NFL MVP in his prime to an unsigned player in a short time: How one bad decision forever tainted Cam Newton’s legacy
Cam Newton was a generational talent who redefined the quarterback position in the NFL.
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Cam Newton (Image via AP)
In the 100-year history of the NFL, there have been many great quarterbacks to play the game but perhaps only a handful of them can be viewed as true game changers. Very few players changed how their position was played and set a new standard entirely. Cam Newton was one such player who set the gold standard for dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL.
Standing at 6 feet and 5 inches tall and weighing 245 pounds, Cam Newton was a freak of nature since his days at Auburn. A man of his size and build was something that the NFL had never seen before at the quarterback position. He could throw the ball accurately and his athleticism and strength enabled him to run the ball while stiff-arming defenders like an elite running back.
After a phenomenal year with 2,854 passing yards, 1,473 rushing yards, and 51 touchdowns in 2010 at Auburn, Cam Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy. The next step was the NFL and despite being part of a stacked quarterback class alongside Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker, Newton was the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
The beginning: A rookie season that lived up to the hype
The Carolina Panthers picked Cam Newton as the face of their franchise and within the first two games of the season, the rookie had confirmed that the front office made the right choice. He came out swinging and threw for 854 yards in his first two games and broke Kurt Warner’s record of 827 yards for most yards thrown by a quarterback in the first two weeks of the season. He became the only player in league history to start his career with consecutive 400-yard games.
His dominant start had NFL greats in awe. The Panthers faced the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers in Week 2 and despite a solid outing from Newton, lost.
I think someone said in the locker room that I’m kind of glad we played him early in the season because when he figures it out fully, he’s going to be even tougher to stop.
Cam Newton had said after the game
After just three games in the NFL, Newton had 1,012 passing yards. Despite the Carolina Panthers’ losing season under newly appointed head coach Ron Rivera, the team was brimming with optimism, as it had finally found its franchise quarterback. Cam Newton went on to win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, becoming the first Panther to bag the honor and make the Pro Bowl.
The pinnacle: A legendary MVP season capped off with a Super Bowl appearance
Over the next few years, Cam Newton continued to get better and dominated the quarterback position. He was a new breed of dual-threat quarterback, a nightmare for defensive coordinators and linemen, there was nothing he could not do which hindered the defense’s ability to effectively defend the Panthers.
Carolina had a roller coaster ride as a team with Newton. The greatest season came in 2015, a year after the team had gone 7-8, Ron Rivera had the best roster to work with and with Newton having his best career year, the Panthers went on a 15-1 run in the regular season. The quarterback had signed a five-year, $103.8 million contract earlier in the off-season with the franchise and went into the season ranked as the NFL’s best quarterback by Pro Football Focus.
The Panthers got off to an 8-0 start, the first in franchise history. Through the season, Cam Newton became the only quarterback in NFL history to have 100+ passing touchdowns and 25+ rushing touchdowns in his first five seasons.
He ended the season with 3,837 yards, 35 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 10 rushing touchdowns, and a passer rating of 99.4. He led NFL quarterbacks in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, he was undoubtedly the Most Valuable Player and won the coveted award for the first and last time in his career. He became the second African-American QB to win the award behind Steve McNair.
It was a cinematic season for Carolina with a good storyline that seemed almost scripted. A remarkable season for a team that has historically struggled with a talented quarterback who has the best season of his career and wins the MVP award. There was only one thing left to do to cap off this season. It was to hoist a Lombardi Trophy.
Carolina entered the playoffs motivated and beat the Seattle Seahawks 31-24 in the Divisional round, dominated the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC Championship game, and were scheduled to go up against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
The downfall: A mistake that changed the trajectory of Newton’s career
The Broncos in 2015 were a defensively dominant squad. Despite having Peyton Manning, who was in the last year of his NFL career, Denver reached the big game due to its star-studded defense with DEs Derek Wolfe, and Malik Jackson, linebackers Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Brandon Marshall, and corners Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. who were all Pro Bowlers that year.
Denver took the lead early on in Super Bowl 50 and it was a one-score game up until late in the fourth quarter. The score was 16-10 with the Broncos leading and there was 4:51 left in regulation, Carolina had the ball on their 24-yard line with the opportunity to set up a game-winning drive. However, the pressure from Denver’s defense resulted in them facing a 3rd-and-9 situation.
On the next play, as Cam Newton stepped back to throw was quickly greeted by Von Miller who stripped the ball from his hands for the second time in the night. Instead of diving for the ball and making an attempt to recover it, the quarterback appeared to second-guess himself and displayed reluctance to jump onto the ball.
Before he knew it, it was too late and several players had dove on the ball. The Broncos regained possession and that was it for Carolina. That was the biggest mistake of Cam Newton’s career, a regret that he continues to carry to this day. He should have dived for the ball and there was a good chance of him retaining possession but he opted to stand and stay put to not risk injury.
Von Miller went on to win the Super Bowl MVP honors and the Panthers lost the game. Cam Newton completed 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards and 1 touchdown in the biggest game of his life. In the subsequent years, he made the playoffs just once in 2018 and lost to the New Orleans Panthers in the Wild Card Round.
He continued to have 3,000+ yard passing seasons for Carolina until 2018 and he was released in 2019. He signed with the Patriots in 2020 for one season before ending his career in Carolina a year later. He went from being one of the most dominant and athletic quarterbacks to play in the NFL to a backup. Cam Newton recently expressed his regret over not diving for the loose ball in Super Bowl 50 on First Take.
I didn’t jump on the football in a Super Bowl. I can’t post an Instagram post, a TikTok post, or even a Twitter post without somebody even mentioning that. Knowing what I know now, I would have tore every ligament of my leg trying to jump on that football…
Cam Newton said
The reason that Newton chose to not dive on the ball remains a mystery. The quarterback never gave a specific reason for it but the most probable reason is that the moment got to him and he did not make the right decision or that he was saving himself from the risk of injury.
HEARTBREAKING: #NFL legend Cam Newton says fan still go after him on social media for not jumping on the ball during the Super Bowl.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 25, 2024
“KNOWING WHAT I KNOW NOW, I WOULD HAVE TORN EVERY LIGAMENT IN MY LEG TRYING TO JUMP ON THAT.”
This is sad ???
pic.twitter.com/mftk8X7Mit
Recovering a fumble can get risky. When Drew Brees attempted to recover a fumble while on the Chargers, he wound up with a devastating shoulder injury and Newton feared that if he gets injured in that moment, then the game would be over for the Panthers. The most likely reason, however, is that psychologically the weight of the moment, the pressure, and the intensity got to him.
Playing on Sunday nights and playing in a Super Bowl are significantly different. The latter is the biggest stage in all of football, the cheers in the stadium are deafening, and the energy, the intensity, and the realization that everything is at stake are all factors that can hinder the decision-making process of an athlete and delay it by a few seconds.
Cam Newton has acknowledged that his NFL career is over. It was not the way that he had hoped for it to end but unfortunately, that is how things turned out. Despite his phenomenal numbers, he is unlikely to make it to the Hall of Fame even though he has accomplished a lot.
He has earned nearly every top accolade he could have and has more rushing touchdowns than running backs who are enshrined in Canton, Ohio but his lack of a Super Bowl win, his career win-loss record (76-71), TD-INT record (194-123), and playoff stats are not in his favor.
The former NFL quarterback is now focused on life after football as he hosts 4th and 1 with Cam Newton, his podcast, and recently joined ESPN to appear regularly on First Take. No matter what, Cam Newton’s legacy in the NFL will not be forgotten as he changed the perception of what a dual-threat quarterback can be capable of.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2235 Articles Published)