Newton ties up why he was benched

SEATTLE — Cam Newton was benched for the Carolina Panthers’ first offensive play Sunday night because he failed to wear a tie on the National Football League team’s flight from northern California to Seattle on Friday.

But, Newton explained, it was really about the shirt.

Newton described in detail late Sunday night the sequence of events that led to him violating head coach Ron Rivera’s team rule that requires all players to wear a tie. The problem, Newton said, was that he failed to pack a collared dress shirt that would accommodate a tie for the team’s extended West Coast road trip that began with last week’s game at the Oakland Raiders.

He was offered the chance to borrow a tie, but without a collar, it wouldn’t work. On short notice, he said he couldn’t find a dress shirt that fit his six-foot-five, 245-pound body. So Newton boarded the team’s charter flight wearing a black turtleneck and blazer, and he was temporarily benched because of it.

Rivera said Sunday night that he benched Newton because he wants to treat all his players the same—and that includes his quarterback, who also happens to be the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player. The problem for Rivera and the Panthers was that this minor rule violation had significant on-field ramifications.

“My decision. Completely my decision,” Rivera said. “The decision was made because I treat them all the same.”

Veteran Derek Anderson started the game instead of Newton, and promptly threw an interception on the first play of the game. Seattle linebacker Mike Morgan returned the pick to the 8-yard line, and the Seahawks quickly went up 3-0, en route to a 40-7 win. Newton finished with 14 completions on 32 attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown.

“We didn’t lose this game because of a tie, you know what I’m saying?” Newton said.

The fact that this happened at all is somehow fitting for the Panthers amid this messy season. At 4-8, Carolina almost certainly won’t make the playoffs now, a year after finishing 15-1 and advancing to the Super Bowl.

Seattle was the site of one of the Panthers’ signature regular-season wins last year, and the Panthers soundly beat Seattle again in the playoffs on their way to the Super Bowl. And here Rivera and Newton were, less than a year later, talking about shirts and ties.