Adams’ passion shines through in loss

Jamal Adams tugged on Superman’s cape.

The Jets rookie safety gave Panthers quarterback Cam Newton a slight push to the chest as Newton was doing his “Superman” celebration in the Jets end zone after his second-quarter touchdown.

“I just don’t like people celebrating in our end zone,” Adams said of the brief altercation.

Newton said he had “no idea” what happened.

Adams took offense to Newton stopping, staring, then acting like he was opening up his shirt like Clark Kent revealing an “S” on his chest after his 1-yard touchdown run. The protest showed Adams’ passion, as did his reaction to the 35-27 loss to Carolina.

Adams was in tears at the end of the game on the bench after the crushing loss. In the locker room, coach Todd Bowles stopped by his locker to console him. Adams took the loss hard.

“It’s tough,” an emotional Adams said. “No one likes to lose. We come out here to win. We come out here to compete. I don’t like losing. No one likes losing. We’re frustrated man. It’s tough to come out here, play hard and blow another lead. It’s tough. So that’s the answer to your question. It’s heartbreaking.”

Nose tackle Mike Pennel committed a brutal penalty late in Sunday’s loss. The Panthers had a thirdand-11 from the Jets’ 48 with 2:17 left in the game. If the Jets had gotten a stop, they would have had the ball back with two minutes to play. Newton threw an incomplete pass intended for Devin Funchess on the play, but Pennel was penalized for roughing the passer. Pennel jumped into Newton late and pushed him.

“It’s horrible, but you just have to play the game,” Pennel said.