Is Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in for a sophomore slump? It looked liked a possibility on Sunday, when he struggled through an ugly 16-10 loss to the Buccaneers.
Newton was hard on himself after the game, saying he was at a loss to explain his two interceptions.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Newton told reporters. “No one likes losing. The most frustrating part on my behalf is knowing I wish I could have those two throws back.”
Newton called his second interception, on which he misfired on a pass to Steve Smith and was picked off by Buccaneers safety Ahmad Black, “disgusting.” And Panthers coach Ron Rivera admitted that Newton didn’t look like himself out there.
“He did make some mistakes and it was, at times, unlike him,” Rivera said.
The Newton who was on the field in Tampa on Sunday was unlike the Newton who played a spectacular rookie season. The Panthers need last year’s Newton back on the field soon.