Cam Newton Confirms What Patriots Fans Believed About Him After Loss to Broncos
The New England Patriots fell to their second straight loss, pushing them under the .500 mark through the first five games of the 2020 campaign. Star quarterback Cam Newton put up a porous performance in his return to action against the Denver Broncos. Following the game, Newton admitted to what many Patriots fans assessed from his less-than-stellar outing in Week 6.
Patriots fall to the Broncos
New England headed into Week 6 against the Broncos hoping to bounce back with Cam Newton back in the fold.
However, it was anything but that as the Patriots struggled to find their way offensively. Newton was ineffective passing the ball as he completed 17-of-25 passes for 157 yards, threw a pair of interceptions, and was sacked four times. Newton recorded 76 rushing yards and a touchdown, but outside of that experienced difficulty finding any rhythm.
Although New England played poorly offensively, the team still had an opportunity to secure the lead on their last drive late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots offense looked nothing like the offensive juggernaut it was in the first few weeks of the season, which has significantly contributed to their continued stumble south.
Following the disappointing loss, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback admitted to what many believed about his porous performance against Denver.
Cam Newton admits that he was “rusty” against the Broncos
It wasn’t a strong performance in Week 6 by any means as the Patriots offense struggled to get anything going.
Cam Newton was at the center of that as he had plenty of difficulty finding his rhythm throwing the ball despite being a factor in the running game. Following Sunday’s loss, Newton admitted that he was “rusty” but didn’t link that as the cause for his poor overall performance, according to Zach Cox of NESN.
“Oh, without a doubt,” Cam Newton said about his apparent rusty performance for the Patriots. “But we’re still professionals, and we’re supposed to do our job at a high level. We didn’t do that today.”
Although Newton is choosing to take the high road with the criticism, it’s clear that his time away from the team impacted his play. The situation was out of his control as he remained out of the mix due to testing positive for the virus.
That was compounded by the Patriots having more positive COVID-19 tests crop up, further limited the team from conducting any meaningful practices last week before Week 6 action. With that outing behind Newton, there is a chance to get back into rhythm with the offensive game plan this upcoming weekend.
New England looking to bounce back
For the first time in nearly 18 years, the Patriots have a record below .500 in October.
It has been a tough start to the 2020 campaign, notably impacted by COVID-19 and injuries. That hasn’t allowed New England to gather any momentum or fluidity. Despite that, they are still in an encouraging spot to get back on track after their back-to-back losses.
Cam Newton will have the chance to knock off the rust in practice this week ahead of the much-anticipated matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. It will mark Jimmy Garoppolo’s first return to New England, which will intensely ramp up the contest’s coverage.
It may be early in the season, but the Patriots are in the position where things could head south. If they hope to contend for the playoffs, it will need Newton to lead the charge.
