What up, Superman? Cam Newton has looked awfully ordinary the first two weeks of the season. Too many passes have flown high and wide, and he hasn’t been a factor as a runner.
Either Newton is playing hurt (he sprained his foot in the preseason) or there’s now an effort (by him or the team or both) to keep him healthy by having him run less.
Whatever the reason, Newton in his first two games has run less than ever before. He’s carried 5 times for minus-2 yards in their first two games. That’s weird to see, with Newton having gone over 500 rushing yards six times (he’s gone over 700 yards three times).
Newton has played 132 career games, and he’s finished with fewer than 10 rushing yards in only 19 other games.
| CAM NEWTON: FEWER THAN 10 RUSHING YARDS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp | Score | Att | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2019 | LAR | L 27-30 | 3 | -2 | -.7 | 0 |
| 2016 | at Was. | W 26-15 | 3 | 0 | .0 | 0 |
| 2017 | at Det. | W 27-24 | 7 | 0 | .0 | 0 |
| 2019 | T.B. | L 14-20 | 2 | 0 | .0 | 0 |
| 2016 | at N.O. | L 38-41 | 2 | 1 | .5 | 1 |
| 2018 | at Det. | L 19-20 | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2017 | at S.F. | W 23-3 | 6 | 3 | .5 | 0 |
| 2015 | Sea. | W 31-24 | 11 | 3 | .3 | 0 |
| 2012 | at T.B. | L 10-16 | 5 | 4 | .8 | 0 |
| 2015 | Atl. | W 38-0 | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 |
| 2016 | at T.B. | L 16-17 | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2014 | at Phil. | L 21-45 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | at Oak. | L 32-35 | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 1 |
| 2012 | NYG | L 7-36 | 6 | 6 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2013 | N.O. | W 17-13 | 4 | 6 | 1.5 | 0 |
| 2012 | at S.D. | W 31-7 | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 2014 | at Balt. | L 10-38 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2014 | Pitt. | L 19-37 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2016 | N.O. | W 23-20 | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 |
| 2012 | Den. | L 14-36 | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 0 |
| 2014 | Chi. | W 31-24 | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 |
Gone, it seems, are the days of being able to count on Newton running for 30 yards most weeks, with a rushing touchdown about every three games. He’s scored 58 touchdowns on his own in 125 career regular-season games.
With the game hanging in the balance on Thursday night, Carolina had a fourth-and-inches near the Tampa Bay goal line. Rather than going to Newton, it attempted a bizarre fake Philly Special play, with Christian McCaffrey getting knocked out of bounds short of the sticks for a loss-clinching turnover on downs.
That was odd, considering Newton has been about the best short-yardage runner in the entire league since the Panthers drafted him. In the last three years, he’s been successful on 29 of 32 carries when running the ball when the team has needed 1 yard (either at the goal line, or on a third-and-one or fourth-and-one play).
As running quarterback, Newton nowadays appears to come in well behind Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Deshaun Watson.
The short-yardage rushing numbers for the 2016-2018 seasons, showing all players with at least 20 attempts …
| "AND ONE" RUSHING (last 3 years) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Con | Att | Pct |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 20 | 21 | 95.2% |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 29 | 32 | 90.6% |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 19 | 22 | 86.4% |
| Robert Turbin, Ind. | 17 | 20 | 85.0% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 52 | 65 | 80.0% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 20 | 25 | 80.0% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 16 | 21 | 76.2% |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 16 | 21 | 76.2% |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 20 | 27 | 74.1% |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 17 | 23 | 73.9% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 30 | 42 | 71.4% |
| DeMarco Murray, Ten. | 20 | 28 | 71.4% |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 27 | 38 | 71.1% |
| Latavius Murray, Oak.-Min. | 29 | 41 | 70.7% |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 20 | 29 | 69.0% |
| Mike Gillislee, 3 tms | 22 | 32 | 68.8% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 27 | 40 | 67.5% |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 16 | 24 | 66.7% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 16 | 25 | 64.0% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 35 | 55 | 63.6% |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 28 | 44 | 63.6% |
| Isaiah Crowell, 2 tms | 15 | 24 | 62.5% |
| Spencer Ware, K.C. | 13 | 21 | 61.9% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 13 | 21 | 61.9% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 40 | 65 | 61.5% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 24 | 39 | 61.5% |
| Frank Gore, 2 tms | 14 | 23 | 60.9% |
| LeGarrette Blount, 3 tms | 29 | 48 | 60.4% |
| Chris Ivory, 2 tms | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Zach Zenner, Det. | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 13 | 23 | 56.5% |
| Carlos Hyde, 3 tms | 23 | 42 | 54.8% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 12 | 22 | 54.5% |
| Doug Martin, 2 tms | 13 | 24 | 54.2% |
| C.J. Anderson, 2 tms | 11 | 21 | 52.4% |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 12 | 23 | 52.2% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 11 | 22 | 50.0% |
If we’re taking away the rushing and making Newton just a pocket passer, it’s not pretty to watch. After undergoing shoulder surgery, he didn’t throw much in the offseason. And when he’s running, that also helps to create big completions (with him buying time, and with defenses forced to use account for the threat that he’ll run).
Against Tampa Bay, Newton completed only 25 of 51 passes and couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. He was saved on an interception by a penalty. Operating behind a lesser offensive line, he also took 3 sacks, with a bunch of other hits.
Newton probably will start running more in his upcoming games, but right now his upside (the best-case scenario) would probably for him to be about a top-15 quarterback.
The Panthers drop their first two at home, and they’re quickly looking like a lesser team.
—Ian Allan