Panthers coach doesn’t play favourites
A lot of NFL head coaches have a different standard for stars, subscribing to the philosophy of treating everyone equitably but not necessarily equally.
Ron Rivera is not among those coaches.
So, when reigning MVP Cam Newton boarded the team flight to Seattle without a dress shirt and necktie, Rivera decided to bench him for the first series Sunday night.
The flap became an overbearing cloud hanging over Seattle’s 40-7 shellacking of the Panthers after Derek Anderson’s single snap resulted in an interception.
Newton didn’t express disagreement with Rivera’s decision after the game, explaining he realized just before the buses left to take the team to the airport that he hadn’t packed a shirt and tie.
“We discussed it internally. Me and coach, we’re on the same page, I feel good about it,” Newton said.
“I wore a similar outfit like this before and nothing was done. But he has rules in place and we have to abide by them and no person is greater than the next person.”
Rivera didn’t announce his intention to punish his passer. Even after the game he wouldn’t say anything beyond acknowledging his quarterback had committed a dress code violation.
Right tackle Trai Turner said he didn’t know what was up until the opening play, which ended up being a pass that deflected off Mike Tolbert’s hands and into the arms of linebacker Mike Morgan. That led to a Seattle field goal.
Aside from more than 500 players wearing custom cleats as part of the league’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative, Week 13 featured an abundance of curious calls and dubious decisions.
Dallas escaped Minnesota with a 17-15 win on Thursday night when no flag was thrown on the Cowboys for hitting Sam Bradford’s facemask on his overthrown 2-point conversion attempt with 25 seconds left.
“I’m sick and tired of the reffing in this league right now,” Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said. “I’m sick and tired of it. You’ve got holding calls all over the place that people don’t want to call.
“Bradford gets hit in the face at the end of the game and you don’t call it. I’m not laying this loss on reffing, but at some point it’s got to get better.”
In Atlanta, the Falcons were burned by Eric Berry’s pick-6, then were done in by their own strategy in a 29-28 loss to Kansas City.
After pulling within 27-22 with 12 minutes left, the Falcons went for 2 and failed.
So, when they went ahead 28-27 with 4:34 remaining, they had to go for 2, and Berry took it back 99 yards for the first game-winning pick-2 in NFL history .
“My dad, he always told me the most important part of the game is the extra point,” Berry said. “So, a lot of people take that play off and like I said, it’s an opportunity to make something happen and I’m going to make the most of it.”