GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Winning felt like so long ago for the Carolina Panthers. They had been in a downward spiral before Sunday’s 34-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals, losing five of their past six games.
The Panthers needed a jolt.
Their defense had played well in recent weeks, only to have their offense falter with quarterback Sam Darnold.
On Sunday, the Panthers found that jolt in Cam Newton, whom they signed last week to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million.
Newton, in his first game with the Panthers since Week 2 of the 2019 season, accounted for two touchdowns — a 2-yard rushing touchdown and a 2-yard passing touchdown to Robby Anderson. He finished 3 of 4 for 8 yards and a 116.7 passer rating.
The Cardinals were without quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, their two best players. And the Panthers took advantage on defense, limiting them to 169 total net yards.
But the defense playing well wasn’t a surprise, given it was ranked second in the NFL in total defense.
More than anything, Sunday’s victory showed the kind of impact Newton can have on a game and that the Panthers likely should have considered signing him earlier than Thursday.
Previous starter Darnold, who was placed on injured reserve Friday, has struggled this season — a continuation of a trend that started as a New York Jet. He has thrown seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season, and the Panthers offense was lost and uninspired under his direction. Against the Patriots last week, the Panthers had hit rock bottom after losing 24-6 at home, failing to score a touchdown for the second time in a three-game stretch.
Enter Newton. Better late than never.
Newton wasn’t even the primary quarterback. P.J. Walker started and was solid, completing 22-of-29 passes for 167 yards and one interception. His play kept the offense steady.
But Newton made the Panthers’ offense unpredictable, though he played only eight snaps. The Panthers were 3 of 4 on red-zone touchdown opportunities.
“Us converting in the red zone was major,” Walker said. “That’s something we’ve been struggling with. The defense has been getting us the ball at times in position to score that football and we’ve been coming down with field goals.
“So for us to convert in the red zone was major.”
Newton’s rushing touchdown, on the Panthers’ first possession, was one of those three scores. He received the snap from the shotgun formation and ran right, avoiding two defenders for the score.
It’s a difficult play for a defense to stop because teams have to account for an extra playmaker and an extra blocker.
After Newton scored, he took off his helmet, looked at the FOX camera in front of him, and twice yelled, “I’m back!”
“This time last week, I was eating a bowl of cereal. I was eating cereal last week, so that just puts things into perspective,” Newton said of the emotions of scoring the touchdown.
“It was a rush of emotions ... But it’s not about me. This was an impeccable team win.”
His second touchdown came less than three minutes later. The Panthers ran a play out of a similar formation, but Newton, this time faking a quarterback run back to the right side, stopped and found Robby Anderson for a 2-yard touchdown.
When asked how much of the playbook he was familiar with prior to the game having only practiced with the team for two days, Newton replied, “two touchdowns worth.”
He also showed off his arm strength with a deep shot to DJ Moore, which fell incomplete, but netted the Panthers 33 yards after a defensive pass interference call.
Even when he wasn’t throwing or running, his presence affected the game. Late in the first quarter, the Panthers had third-and-2 from their own 41-yard line. The Panthers ran a read option with Newton and Christian McCaffrey. Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks had to choose between stopping McCaffrey or Newton, who faked the handoff. He committed to stopping Newton, so the quarterback gave it to McCaffrey, who ran 10 yards for a first down.
For once, teams couldn’t just game plan for McCaffrey, who rushed for 95 yards on 13 carries and also had 10 catches (on 10 targets) for 66 yards.
Carolina’s win over the Cardinals (8-2) on Sunday provides hope for the Panthers (5-5) that perhaps they can still be a playoff team. They looked the part against the team with the NFL’s best record. Their defense was dominant. Their offense was good. They were the only team in the NFC South to win this week.
If the playoffs were to happen today, the Panthers would be in as a wild-card team with the seventh seed.
Carolina fed off Newton’s energy. Cameras caught Newton talking to the offense in a huddle on the sideline late in the game. All eyes were on him.
“Him bringing the juice and the energy he brings helps this team a lot,” Walker said of Newton. “It helps us all relax and get comfortable and play great football.”
Panthers coach Matt Rhule did not explicitly say whether Newton will start next week against the Washington Football Team, but the probability is high.
“We brought Cam here to play,” Rhule said. “There’s no doubt about that. He knows that.”
After the win, Newton ran toward Panthers fans at the edge of the stands who waited for his return, similar to how he did for nine years in Charlotte, and gave them all high-fives.
For a game, it felt like old times.
Newton was back.
