Getty Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton.
It’s been a bad start to the season for the Carolina Panthers. They lost a close game in Week 1 against the NFC champions and then dropped another close game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. While a loss to the Los Angeles Rams is more than understandable, falling to the Buccaneers at home is tougher to swallow, considering the teams are division rivals.
The Panthers have missed the playoffs in two of the three seasons since making it to the Super Bowl. The most concerning thing is that quarterback Cam Newton’s performance has declined significantly since he won the NFL MVP award in 2015. He has yet to score a single touchdown through two games in 2019.
This is a far cry from the touchdown machine that Newton was in 2015. Head coach Ron Rivera has had a lot of success in his tenure with the Panthers, but he and Newton should really start feeling the heat if the team continues to lose.
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Fight Breaks out Between Panthers Fans During Loss to Buccaneers
The people that are bound to get most upset after a home loss are the fans. At some point during the rain delay that happened early in the game, a small brawl broke out between a few Panthers fans. It doesn’t appear like it’s a case of Carolina fans attacking Tampa Bay fans. It looks like the two men that started the fight were fans of the Panthers and started throwing punches at each other for some reason.
This kind of behavior drives me nuts. Unacceptable and should NOT be tolerated at public events
It mainly looks like the fight was between two men and a couple others decided to join in as other fans watched. It’s unknown how the fight started, but things got heated. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone got seriously hurt in the exchange.
What’s Next for the Panthers?
The Panthers have a game against the Arizona Cardinals coming up in Week 3 that should be a good opportunity to bounce back. Kyler Murray’s squad is coming off a tie against the Detroit Lions. If Cam Newton can’t rally his team to beat last season’s worst team, the Panthers are going to have serious problems. Murray is exciting and has the potential to make big plays. However, Carolina still has talent on defense and should neutralize him for the most part.
We also can’t forget to mention Christian McCaffrey. The running back is the centerpiece of the offense but didn’t really do much against Tampa Bay. He’ll be due for a bounceback game against a lackluster Arizona defense. Greg Olsen lit up the Buccaneers defense for 110 receiving yards, so that’s a promising sign. The normally consistent tight end has been battling injuries over the last couple of seasons, but if he can stay healthy, that would be huge for Newton and the offense.
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