’s no need to put up a fight with that.”

In the coming weeks, we will find out if Cam Newton can bounce back from the worst performance of his career. The Carolina Panthers are at the bottom of the NFC South table with five wins. The entire NFC South division has 5 wins except for the leaders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Any NFC South match can change the faith of the teams. That is the division the fans keep a close eye on. 

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