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The New England Patriots played their first preseason game of the season on Thursday night against the Washington Football Team. Cam Newton started the game, played two series, leading the team to 3 points.
Cam Newton’s Numbers in the Preseason Debut
Once Newton’s day was over, he gave way to Mac Jones who came into the game, and the QB competition talk is well underway.
Newton completed 4 of 7 pass attempts for 49 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Here is a look at the Twitter reaction to Newton’s performance.
Twitter Reacts to Cam Newton After First Preseason Game
Before the game started, attention was on Newton. The former Carolina Panthers quarterback was sure to link up with his old head coach Ron Rivera ahead of the game.
Ari Meirov posted the video, which came from MHershgordon:
Newton’s passes were mostly safe, short throws. The Patriots’ offense will be a run-first attack that leans on the tight ends and offensive line.
Michael F. Florio posted Newton’s targets with running back James White getting the most looks.
SB Nation’s Jason B. Hirschhorn pointed out the modesty of Newton’s throws.
While we’d need to get a look at the All-22 footage to have a better idea, it’s clear the Patriots’ offense is going to need to be able to stretch the field with some sort of vertical game if they hope to have a more balanced offense in 2021.
Newton had to worry about the presence of WFT’s Chase Young. The 2020 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year showed he’s ready for a big time second season.
He made a turnstile out of Patriots left tackle Isaiah Wynn on this play that led to a huge hit on Newton. While it was originally ruled a sack and fumble, officials overturned the call and changed it to an incomplete pass.
This play isn’t on Newton as he had no chance. Wynn cannot get beat this badly, and that’s even with a player of Young’s caliber applying the pressure.
There is no quarterback in the history of football who could have success with this sort of “protection.”
Newton had a strong second drive that showed his ability to move the team against WFT’s first-team defense. Unfortunately, he misfired on a screen pass and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal.
WEEI’s Ryan Hannable acknowledged Newton’s success and failure.
Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer sees Newton’s mobility as the only trait that will separate him from Jones.
Iyer is likely on to something with this take. There was a play Jones had during his stint, which was much longer than Newton’s, where he fell short of a first down on a scrambling play.
Bill Belichick might have challenged the spot in a regular season game because it looked like Jones had enough yards for the first down. Still, that’s a play Newton makes and probably gets at least 5 more yards as well.
Others are simply not impressed with anything Newton did last year or in 2021. Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan says it is only a matter of time before Jones overtakes Newton as the team’s starter.
It was just one preseason game, there is still a lot to react to in regard to the QB situation. Expect the conversation to continue throughout the preseason.
By the way, the Patriots won the game 22-13, for what that’s worth.
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