At least when it comes to his play, Cam Newton’s critics are running out of source material.
Newton’s candidacy for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award — once thought to be a longshot — picked up serious steam Sunday when he threw five touchdown passes in the Panthers’ 44-16 rout of the Redskins that made Carolina the league’s first 10-0 team.
Cam Newton with some sort of furry thing at his post game press conference pic.twitter.com/3BG6xenvnF
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieUKEZ) November 22, 2015
Detractors no doubt will still find a way to knock Newton for his “dab” dance celebrations, flashy clothes, sideline demeanor or whatever it is about him that sets them off this week, but Newton continues to make his actual performance critic-proof.
Sunday was another example is a season full of them. Knocked as passer too willing to run when his first option is covered, Newton carried the ball just four times (for 16 yards) in the home blowout of a Redskins team that came in riding a two-game win streak.
Newton’s 90.1 passer rating is still middle of the pack, but it’s getting better by the week — right along with his decision-making. All five of Newton’s TD passes came inside the Washington 20-yard line, giving him 15 scoring passes without an interception in the red zone.
Newton greets a young cancer patient before Sunday’s game.Newton is completing just 57 percent of his passes (the Bills’ Tyrod Taylor is connecting on a league-best 71 percent, by comparison), but Newton also is having to work with one of the league’s thinnest receiving corps that includes Ted Ginn Jr., Devin Funchess and former Jet Jerricho Cotchery.
Newton said he has never paid attention to his critics, but he’s also doing things to quiet their complaints about his non-football actions, too. Newton has his teammates joining him in handing post-TD footballs to small children in the end-zone stands.
Of course, respect for Newton and the Panthers continues to be slow in coming. It’s certainly not happening with Las Vegas this week: Oddsmakers have installed Carolina as a two-point underdog to the 3-7 Cowboys for their Thanksgiving Day trip to Texas.
