In his third outing after returning to the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton puts up atrocious numbers. In the end, he even has to give way to his backup. But that’s perfectly fine with the star quarterback. He knows what to do in the coming days.

Munich – In what should be a week off, a lot of work awaits Cam Newton. Because the quarterback has a lot of catching up to do a good two weeks after his return to the Carolina Panthers.

Until Sunday, he was able to conceal that well. But the 10:33 loss to the Miami Dolphins mercilessly exposed his knowledge gaps regarding the playbook.

“It was revealed today that I don’t have the full understanding yet,” “Super Cam” admitted bluntly after the lesson: “It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just down to the situation. “

Newton wants to understand fundamentals of offense

Then came the look into his homework book, “I’m going to use this week now to work myself in and understand the fundamentals of the offense.” Given the bye week, there should be plenty of time.

At Hard Rock Stadium, the first-overall pick of the 2011 draft had experienced perhaps his darkest day in the NFL. Newton caught the eye at the beginning with a 64-yard pass to D.J. Moore and then ran himself in for a touchdown a little later, but after that nothing went right at all.

Not even every fourth Newton pass arrives

He ended the next two drives with interceptions himself, and the Panthers never gained more than 29 yards in any of their other offensive drives under his direction. Newton produced a total of 97 yards in space, 92 of them through the air. Only five of 21 passes ended up in the hands of his teammates.

The disastrous completion rate of 23.8 percent is the lowest game yield of at least 20 pass attempts since 2004, according to NFL statistics.

Never has a former MVP put up such a horror number. Newton redeemed Peyton Manning, who completed one in four passes in the Denver Broncos’ 13-29 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015. The ex-pro even went on to win the Super Bowl that same year – against Newton and the Panthers.

Second setback since Newton return

Now it’s all about not losing sight of the play-off places for the promising combination after the reunion. After a promising start with a 34-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals, including two scores by short-yardage Newton, they suffered a setback a week ago with a 21-27 loss to the Washington Football Team.

Even then, the No. 1’s stats weren’t brilliant, but given a completion rate of 77.7 percent and a rushing touchdown, Newton seemed to be on the right track.

Rhule criticises lack of protection for Newton

In Miami, however, head coach Matt Rhule pulled the ripcord in the fourth quarter and ordered the inexperienced backup P.J. Walker onto the field instead of his prominent playmaker in view of the 10:30 deficit. Apparently also to take Newton out of the firing line.

“At the end of the day, we didn’t protect the quarterback very well. It wouldn’t have been fair to leave him on and expose him to more hits,” Rhule explained his personnel decision, referring to the problems in front of the quarterback.

At the same time, he took the wind out of the sails of any speculation about a changing of the guard at quarterback: “I’m not going to make a change now.” So Newton is expected to start in Week 14 in the divisional duel against the Atlanta Falcons, the team from his hometown – if a win is to move out of last place in the division.

Newton finds Rhule decision “fine “

Newton, for one, could obviously understand the decision to go with Walker in the closing stages in Miami: “It’s fine with me. At the end of the day, it’s always just about being professional with it. I had enough opportunities up to that point to steer the game in a different direction. I don’t need to complain about that.”

Thoroughly self-critical words from the professional almost bursting with self-confidence. In addition to his protection from the Dolphins’ ever-penetrating pass rush, however, the factor that Newton is not yet too familiar with the playbook also spoke to Walker’s effort.

Plan with Walker also because of time pressure

Because the Panthers were under enormous time pressure in the final period in view of the large deficit, they had to get rid of the ball quickly and advance as far as possible through the air. Walker is clearly more familiar with the no-huddle offence, so when there is no time to go over the play again on the field.

Rhule’s plan, however, did not work at all. On the first drive, Walker threw an interception, and his second ended with a turnover on downs after a visit to the red zone – a field goal would not have helped the visitors. In addition, Newton’s backup conceded four sacks, so the O-line was shaky until the end.

Cam Newton alone does not guarantee victories

Even without the clear message from the head coach, there would have been little to suggest that the prodigal son would soon be stewing on the sidelines. If, that is, he backs up his words with action.

Consequently, he can actually take a relaxed view of the job sharing on South Beach. And Newton wouldn’t be Newton if he didn’t use the opportunity to highlight his special status. “This is the NFL. You’re not promised anything here,” he philosophised, “Just because you have Cam Newton on the roster doesn’t mean you’re going to win. Just because there’s that feel-good story doesn’t mean we’re going to win. I’m aware of that.”

But if the feel-good story is also to become a success story, it is now high time to take a closer look at the playbook. Perhaps no bye week has been as important for Newton and the Panthers as this one.