How bad was it for Cam Newton? So bad that he couldn’t remember his interceptions.
The Panthers quarterback had not one, not two, not three, but four interceptions in the 24-17 loss to the Buccaneers. It matched the career-high he had against Detroit in his rookie season of 2011.
When a reporter asked Newton about his second interception of the game -- a pick by Javien Elliott -- Newton had no recollection.
“It’s sad because I don’t even know which one you’re talking about,” Newton said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques of the Charlotte Observer. “It was a personal blow for me, being that I just have to take care of the ball. It’s a low-percentage chance you’re going to win a football game if you turn the ball over four times. That’s just care-free football, we can’t have that, I can’t allow that and accept that for myself.
“I just have to do a better job with my accuracy and decision-making.”
Newton downplayed questions about his shoulder, which he underwent surgery on in March 2017, and instead blamed himself.
“This wasn’t Carolina Panthers football, offensively, today,” Newton said. “I take this one personal, because I know [we] keep running off this field in embarrassment, really, knowing that you’re leaving because of your mishaps. At the end of the day, you learn from it, take this one on the chin -- it hurts -- and keep moving forward. We just have to find ways to get back in the win column and I feel like we’re on a brink.”