Admiration on both sides as Newton, Panthers visit Roethlisberger, Steelers
PITTSBURGH — Cam Newton spent a portion of the summer studying Ben Roethlisberger and working out alongside Antonio Brown, something the Carolina Panthers quarterback did out of a mix of curiosity and respect.
Newton found himself enamored of Roethlisberger’s footwork
— “The play is never over for
Big Ben” — and Brown’s relentlessness.
“He’s literally like a nocturnal beast,”
Newton said of Brown. “I thought I was bad. … We had late workouts. I’m talking like 10 p.m-.ish. It was like our second or third one of the day. Whenever he feels the urge to work, he works and I respect it.”
Newton will get an up-close look at Roethlisberger, Brown and the rest of the Steelers (5-2-1) when the Panthers (6-2) make a rare trip to Pittsburgh.
Maybe it’s the workouts with Brown. Maybe it’s the rapport he’s developed with offensive coordinator Norv Turner. Maybe it’s the emergence of running back Christian McCaffrey. Whatever it is, Newton is in the midst of his finest season since winning league MVP in 2015.
Maybe that’s why Roethlisberger just laughed when asked if there’s any wisdom he might pass along to Newton.
“I do not need to give him advice,” Roethlisberger said. “He’s Superman.”
A Man of Steel who could be a handful for a resilient Pittsburgh defense.
The Steelers were a hot mess during the first month of the season but have figured out things during their four-game winning streak. Pittsburgh is allowing just 275.5 yards per game over the last month — that’s from a combination of the rapid cohesion of a revamped secondary and spending less time on the field thanks to an offense starting to hog the ball behind second-year running back James Conner, who has nicely filled in for holdout Le’Veon Bell.
Still, the Panthers present their own unique challenge. Carolina might be the NFL’s closest approximation to a throwback.
The Panthers have run for at least 121 yards in seven of eight games, with Newton serving as the catalyst. At 29, he’s on pace for a career high in rushing attempts, a mixture of Turner’s creative play calling and Newton’s pragmatic approach to when he tucks the ball and takes off. While he’s still happy to deliver a shot now and then, he’s more likely to slide before getting hit.
Pittsburgh, fourth in the league in sacks, is determined to make sure Newton doesn’t get loose.
“There’s no way he can duck 10 bullets,” Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. “If everybody is shooting their shot, someone is bound to hit. That’s got to be group effort. … It’s a heck of a test.”