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Clearly, nobody leaves Cam Newton hanging on a high-five attempt. The New England Patriots had a lot to celebrate as they completed the final preseason game with a 3-0 record after notching a 22-20 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
Ever the supportive teammate on the sidelines, Newton was waiting to congratulate rookie Mac Jones on a successful TD drive. Newton went for the high-five, but apparently, the first-year signal caller missed the sign.
Cam Newton was not going to get left hanging by Mac Jones 🤣
It was hilarious and should go right up there with this sideline moment last year with N’Keal Harry.
NEED to know what N’Keal said to Cam 😂 @CameronNewton @NkealHarry15
Of course, Jones didn’t mean to leave Newton hanging. Jones explained the moment during his post-game presser via ESPN’s Mike Reiss:
Overall, it wasn’t a great day for the offense and both quarterbacks had some good and bad moments, though Newton only attempted 5 passes.
Cam Newton’s Day in the 3rd Preseason Game
It appears as though Newton is in a position to start in Week 1 of the regular season against the Miami Dolphins on September 12.
Many members of the media are adopting this train of thought and CLNS’ Evan Lazar is one of them. In his recap of the Patriots’ victory on Sunday night, he talked about the “clear”message Bill Belichick sent with the snap counts for the two quarterbacks.
Lazar wrote:
With quarterback Cam Newton leading the first two drives on offense, Pats head coach Bill Belichick sent a clear message that Newton is his Week 1 starter. Along with Newton starting the game, rookie Mac Jones worked with the backup offensive line and skill players. Although Newton appears to be the guy for the opener, the veterans’ performance against the Giants’ starting defense left a lot to be desired (2-for-5, ten yards, interception, three points.
The one interception wasn’t a bad throw, though some believe Newton should have gone to Kendrick Bourne up the sidelines rather than putting it high for Jakobi Meyers to have a chance to make a play.
The pick was more a result of a great play by Blake Martinez than a bad throw or decision from Newton. While it wasn’t a spectacular day, Newton didn’t appear to lose any ground.
Mac Jones’ Day in the Final Preseason Game
You had to love what you saw from Jones, even during some of the scuffling moments. He seems to have a strong command of the offense, throws an accurate ball and he’s getting more confident by the week.
Lazar was impressed with the rookie as well. He wrote:
Although we’d like another look at a few plays in film review, the last frontier for Jones is making quicker reads of post-snap coverage rotations. This week, the Giants got him by showing one thing with their safeties pre-snap, then rotating into a different coverage after the snap, which appeared to be the case on Jones’s first sack under center. In all, he was terrific this preseason, but post-snap coverage reads is a clear area that needs improvement.
Hopefully, Jones will have plenty of chances to high-five Newton in Week 1 if the latter is leading the team on successful scoring drives.
Also Read:
- Patriots vs. Giants: Final Score, Highlights and Updates
- Cam Newton Makes Bold ‘QB1’ Statement on Instagram
- Cam Newton’s Situation in New England Compared to NFC North Veteran
- Twitter Reacts to Patriots Sending Super Bowl Champion RB to Rams
- Patriots RB ‘Probably Looking Really Appealing’ to LA Rams, per Analyst