Watching the New England versus Washington preseason football game last night, I started to think the Cam Newton era is probably just about over. The Patriots drafted Mac Jones in the first round in April, so he'll be starting as soon as he gives the team a better chance to win. That time might already be here.
You don't want to read too much into exhibition football. Jones didn't have to work against Washington game-wrecker Chase Young, who blew up one of Newton's two series, or any Washington defensive starters for most of his appearance.
But the bottom line is that Jones looked comfortable running the offense and distributing the ball to all his different receivers. His best throw was an end-zone rainbow that probably should have been caught, and his next-best a dart that was incorrectly ruled incomplete. The offense under Jones looked a lot more like what we've been accustomed to seeing from the Patriots for the last two decades -- quick, short passes, an up-tempo style of play. It might not all click right away, but it looks like what the offense wants to do.
Contrast that with Newton. That's not the kind of offense he ran in Carolina, it's not what we saw from him last year, and it's not what we got from his brief appearance last night. Those timing throws and accurate touch passes aren't what he does well. That was apparent throughout last season, and yes it was his first year in a new offense and yes he had COVID and might not have been the same after it. Whatever the case, he put up the worst per-game passing numbers in the league among quarterbacks who started at least half the season. Last in yards, and last in touchdown passes.
| QB PASSING 2020 (PER GAME) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | PYd | TDP | INT |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 15 | 316.0 | 2.53 | .40 |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 16 | 301.4 | 2.06 | .44 |
| Tom Brady, T.B. | 16 | 289.6 | 2.50 | .75 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 15 | 289.1 | 2.07 | .67 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 286.3 | 1.63 | .69 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 284.0 | 2.31 | .63 |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 10 | 268.8 | 1.30 | .50 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 268.7 | 3.00 | .31 |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 16 | 266.6 | 2.19 | .81 |
| Nick Mullens, S.F. | 8 | 266.0 | 1.25 | 1.38 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 15 | 263.5 | 1.33 | .87 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 263.3 | 2.50 | .81 |
| Philip Rivers, Ind. | 16 | 260.6 | 1.50 | .69 |
| Gardner Minshew, Jac. | 8 | 260.1 | 1.88 | .63 |
| Derek Carr, L.V. | 16 | 256.4 | 1.69 | .56 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 16 | 255.3 | 1.63 | .63 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 15 | 253.5 | 2.20 | .67 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, Car. | 15 | 248.9 | 1.00 | .73 |
| Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 16 | 248.2 | 1.63 | .75 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 12 | 245.2 | 2.00 | .50 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 16 | 238.7 | 2.06 | .44 |
| Andy Dalton, Dall. | 9 | 228.8 | 1.56 | .89 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 9 | 228.3 | 1.78 | .89 |
| Drew Lock, Den. | 13 | 225.6 | 1.23 | 1.15 |
| Baker Mayfield, Cle. | 16 | 222.7 | 1.63 | .50 |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 12 | 218.3 | 1.33 | 1.25 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 14 | 210.2 | .79 | .71 |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 9 | 200.6 | 1.22 | .56 |
| Sam Darnold, NYJ | 12 | 184.0 | .75 | .92 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 15 | 183.8 | 1.73 | .60 |
| Cam Newton, N.E. | 15 | 177.1 | .53 | .67 |
I don't think you could watch last night's game and assume Jones will be a Week 1 starter. He missed some throws, and Bill Belichick and the coaching staff might have entirely different views of what's best for the team in the month of September, based on being there for all the practices and whatnot.
But I don't have any doubt that Jones will start for New England sooner rather than later. I'm drafting their players under the assumption that he'll start more games this season than Newton. Selecting Newton and thinking he'll be usable in fantasy leagues for very long looks like a mistake.
--Andy Richardson