Carolina Panthers Cam Newton finds his way to the endzone several times in his 2021 season debut. It did not take Newton to make an impact on that Panthers offense. The former MVP produced touchdowns on his first two plays this past Sunday. He helped the Carolina Panthers defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 34-10, per ESPN.
The energy and leadership Newton brought were much-needed on that Panthers sideline. The Panthers are sitting at 5-5 on the year. They lost five of their last six games and weren’t favored to beat the Arizona Cardinals. Granted, the Cardinals didn’t have the best lineup out there due to injury and COVID-19. However, the Panthers came in and handled business accordingly and dominated and got a much-needed win to build momentum going into next week.
“I don’t mean any disrespect to them,” Newton expressed. “But I’m experiencing an extraordinary level of positivity. It’s almost intimidating.”
Initially, the backup P.J. Walker replaced the injured Sam Darnold. However, the talk of the town was NEwton backing him up and making more of an impact on the game. Newton scored on a two-yard run around the right side of the goal line, and later he followed that by a two-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson on his second play of the game.
CAM NEWTON TD. HE’S BACK. 👏
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/2DIyYQGH3T— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 14, 2021
Cam Newton today: 2 snaps, 2 TDs
What. A. Return.
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/5gHWuO5tk7— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 14, 2021
“We practiced that a few times to perfect the timing,” Anderson explained. “We were aware it would be available.”
Newton’s Character and Mindset are on Display
Newton recorded only eight yards passing and 14 yards rushing. While these numbers may not be astonishing, he helped Carolina get a win against a talented football team in his first game back since this pre-season with the New England Patriots. He also only had three days to learn the playbook and to come in and perform on the grandest stage and be effective says a lot to his character, ability, and mindset. Newton, meanwhile, made sure to remind anyone listening that he was grateful for the opportunity.
“This is all thanks to God,” Newton acknowledged, ensuring he recognized Walker, McCaffrey, and others for enabling him to score.
“I’ll put it like this: This time last week I was [at home] eating a bowl of cereal,” Newton continued. “That puts things in perspective.”
"I'm just happy to be back, happy to be a contributor to a team that's already good, we're just trying to get over the hump… Keep pounding."@CameronNewton joined @Sara_Walsh after scoring two touchdowns in his return to the @panthers! 💪 pic.twitter.com/OV47bVg3oB
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 15, 2021
