Quarterback Cam Newton experiences his Waterloo in the defeat of his Carolina Panthers at the Miami Dolphins. After a touchdown at the beginning, “Super-Cam” fails everything in the following. In the end he has to sit on the bench – but his backup also cuts a poor figure.

Munich/Miami – The Miami Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers 33:10 (21:10) on the 12th game day of the NFL and achieved their fourth victory in a row.

For the Panthers, however, quarterback Cam Newton had a day to forget in his third outing since his return: After a good start with a rushing touchdown, he threw his first two interceptions since the comeback.

In total, Newton completed just five of his 21 pass attempts for only 92 passing yards. In addition, there were an unremarkable five rushing yards for Newton. In the final quarter, Newton was even benched in view of the poor performance (passer rating: 5.8) and the large deficit.

His counterpart Tua Tagovailoa showed a concentrated performance: 27 of his 31 passes were completed for a total of 230 passing yards and one touchdown.

Dolphins start with punt-block touchdown

The first touchdown of the game went to the Dolphins: A punt by the Panthers at their own end zone was blocked by Miami’s special team. Justin Coleman carried the ball into the end zone to give the home side the lead after just over five minutes.

But Newton responded with a strong drive, first taking his team to the end zone with a 64-yard pass before running in for a one-yard touchdown himself.

Cam Newton’s interceptions set the stage for defeat

The 32-year-old fared worse on the first drive of the second quarter when he threw his first interception of the season. A pass intended for Robby Anderson was picked off by Dolphins safety Jevon Holland instead. And it got even worse: on the very next possession, it was another disastrous Newton pass that Xavien Howard intercepted.

The Dolphins used the turnover for their second touchdown of the game through Jaylen Waddle after a 9-yard pass from Tagovailoa.

Before halftime, Miami went up 21-7 on a three-yard run by running back Myles Gaskin, but a botched snap by the Dolphins gave the Panthers a field goal by kicker Zane Gonzalez in the final second of the first half.

Walker comes in for Newton – and throws an interception

Also in the third quarter, little went right for the Panthers offence and Newton. Instead, Gaskin extended the Dolphins’ lead with his second touchdown of the day.

In the final quarter, two field goals by Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders ensured the final score, while P.J. Walker replaced the luckless Newton at quarterback for the visitors. But things didn’t work out for him either: he threw an interception on the very first drive. Walker ended up with 87 yards on five of ten pass attempts in two drives.

The Dolphins are third in the AFC East with a 5-7 record and host the New York Giants next week. The Panthers (5-7) face the Atlanta Falcons after their bye week on December 12.