So-so Cam more than enough to win
Every once in a while, Cam Newton does not have to be Superman, certainly not on days when he has plenty of help — from his team and from the opposing team.
“I always hear often that it was an ugly win, but I never heard of saying such thing as a pretty loss,” Newton said after Panthers 35, Jets 27. “So either way it goes, we would prefer to get a win at the end of the day — great team win.
“It wasn’t a blockbuster outing offensively for us statistics-wise, but we found ways to win the football game, and that’s what you have to have. You have to have those types of characteristics and those genetics to grind out a win.”
Newton, who finished 11-for-28 for 168 yards was more Clark Kent than Superman, but Luke Kuechly’s 34-yard fumble return touchdown and Kaelin Clay’s 60-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter sealed the deal.
“We’re not going to apologize for that,” Newton said.
Newton, who has battled a barking throwing shoulder and a bum right thumb, was asked if his arm was bothering him. “It’s all right,” he said. Newton’s legs (nine rushes for 28 yards) stress a defense, and he scored on a 1-yard touchdown leap in the second quarter, after which Jamal Adams inter- rupted his Superman act by poking him in the chest. Asked what happened between him and Adams, Newton said: “No idea.”
Newton raved about wide receiver Devin Funchess but had only a limited Greg Olsen (foot).
“I thought [Newton] had his moments,” Ron Rivera said. “Obviously, the thumb might be bothering him a little, but I thought he made some good reads. I think we have a lot of room for improvement.”