Cam Newton says the Panthers should ‘hold on’ and trust him. But time is running out

Here’s the reality we all postponed dealing with for 10 days while luxuriating in nostalgia:

Cam Newton isn’t actually superhuman.

Newton did look like he could fly for a few moments Sunday in the Carolina Panthers’ 27-21 loss to Washington Sunday — particularly after he ran for a 24-yard touchdown, then sprinted to midfield and slowly did his Superman pose.

But the Panthers’ new/old quarterback looked extremely human on his final two drives of the game, reminding everyone that this is a flawed team with or without QB1.

Newton had the ball twice in the last 4:13, needing a touchdown to win. But Carolina never came close, unable to advance beyond Washington’s 49 before losing the ball twice on downs.

Carolina (5-6) lost its fourth straight home game. This one came before an enormously loud sellout crowd — the paid attendance was 73,350 — that had obviously been inspired by Newton’s challenge to “reclaim” Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.

“They upheld their end of the bargain,” Newton said of the fans. “We’ve just got to do our part. I mean the energy in there was electric. There was good juju.”

But the Panthers’ defense, which has been one of the NFL’s best, picked a bad day to lay an egg. It was cracked open by former Newton backup Taylor Heinicke (three passing TDs) and a Washington running game that rolled for 190 yards.

In his first start for the Panthers since Sept. 12, 2019, Newton had three touchdowns — two passing, one running. He played far better than, say, your average Sam Darnold performance in 2021. Newton’s 27-yard TD pass to Christian McCaffrey, threaded between four Washington defenders on a seam route to tie the game at 21, was one of the best 10 throws I’ve ever seen him make.

But Newton (21 for 27 for 189 yards, no turnovers) also couldn’t connect on the long ball. And Heinicke matched him, step for step and throw for throw. Then Heinicke surpassed Newton in the fourth quarter, when three fourth-and-3 plays decided the game’s fate.

Fourth-and-3 makes the difference

On Heinicke’s fourth-and-3, with the game tied at 21, he scrambled to his left, looked to be nearly sacked, threw back across his body — and completed the ball for a first down.

“Scared the hell out of me,” said Washington coach Ron Rivera of the play, which set up a go-ahead field goal.

Newton then would face two fourth-and-3s of his own on his two final drives. On the first, he threw the ball to Christian McCaffrey, who would later take the blame for running a route at 2.9 yards when he needed three. He was tackled immediately, and inches short.

That one wasn’t so much Newton’s fault, but the second fourth-and-3 from the Washington 49 with 1:11 left certainly was. Wide receiver DJ Moore, in single coverage, got open immediately.

“I believe DJ won (on his route),” Newton said, “so it’s my job to deliver the football. I hesitated, and that’s all it takes for a team like that to swarm you.”

Newton didn’t throw the ball on time, paused as if he was going to run, and then got hammered for a sack by two Washington defenders. That was the ballgame, as the Panthers thudded back down to Earth after the feel-good performance in Arizona a week ago.

That’s the thing with these Panthers: They are great one week (that 24-point win over Arizona), awful the next (that 22-point loss to the New York Giants) and, most often, mediocre.

Newton’s arrival has improved the quarterback play — Darnold had completely lost his confidence even before he got hurt — but it can’t wallpaper over every issue. The Panthers still have some foundational problems, and the most obvious one is their lack of discipline and incredible number of penalties.

Panthers lead NFL in penalties

The penalties should be put on the coaching staff more than anyone else.

How can you coach the most-penalized team in the NFL, Matt Rhule?

Yet that is what the Panthers were entering this game, and then they got flagged seven more times for 65 more yards. Normally cool-headed safety Juston Burris picked up two separate 15-yard penalties for hits, one of them especially egregious. Offensive tackle Taylor Moton, one of the highest-paid linemen in the entire league, got a critical holding penalty that helped short-circuit one of those final two drives.

None of that was on Newton, although the quarterback made his share of mistakes, too. He said the Panthers’ 2-of-9 conversion rate on third down was “unacceptable” and that he had to get into the playbook more to be more well-versed in Carolina’s offense.

“Now it’s time to move forward,” Newton said, “and look in the mirror first.”

There were some good moments. Part of the reason for Newton’s midfield celebration was that he celebrates Nov. 21 as his “Resurrection Day,” he said. On Nov. 21, 2008, Newton was a backup quarterback at Florida still going by “Cameron” who got arrested for stealing another student’s laptop computer.

“November 21st is a very special day for me,” Newton said, referring to the arrest and his subsequent comeback from it. “I took a big L in my life. I feel like it was a big scar that ended up being my biggest star.”

Newton certainly acted differently after this loss than he used to with the Panthers, and that was hopeful. He was calmer. More expansive. More willing to look at the bigger picture, which he insists is bright.

“Just hold on,” Newton said, addressing the fans. “Just hold on. Trust me. We’re coming together.”

Maybe the Panthers are. But they better do it fast. There are only six games left in the regular season.