Cam Newton is amazing. But he’s also 0-2.
Newton, the Carolina Panthers quarterback who was the first overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, threw for 432 yards today against the Green Bay Packers, but he also made some rookie mistakes and threw three interceptions as the Packers won 30-23.
After passing for 422 yards last week, Newton now has 854 passing yards in his two-game NFL career, shattering the NFL record for the most passing yards in a player’s first two games. The previous record belonged to former Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich, of all people, who had 638 yards in his first two NFL games.
Overall, Newton completed 28 of 46 passes, with a touchdown and three interceptions. He also ran 10 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. Fun with numbers: Through two games Newton is on pace for 6,832 yards this season.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, all of Newton’s heroics haven’t been enough. They certainly weren’t enough to beat a very good Green Bay team on Sunday, especially not when Aaron Rodgers completed 19 of 30 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns -- and unlike Newton didn’t throw an interception. Charles Woodson also stepped up with a big game, intercepting Newton twice and recovering a Steve Smith fumble.
And so the defending Super Bowl champions are 2-0 to start the season. And yet it’s hard not to feel like the real story of this game was the quarterback whose team is 0-2.